Technology Autobiography

Technology in the Early Years: As a child I remember technology in my house consisting of TV's,  VCRS, camcorders, radios with tape decks, and house phones. We had multiple TV's in our house that were located in the living room, my parents bedroom, and the basement. I was never allowed a TV in my room growing up because my mother had one as a child and as a result was not able to sleep without a TV on, a habit that she refused to allow my brother and I to form (to this day I cannot sleep with a TV on). I also remember having VCRS connected to our TV's to watch movies and record shows. My dad had a camcorder (the huge ones that rest on the shoulder) which he recorded all of our home videos. We still have a VCR at my house because my parents have not gotten around to converting these movies to DVD and we still watch them together and laugh that my dad is still making the same jokes 24 years later. My family has always been into music and I remember listening to the radio and tapes in both the house and the car. There were no cell phones when I was a child but my mother did have a portable car phone that she stored under her seat and plugged into the cigarette lighter in case of an emergency. We also had wall mounted and wireless house phones. Wow, this is all quite the blast from the past!

Technology Advances: The Middle School Years: From fifth to eighth grade I remember a huge shift in technology in my household. When I was in Middle School my parents got their first cell phones. They would not buy me my own phone so I had to share my moms with her, it was "mine" at night and on the weekends so that my parents could get in touch with me. My friends would often call my phone and get my mother. We also got our first computer with email accounts and dial up internet on a site called Earthlink. I remember fighting with my parents to use the internet because they wanted to make a phone call. The biggest part for me with getting a computer was that I was finally able to have aol instant messenger! I had the screen name Talkaholic143 (Yes its VERY embarrassing). I was addicted to aol because I could talk to multiple friends as once, put up away messages, create a buddy list, and put tons of personal jokes in my profile. I LOVED aol instant messenger! My parents made sure to leave the computer smack dab in the middle of the living room to monitor my new obsession because the computer was something they did not fully understand. During this time my writing began to shift from traditional writing to "aol" slang. I began to use abbreviations such as lol, brb, ttyl, etc. I do not remember ever bringing this writing into my schoolwork but I do remember that it was essential to understand to successfully get through these years.

High School and Beyond: In the beginning years of high school my parents finally moved to digital internet and allowed me to get my own cell phone (although it was FAR from a smartphone). It was not until I graduated high school that I got my first digital camera and laptop computer as gifts for heading off to college. I now look around my apartment at my boyfriends laptop, my new MacBook Pro, our two flat screen TV's, BlueRay Player, surround sound speakers, XBox, Wii, Wireless Internet, and iPhones and think to myself, well haven't we come a LONG way!