We are truly living in an electronic age and I'm not sure that it is for the betterment. When you look around at everything we have these days and the frenzy over people wanting to get the latest iPod or whatever it is they think they just have to have, it seems we have come to rely on electronic gadgets to run our lives.
We have television, stereos, computers, cell phones, reading devices, music players and the list goes on and on. I'm guilty of having a television, computer and stereo plus a cell phone but have drawn the limit. There are games and attachments for our TV's and computers so that our children and even some adults are so addicted to them, that it takes up all their free time. They go from work or school to home to play their games, sometimes without taking a break, except maybe to eat, until their bedtime.
Now I will agree that there are some electronic devices that are good and are worth their while. Television entertains us or keeps us updated on what is going on in the world. Computers can be a good thing if are used correctly. They help us keep in contact with friends and family, store information for us, gives us access to information and shopping and can also be a form of entertainment with online games or games provided with the programming.
Cell phones. I've seen some cell phones that can do almost anything except change the oil in your car or give the dog a bath. That is so ridiculous. They were designed to be an aid and I have to agree the invention of the cell phone is great, but it is also a nuisance. When people have one attached to their ear constantly, I wonder how they get anything done. Personally, my cell phone is used for communication in case I need assistance or the occasional visit with a friend or family but it isn't attached to my ear 24 hours a day and I do not abuse it by driving and talking on it or walk around a public area talking on it.
The rest of the electronic devices I admit that I really don't know that much about and to be honest, I'm going to keep it that way. My oldest grandson is very knowledgeable in computers and has a great job in the field and he is very knowledgeable about many of the electronic devices. He uses them and tries to explain them to me without much success. Guess I'm really not that interested in most of them but he is young and maybe it is part of the future. But I still don't agree with most of it.
There is one electronic device that has ruined one sector of our lives and it is not a benefit but more of a hazard and should be eliminated. That is the electronic reader that allows you to download books or articles to read on it at your leisure. This is really a sore spot with me and the reason why is that it is destroying the book industry.
Our children are having enough problems with their reading skills from lack of proper education and then with something like this, I do not see any good coming from it. True, they may be reading, but why do they have to do it in electronic form. What is so wrong about picking up a book, newspaper, magazine or whatever and actually sitting down holding it and reading it? We have done it for years, so why should we have to rely on an electronic device to replace it.
The argument that "well you can take it anywhere" doesn't ring true. You can take a book anywhere too.
As a writer and publisher of real books, this doesn't set well with me. Oh, I could go the electronic route and publish my books but for what, a measly few cents or a couple of dollars while the supplier takes the bulk of the cost. I'm the one who has put forth the effort to write the book and why should I be content with a pittance and allow someone else to profit off of my work.
I'm not greedy. But stop and think about it. You make something and you plan to sell that to earn money from your labor. But then someone comes along and says, "No, let me sell it for you. You make it and I'll pay you this much." Then they sell it for a large amount and they make money for your idea and work. Is that fair? No, I don't think so.
Well, with this electronic reader, I don't have much choice. People are being sold on the idea so I along with many other authors have to decide if we go that route or we continue to write our "books" that sit on book shelves because people will not buy them. Well, personally I will not go the electronic route. I feel it is cheating the individual who will be reading my work. They need to feel that book and see the written word on a paper page, not on some small screen. They need to learn the value of a book. Our libraries are filled with great books. What is going to happen to them?
And if they aren't downloading a book to read, they are doing the next thing and that is buying a DVD to "watch". Books are made into movies or put on audio tapes for listening. We are producing a lazy society.
This electronic age has caused another problem as well. In today's society, it takes both parents working to make the ends meet, so the children are left to their own devices most of the time and that is either with a TV or computer or an electronic game or device. It has replaced the baby sitter and is denying our children the opportunity to run and play and have fun as children. It is forcing them to grow up way to fast.
I'm not saying the electronic age is all bad as it has helped in the science field, medical field, our space exloration and the ease of our home appliances, but there needs to a line drawn when it begins to take over our lives and we are controlled by what we do and how we do it because we have to have our electronic devices to get us through the day.
On a previous blog, I talked about the dumming down of how our schools are teaching. Perhaps we are all being dummed down in a way. We are giving up our lives to be attached to the umbibical cord of our electronic devices.
I will continue to fight becoming a statistic and joining this revolution. I've come a long way into this electronic age but it doesn't mean that I have to give my soul to it. I enjoy the outdoors with walks, to hear the birds sing, to play with the cats and dogs, to visit with a neighbor or friend. I don't want to be glued to an electronic device as the world goes around me. I want to see it and feel it and be a part of it.
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