I grew up in the 70′s. None of the moms worked. The dads all made enough money, it seemed, for everyone to live comfortably. We didn’t have wifi. In fact, the first computer I used was actually a punch card type. I think it was around 1973, in 3rd grade. We would punch cards to do simple math problems, turn them into our teachers, and get the results back two weeks later. If you made a mistake you were out of luck.

We were one of the first to get a vcr around 1978, and the first in our neighborhood to get a microwave, around the same time. But none of us kids had graphing calculators! We actually had to do algebra and calculus problems by hand. The early 80′s really changed our neighborhood just as I started high school. All of a sudden our local fast food establishments saw competition from national chains like Burger King and McDonalds. They had drive throughs, and we had limited lunch hours. Speed was becoming an issue in our lives.

Now we have all the modern conveniences, don’t we? My wife’s plain minivan has more power than any Cadillac made in the 1980′s. We have cell phones, lap tops, pdas, ipods, graphing calculators, push email, console games, information at your beck and call, drive throughs on every corner, Starbucks, 24 hour groceries, 24 hour workout clubs, online dating, online banking, ebay. I don’t have to leave my house to have groceries delivered with peapod, I can join forums and pretend I’m someone I’m not, you can do research in seconds where you once actually had to go to a library!

But you know what? With all those conveniences, we just cram more activities into one day! When I drive in the minivan with my family, my wife’s on the cell making plans, one kid’s watching a movie, one’s playing video games and one is sucking his fingers and playing with his woobie. And driving. That’s my opinion.

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