A few days ago my cable television service went out and took the Internet service down with it.
Fortunately it was only for a few hours, but those few hours seemed like forever.
When did I get so dependent on that cable linking me to the rest of the world?
I remember a time when television was delivered via the antenna on the roof of the house. Admittedly it could be finicky. Sometimes you got nothing but static. Choices were limited to a few stations. But it usually worked to some degree.
There was a time before the Internet as well. A time when I could work, read, and generally go about the day without having to check in on email constantly or rely on that connection to get things done.
That time is no more. Having it out for just a few hours was incredibly frustrating. Admittedly, I’m a web designer so I probably rely on that connection to do my job more than most people. Or maybe not. My daughter uses her home computer to log in and get work done when bad weather prevents her from getting to office. My son works from home. Others in the family do extensive research with it.
Things I realized I couldn’t easily do with the Internet down: update a couple of websites that needed some changes, pay bills, check the location of a shipping place, answer emails from family and friends, buy a book I wanted for my Kindle, look at the upcoming weather forecast, and check in for a flight I would be taking the next day.
All of those things can be done in other, less convenient, more time-consuming ways. But I’ve gotten used to doing all of them from the convenience of my office desk via the computer.
Just as we used to watch a limited array of television offerings with sometimes grainy pictures. I’ve now grown accustomed to being able to choose from a wide variety of programming options. Throw in my Netflix subscription and it’s almost unlimited. I get to watch pretty much any sporting event I want.
I’m soft and I’m spoiled. I’ve gone all in for convenience and choice. The result is that I can be nearly paralyzed by an internet outage. Good trade-off? I don’t know. It’s just the way things are now.
I hear you loud and clear, Karen. We were without power for almost two days and I was really feeling the pain. Now, a week later, I can look at the experience as a much-needed reminder of how good I have it most of the time. Here's to Spring!
ReplyDeleteI agree! It's crazy that we've all become so dependent! I keep promising myself that I'm going to go a day without the internet but haven't yet--probably because I can't imagine haven't instant access and connection to everything.
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