My electronic family

[pomtzu]

I hardly recognize my family anymore, as it seems that they can't function without an electronic device somehow attached to themselves.

My son is rarely seen without his SmartPhone or tablet in his hand. Then of course there is a BlueTooth device or earbuds crammed in his ear too, tho he doesn't have the addiction to the Nano that he does to the other items. And is this limited to just inside the house??? - nope - the SmartPhone accompanies him outside to the garage or just to sit on the lawn chairs. Oh - and don't forget the car too - which is voice command activated, etc., and like having a built in SmartWhatever.

My DIL is almost as bad - but she's addicted to the tablet - it's even on the kitchen counter keeping her company when she's cooking, etc. If it's not that, then the earbuds attached to the Nano are part of her attire, and the BlueTooth is hanging from her ear when she gets home from work everyday. Fortunately her cell phone is stupid like mine - none of the fancy stuff!

And my grandson - well he's still a work in progress. The Nano is a pretty regular item, so up until now, that's all that's been wired to him. He just got a cell phone (another stupid one like mine) for his birthday this past weekend, and he also got a tablet, and it is now making it's presence more obvious with each passing day. One day soon, he will be in competition with his dad.

And when my granddaughter visits???? - yup - you guessed it - tho she does limit her toy to her SmartPhone when she's here.

Am I one of the only old dinosaurs left??? I do not own an IPod Nano and I actually buy CD's to play at home or in the car. I have the previously mentioned stupid (not Smart) cell phone, and I do not own a tablet or even a laptop. I actually have to sit at my desk to use my computer - how weird is that?????

Surely there must be at least a few of you out there that live in the Dark Ages with me. Please speak up and give me your support..........

[Alysser]

One of my best friends is back in "Dark Ages" and she is 18, she has a rock flip phone from god knows when, barely uses facebook, does not have a twitter, and has an extremely old Ipod. She isn't going to convert over anytime soon I don't think, but she may. There's hope.

However, it's too late for me

[pomtzu]

One of my best friends is back in "Dark Ages" and she is 18, she has a rock flip phone from god knows when, barely uses facebook, does not have a twitter, and has an extremely old Ipod. She isn't going to convert over anytime soon I don't think, but she may. There's hope.

However, it's too late for me

That's funny - I thought all teens had to have the latest and greatest of everything! Even my cell isn't that bad - it's pretty up to date other than not being a mini computer in my hands. Oh - I don't face or tweet either, unlike the rest of the family.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I have a desk top computer which I actually use more than my laptop. I used to have a tracfone but it died and I never ended up getting another one. I also have a landline which is what I use if I am on the phone. I really don't talk on the phone that much any more. All of my friends have moved away. My mom is about the only real person that I talk to on the phone. The other calls I get are the stupid kind. Surveys, political parties, business's trying to sell you something etc. I just screen all of these calls. I don't have an ipod or tablet either.

[Pinot's Mom]

Most of my family is addicted. They think there is something severely wrong with me. They ALL text on their whatever phones which all have internet (4G) access. They're all on them constantly.

My husband and I have a landline; we did make the concession not too long ago to get caller ID. We have flip phones; they have texting blocked (yes, BLOCKED, we both hate it). We have a desktop PC and a netbook; I do, as many of you know, use Facebook. We do NOT Twitter, Pinterest, Foursquare, or any of that other folderol. I have a Kindle, too, but it's the basic 3G - so it doesn't do Angry Birds - whatever that is. I don't see myself coming out of the dark ages any time soon. I like it here.

[Freedom]

I'm with you Ellie, and I feel like I am much older than calendar years, being so out of touch and behind the times. Someone asked me if I have wifi set up between my desktop, laptop and printer. "I can do that?" LOL My cell phone is a basic pay as you go, I keep it for emergency use only, use about 15 minutes a year on it. No voicemail, I have my answer machine works fine and saves me lots of money. Ipad? Tablet? Smart thingie? games boxes? Twitter? None of the above.

[Taz_Zoee]

I have a smart-ish phone. No laptop. I'm only on Facebook and Pet Talk. No ipod (I got Bruce's hand-me-down but never use it). BUT, Bruce got us a tablet and it's supposed to be delivered today. I'm very excited!! This way when we are in Tahoe I can access the internet on a larger screen (my cell screen is tiny), good thing since my eye sight is getting worse every day.

A couple weekends ago we went camping. NO cell service! I thought my brother might die because of this (he is a computer tech). We went to one place where we could get signal and 5 out of 6 of us were frantically checking messages and emails. I only wanted to check the voicemail I received in case of emergency with the animals.

[happylabs]

Up until last month I just had a Tracphone. I upgraded to a REAL Verizon cell phone! I love texting! It is a great way for my daughter and my significant other best friend to keep in touch during the day when neither of them can phone from their jobs. And both of my kids now have dogs so they send me pics from their phones of my grand puppies! I just think it is so cool. I never understood the cell phone and texting thing until I got one. Now that I have it I really wished my mom could text. She is 89 though and I doubt she will do it.

As far as the other gadgets, I just have a laptop and a Kindle.

[phesina]

I'm with you Ellie, and I feel like I am much older than calendar years, being so out of touch and behind the times. Someone asked me if I have wifi set up between my desktop, laptop and printer. "I can do that?" LOL My cell phone is a basic pay as you go, I keep it for emergency use only, use about 15 minutes a year on it. No voicemail, I have my answer machine works fine and saves me lots of money. Ipad? Tablet? Smart thingie? games boxes? Twitter? None of the above.

I'm like you too, Sandie and Ellie!

[chocolatepuppy]

Count me in with the dark agers. My cell phone is a Tracphone. My pc is on a desk, no laptop. I do have caller ID on my land line phone.

[kitten645]

I never understood the cell phone and texting thing until I got one

I think this says it all. I only recently got a smart phone after being stranded in Chicago and not being able to contact my traveling partner with my POS dumb phone. I can't be away from it now! I got a tablet, nook, laptop, itouch and fitbit since then! I only really carry my phone but I'm trying to figure out the others as I go along.
C

[Grace]

We each have a cell phone - no texting, though. Douglas uses his a lot more than I use mine - I might get to 5 minutes/month.

I have my computer, and he has his. And since March I've had an iPad - which I ADORE!!

[caseysmom]

Well you are on the internet complaining to your online friends about this

I recently got a smart phone for work, never thought I would like it but I am pretty hooked but the battery dies so fast....

[pomtzu]

Lots of interesting posts - thanks. I see a pattern here too - AGE! The older the poster, the less techie we seem to be - for the most part anyway.
And I have to apologize for calling my cell stupid - it is smart-ish like Cindy said of hers, and has internet capability. I just don't use that feature - too expensive. But I didn't even have to buy the phone - it was an almost brand new one that my son had retired and he gave it to me since I wanted to upgrade to one with an actual keypad and not just a number pad, and then I went on his Verizon plan - and all I pay is $10 per month. Before that I had a Tracfone for years. When I dropped them, I lost over 2000 accumulated minutes, so you can see how much I used it. After being in customer service for over 30 years, I have an aversion to talking on the phone, and it was just an emergency phone. Now I text and nearly never talk on the present one - it is so much easier just to text a message to son or DIL instead of remembering to give them a message or write it down when they get calls to the house land line (which is bare-bones basic) and they are at work.
Oh - and I must confess to having a Kindle Touch, but that was kind of a necessity if I wanted to do any reading for more than 10 minutes at a time. I wouldn't mind having a tablet - maybe some day.........

I often wonder what my parents and grandparents would think of today's electronic world. My mother was totally blown away when the microwave oven became an item in just about every household. I can remember her saying - "how will they ever top that?" If she could only see the world today!

[smokey the elder]

Well you are on the internet complaining to your online friends about this

Darn, never a Like button when you need one! I actually like texting within reason; it can be more discreet. Also, for emergencies: texting uses much less band width than voice.