Are you happy you were born before computers were invented?

Murrmurr said:
There are more truthful sources than BS ones. And, honestly, it's very easy to know the difference just by checking the publisher's sources. Which is easy-peasy if you use a computer.

But that probably it depends on what kind of info you're looking for. Like, there's probably more BS in the entertainment category than science. At least everything in the science category can support claims with data and studies and stuff....unless it's BS. No references and/or sources = gotta be BS.
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yes for us...who already know the basics... but the young are having to start off with BS....Information.. and struggle to find what is credible, and many believe the first thing they read...
 

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horseless carriage said:
To be a member here I had to have an email address. I have never used it, I can't even remember what it was. My mail is all hand written. All my purchases are made in cash, that's the filthy folding stuff, never use plastic and as for pointing my phone at a bar code, that just makes my head explode. I do have a cell phone and despite all the gizmos on it, all it ever gets used for is voice and text.
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But what I can't figure out is how you got that user name? ;)

Seriously though I am very grateful to have been born in simpler, less technical times.
 
Computers were around long before I was born, just not mainstream like they are now. By the time I was in my late teens, early twenties, they were starting to become mainstream at most offices and were slowly starting to enter the homes. So I am glad that while I was in my early twenties, the computer explosion was starting to happen. I was young enough to be curious about learning everything about them and embraced the technology. By the time the late 80's came along and computers became a mainstay in most homes, I was already comfortable using them.

So , yes, I am happy I was born before the start of the computer "revolution". It was a fun time for me when it did start.

As far as my youth goes, of course my youth would have been a lot different if I had been born twenty years later. I'm sure as a kid I would have spent a lot of my time in front of the computer instead of in front of a TV set. And I am sure in some ways my parents were secretly wondering if I was spending too much time in front of a TV set when I was a kid instead of finding things to do on my own like they did when they were kids (before TV sets were in every household).
 
I'm glad I was born when I was because I got to see it all happen. My career was in electronics and college was 50:50 vacuum tubes and transistors. I worked with the very first integrated circuits. It's been an amazing thing to watch.

Like any technology, computers have had both positive and negative effects. I don't think kids do as much with their hands as we did. Their games and activities are more mental than physical. Hobby shops have pretty much gone away and I haven't seen a kite in the sky for years. I find that kind of sad. But, they would probably go nuts if they were sent back to when I grew up.

If you think it is bad now, imagine what it will be like in another 50 years or so.
 
Remember the hobby shops. Most towns had at least one or two. The front window would be filled with completed models of ships, cars, planes and what have you. Inside there were big gas engine planes hanging overhead. The counter would be full of little gas engines, Exacto knife kits and other tools, and the old man behind it could talk your ear off. You could get a balsa and tissue kit of a piper cub for 25 cents and a tube of sweet smelling glue for a dime. You can still buy kits like that but now they are more like 25 to 30 dollars and it's mostly old guys buying them. Often you'd walk out with a 10 cent glider and be happy.

Our hobby shop was just outside the gate of the elementary school. That guy was no dummy.
 
Grampa Don said:
Remember the hobby shops. Most towns had at least one or two. The front window would be filled with completed models of ships, cars, planes and what have you. Inside there were big gas engine planes hanging overhead. The counter would be full of little gas engines, Exacto knife kits and other tools, and the old man behind it could talk your ear off. You could get a balsa and tissue kit of a piper cub for 25 cents and a tube of sweet smelling glue for a dime. You can still buy kits like that but now they are more like 25 to 30 dollars and it's mostly old guys buying them. Often you'd walk out with a 10 cent glider and be happy.

Our hobby shop was just outside the gate of the elementary school. That guy was no dummy.
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Hey Don,

As an active surface RCer I've witnessed the demise of almost all the brick-and-mortar hobby shops here in the Houston area. Those still extant deal mostly in R-T-R (Ready-To-Run, aka Ready-To-Wreck) models. Not much in the way of supplies. Deal exclusively on-line anymore. Miss the old days too. Hanging around the local hobby shop, where you see, hear, feel, touch and smell a model before considering buying it. Anymore it's a guessing game. Kinda like a box of chocolates buying on line-never sure what you'll get.

And regarding computers, that's invaded RC full-bore to the extent I'm no longer conversant in the hobby. Lots of old school knowledge. Useless today in the fast-faster-fastest scramble to market the latest and greatest electronic gadget. Guess I'm an 80 year old man dabbling in a kids world with barely a clue?
 
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ArnoldC said:
Hey Don,

As an active surface RCer I've witnessed the demise of almost all the brick-and-mortar hobby shops here in the Houston area. Those still extant deal mostly in R-T-R (Ready-To-Run, aka Ready-To-Wreck) models. Not much in the way of supplies. Deal exclusively on-line anymore. Miss the old days too. Hanging around the local hobby shop, where you see, hear, feel, touch and smell a model before considering buying it. Anymore it's a guessing game. Kinda like a box of chocolates buying on line-never sure what you'll get.
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It's the same with other types of stores too. I read that Joanns yardage and craft stores have declared bankruptcy. Eventually, on line will be all there is. Strange new world.
 
caramel said:
Most people here were born before computers were invented. Because we didn't grow up with them, there was a steep learning curve for some, which may have been difficult, particularly if they were older when they were first introduced to them.

On the other hand, people who grew up with computers don't have the ability to say that they can go without one. How would they know?

Some people say that life before computers was more peaceful and simple. We'll never know how life would have gone without them.

Are you happy that you were born before computers were a thing or would you have rather had the convenience of them growing up?
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Great question. I look forward to another day when I have the time to read the responses in this thread.

I am very glad I did.
As much as I am thankful for what it adds to my life, at this present point in time,
there were many treasured experiences I would have missed, if they were around for my entire life.
 
Absolutely, for several reasons:

  • If not in school I was always outside, either climbing trees or building "forts" with my friends on vacant lots.
  • I actually had to "learn" in school because I couldn't Google anything.
  • If I had an inferiority complex it was not because I was following someone else's wonderful life on the internet.
  • Kids can be cruel in real life, but when you got home you could leave it behind. Today's kids are subjected to it 24/7.
  • Because I'm not addicted to technology these days but I can now appreciate how simplified my life.
 
In a way yes. I am grateful that I had a childhood free of screens. Instead, it was best friends, bicycles, playing in the creek, roaming the neighborhood from after breakfast until evening, etc. Young folks today look dumbstruck when you describe a day spent, with a best friend, retrieving a giant cable spool from a muddy creek bed (hard work!) and rolling it more than a mile back to the house to play with in the yard.

On the other hand, I had just started my career in IT when the PC made its debut. Personal computing has played a role in my entire life and work since then. Just like I marvel that my grandparents witnessed the birth of air travel and its evolution to space travel; I'm glad to be able to say that I witnessed the birth of personal computing and its evolution thus far.
 
Are you happy you were born before computers were invented?
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I'm at a loss to see how being born before computers would elicit 'happiness'. I was happy to finally have my own personal computer, it was an exciting time. Nowadays if you're not gripping your cellphone during all hours of the day you're considered to be some kind of freak.
 
Nathan said:
I'm at a loss to see how being born before computers would elicit 'happiness'.
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If I had asked if you were bummed or unhappy or displeased that you were born before computers were commonplace, would that have changed anything?
 
caramel said:
Are you happy that you were born before computers were a thing or would you have rather had the convenience of them growing up?
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Honestly, I never thought much about it. I guess I'm happy not having grown up with computers as a child and teen, more balanced in reality, lol.

Computers never excited me, didn't get my first one in my house until 2000. Didn't use it for much, explored the web, sent a few emails, and did a bit of shopping. Still taking baby steps to learn all the ins and outs, if it's too complicate for me, I likely don't need to do it.

I feel a bit bad for the younger generation today, parents are using computers or smartphones for babysitters and the children aren't going outdoors much and interacting in real time with other kids and adults. I don't think you can be happy with just online communications, so much joy in seeing another person smile and exchanging stories and opinions. Just my opinion as a Luddite. šŸ˜‰
 
Nathan said:
I'm at a loss to see how being born before computers would elicit 'happiness'. I was happy to finally have my own personal computer, it was an exciting time. Nowadays if you're not gripping your cellphone during all hours of the day you're considered to be some kind of freak.
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Call me a freak, lol. I don't turn my phone on every day and I never bonded with it, don't grip it at all, only text when needed and calls are short. I do use the public radio app sometimes when out walking my dog, if they're talking about something of interest. Mine is basically to contact my husband in an emergency situation, and thankfully that hasn't happened yet.
 
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