The other day, I was reading one of my favorite blogs when I stumbled upon a video from the early 1960s. Like many videos of that era, it dealt with the future, specifically the wonders that we’d behold in 1975. Needless to say, it was pretty entertaining. Did you know that in 1975 students would be able to take tests on Film Based Teaching Machines? Apparently, teaching machines were going to be huge. Of course, by huge I mean very popular. And while I found the article highly entertaining, I also couldn’t help but think about how truly amazing it is that technology has come as far as it has.

Think about it: how many things do we use today that don’t in some way incorporate a computer? Not many. Computers are used everywhere. Heck, I’m using a computer to type this blog. And you’re using a computer to read it! Okay, maybe I’m being a tad sarcastic, my point is that imagining a world where we don’t use computers is like trying to imagine a world where we don’t drink water.

For many of you, using a computer has become second nature, and you adapt to new technology as it evolves. However, for some of us, evolution doesn’t always come easy. Some of us dinosaurs are a little slower on the uptake. Computers may be used everywhere, but that doesn’t mean they’re not intimidating — which is why some of us need to take computer classes every once in a while.

I, myself, feel pretty confident in my computer usage abilities. Maybe I can’t build a web site or pirate movies with even a modicum of confidence, but I have a blog and that’s a start. Then again, today everybody has a blog. My computer usage is at a level I’m comfortable with. I’m not an addict, and I can quit using whenever I want. My wife may disagree, but she doesn’t know what she’s talking about (don’t tell her I said that).

When I think back to where we were ten years ago and compare our computer usage then to what it is now, I can’t help but be amazed at how prolific our dependence on computers is. Kindergartners learn how to use computers during their first week of school, and kids spend more time in front of computers than they do in front of the TV.

If that’s not amazing, I don’t know what is.

Pat C.