the iPod Killed the Mixed Tape

I've talked before about the dangers of the ever evolving technology of today's society.  But before, I mentioned it more as a issue of being engulfed in electronics, as opposed to real personal interaction.  Instead of talking about the addiction and dependency on technology, I want to focus on the need to make life faster, sharper, louder, and smaller/bigger.  For some reason, it's hard to be happy with the items already in your possession.  In order to "keep up with the Jones's" you have to have what they have, plus some.  Today's hot item, is tomorrow's garbage can filler.  To prove my point, think about Christmas.  The first time you unwrap all your presents, you've never been happier.  By the end of the day, you've about worn out the glamor of your gifts being new.  By the time next Christmas comes around, last years gaming console or Tickle Me Elmo is already on the street, waiting to being taken away to their final resting place.

I want to state that evolving and growing technology is great!  I'm just concerned about what gets thrown by the wayside.  With each new exciting technology, something special gets lost, killed, and forgotten.  It is a feeling of nostalgia that I get when I think about old technologies.  Video killed the radio star.  Cell Phones killed the Personal Planner.  iPod killed the mix tape.  This is what I am referring to.  I miss having a special mixed CD for long roadtrips.  I miss going to the video store and seeing all the movies on the walls, knowing I could never watch them all, even if I wanted to.  Now you are forced to watch movies from a small selection (most of which you only kind of want to watch) off of a movie website or movie box.  Convenience is slowly becoming more and more inconvenient with each new invention.

I can't even remember the last time I wrote a research paper using the tangible resources of a library.  Thanks to the wide access and database available through computers and the internet, I don't have to experience the feel of a leather bound book, or brown, aged pages.  The smell of millions of books and literature and the embarrassment of asking the librarian for help is no longer something the masses will be familiar with.  What's next to die off and become eligible for the antique technology museum, is hard to tell.  I just hope it doesn't change too much.