Innovations that will forever change the way we think and act:

1. Remote controls. This is why there is such a huge problem with childhood obesity. It's no wonder why we're all so lazy. It's because of the remote control that we now expect everything to be at our fingertips. We even get tied up in knots if we don't have the remote control at our fingertips. There are remotes for lights, stereos, fireplaces, garage doors, window blinds, and even car doors. Since when did we get so lazy that it became too hard to turn a freakin' key? What ever happened to the day when you had to get up to change the channel and even to adjust the antenna each time the channel was changed or someone moved out of their spot?
2. Speaking of which, High-Definition - that's something that I'm still looking forward to having in our home. Maybe the reason why so many adults wear glasses is because we had to strain our eyes for so many years trying to watch the old 19" tube from 12 feet away. What was the deal with UHF and VHF anyway? I still don't understand their function or the distinction between the two. Today's children will have only crystal clear picture quality, which leaves less to the imagination. I remember watching whole shows with intermittent static and having to visualize in my mind what was happening (It would have been less frustrating to listen to it on the radio).
3. MP3 players. The good old days of making mix tapes are long gone. Even the days of mix CDs are disappearing. I think I still have all 12 volumes of my specially-made "Super cool mixes." I used to pour hours into selecting the perfect songs; planning their order according to genre of music and transitions at the beginning and end; and even making sure the balance and sound was consistent on my equalizer. Now it's so easy to pull out the iPod and shuffle through the 60 G's of songs from your playlist. The art of the mix tape is gone I fear.
4. Spell check. I remember the days when I had to really study and know how things were spelled. In my day, you got marked down if you misspelled something. Word can now autocorrect your documents, making it difficult to even know if you misspelled something in the first place. What if we had to handwrite a letter? It might look something like this: "Hi their. Hows it going? I'm so embarased about mising you're berthday. Its so wierd, butt I fergot to chek the calender. Ill have to take you too that new restaraunt to selabrate. I'm gettin reddy to cook diner, but I nead to go to the market and bye a potatoe and figyer out wat I'm going too do about desert. Did you see the kidz? There all grownz up know. Bye the wey, wats up with the whether latly? Anyways, we mis you alot. Get back too me at you're liesure. Buy."
5. Google. Remember the days when we had to go to the library to get information? Researching for gems of information felt very similar to going on a treasure hunt. If your treasure chest was checked out or missing, you had to start the hunt all over again. I even remember schlepping myself to the downtown library at a very young age and learning about one-way streets for the first time. I also must have spent about a year's salary on photocopies of reference materials that couldn't be checked out. In those days, if the library was closed, you had to either make something up or go to the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Even the majority of my Masters thesis was researched at a library. Now, if I am even remotely curious about a topic, I simply google it. Information is so instantaneous. Joe and I have debates about something and then whenever we want to challenge someone's claims, we just google it to find the truth. But the downside of all this instant information is that kids don't truly understand the process and practice of research and how to solve problems on their own.
6. Worldwide web. It's amazing how the world has become much more accessible since the advent of the internet. I remember having my first telnet account freshman year of college and thinking that it was just a cool way to talk to my friends instantly, for free. I couldn't imagine all the possible uses there would be for the internet in the future. People conduct their entire businesses online. You could store all the information on your computer on the internet. Communication across the globe is available and the world appears to be moving closer to communicating in the same languages and the same currency. I remember having to get on a plane or read a book to learn about people from other cultures. In a way, the next generation will be so much more savvy and educated about the world and all its people. With all this access though, it is becoming harder to guard children from predators and from growing up too fast. They are learning earlier and earlier what they want and how to get it, but simultaneously they need to learn what is beneficial and what are consequences.
7. Cell phone/Blackberry. I was having a conversation with some college students from church and they were saying how hard it is to even go out without their parents calling them to check where they are and what they're doing. When I was in college, we had total freedom, unless you were a commuter and lived at home. For me, I was over 1000 miles away from home, so if my parents needed to reach me, they had to leave a message on my answering machine (ah, good old Rolma) and wait for me to get back to them at my convenience. I hear kids in junior high even carry cell phones in order for parents to keep track of their children's whereabouts. It's a modern convenience we can't be without, but I almost pity all the college students who are at their parents' beckon call. Turning off the phone doesn't even stop them. They will proceed to hunt you down like a bounty hunter, calling everyone they know you might possibly be out with in order to make sure you're not in trouble (I can already see myself doing this). Gone are the days when freedom truly rang.