Unplugged and Unapologetic: A Tribute to Analog Childhoods
Living in the Moment (Without Posting About It)
I dodged a bullet!
No, not in The Matrix way ( although dodging slow-motion bullets would be cool).
I mean growing up without all this “technology” and the never-ending tide of social media.
Remember when the only way to make phone calls was from a “real” telephone?
Or when “online” meant dial-up internet (and the distinctive sound it made) and waiting an eternity for an image to load?
Now, we have “virtual friends.”
I had actual friends growing up. Those were simpler times.
We talked face-to-face and played physical games outside in the street until the streetlights came on. That was the cue to go inside.
Now, don’t get me wrong — I appreciate the convenience of modern tech.
But watching my teenage son glued to his screen, his life unfolding in videos on YouTube, makes me grateful for my “unplugged” childhood.
My world growing up was smaller and quieter. We didn’t have social media, the pressure to create the perfect avatar, or the worry of missing out on the latest trend.
What we had was time and lots of it. Time to explore our local parks and canals, get lost in a book, and be bored (and discover how to entertain ourselves).
But I wouldn’t trade my childhood for anything. It included tree-climbing days, dirt-track bike races, and getting into mischief with friends.
And you know what? Those memories, those friendships, and those experiences determined who I am today.
