Ten years ago, if you wanted to send an email during dinner, you’d have to lie and say you had to go to the bathroom and hope the desktop — yeah, the computer attached to a table— was in the same direction as the toilet. Today, you can just slip your smart phone under the table.
At the beginning of 2000, there were no computers that could go in a bed, or in a bathroom, or in a car or anywhere away from the 10 wires attaching them and their giant modem to the wall.
So there were video games 10 years ago, but most resolutions regarding them were to play less. Today, many people depend on Wii and Xbox for their exercise, and vow to clock in more time with their gaming consoles.
Poor you: you have to stop yourself from watching all of “Lost” in one week. What about the poor souls who had no choice but to wait an entire week to see what happened next?!
It used to be “write family more,” then it was “call family more” and now it’s “Skype family more.” Most family members don’t even consider it a real catch-up if they can’t see your face on a screen. Phone calls have become the new letter — outdated and unsatisfying.
You used to have to hold a good old fashioned yard sale to get rid of unwanted junk, and you’d have to haggle, face-to-face, with the one person who might be the only person even interested in the object. It was a buyer’s market, that’s for sure. Today, you can just about name any price you want and millions of buyers have access to the object instantly.
“Learn how to use Twitter” has become the new “Learn a new language” resolution. Most professionals consider it “unprofessional” to not be on the micro-blogging site. And when you tell someone you don’t have a Twitter account, they look at you like you said you don’t have a TV.
You used to have to wait all day before you could get home, rush to your computer, turn it on and check Facebook. At the very least, you had to wait for your lunch break since you were using an office computer. Now, you can check Facebook while in the bathroom from your smartphone.
Plenty of people vow to carry less cash so they’re less tempted to spend money. But not carrying cash is a luxury! Today, it’s common for places not to accept cash. Ten years ago, it was common for places only to accept cash.
Only in the last few years have airports begun to understand that Wi-Fi needs to be installed in terminals. And go back 10 years at any hotel, and you had to use a lobby computer if you wanted Internet. At the really advanced hotels, you had to pay $20 a half day for Wi-Fi in your room.
