There is no denying that technology has become the great re-uniter of the 21st century. On a weekly basis I re-discover connections with old friends whom I have not seen in 20 years. Once I get over the fact that I am old enough to have not seen someone for 20 years, I am amazed at how connected I have become and how frequently I bump into old friends online. These are connections I would likely not have without technology. In many cases they are people I never had a telephone relationship with in high school and would certainly not strike one up now. But I am comfortable enough with the idea of being friends with them online and checking in to see what they are doing now.
What I love even more is the ability to share photos of my child and see the photos of others’ children without having to fill up their email inbox. I have become a huge fan of Photobucket, Snapfish, and Shutterfly. But most recently, I have really appreciated how hospitals are supporting families with loved ones in long term care. Last summer a friend from college had triplet boys (yikes!) born at 25 weeks. The hospital set up a blog and photo gallery for them to update daily so that loved ones could get the info on how the boys were progressing without the parents having to sit on the phone non-stop retelling the same story dozens of times a week. I am seeing this again with a friend whose son was born last month 8 weeks ahead of schedule at 1 pound, 5 ounces. He is doing great thanks to a whole other set of technology – but again I can keep up with his progress online! The picture above is of him from last week – he is wearing his father’s wedding ring as a bracelet. What a beautiful picture. I love technology.
We are living in an incredible time of technology. Can you even imagine what the world will be like for our children as they become adults? Things have changed so much since we were in middle school….:)