Twenty years ago, our daughter Bambi moved across the country to go to school. I was sad to see her go but was thankful that her move took place just as new types of communication technology was beginning to embed itself into households across the nation and around the world. Free email systems such as Yahoo and Hotmail were emerging as fun, fast and easy ways to connect with each other.

Bambi and I loved it. Even while we were able to chat and keep each other updated electronically, it was heart-breaking to think of loved-ones everywhere who had been separated before the age of technology. Letters were wonderful, loving keepsakes that spread news far and wide, but email, it turned out was the stuff of everyday interactions. Many resisted the use of email due to the casualness often used when composing an electronic letter, but I felt that it was the very fact that one could be less formal with email enabled us to keep current with otherwise little things and events, questions, answers, and observations of the day-to-day. Another thing Bambi and I used email for was a  chess game we played by using a modified Excel document.

One thing that propelled email forward and increased its popularity was that it was easy to use. My elderly parents were able to use something called an E-machine. It’s only function was email so it gave them an easy way to connect with friends.

Electronic communication began invading businesses as well. A large percentage of my workday became devoted to the care and maintenance of our company’s website.

Suddenly, it seemed a plethora of digital options became available. In addition to my computer and cell phone, I got a ‘Personal Digital Assistant’, or PDA. They were sort of a forerunner to the smart phones. A pink Motorola Razr was the next big phone step in my life. My daughter had a nifty phone called a Blackberry that both made calls and had email functions.

Technology advances

Another subtle shift in the technology wind came through the arrival of Smart Phones. My first smart phone was a DROID.

The advent of smart phones allowed more integration between electronic devices such as computers and later, tablets. We achieved a level of communication that had previously been displayed on cartoons such as the ‘Jetsons’. Software that allowed us to both see and hear the person we were talking with blossomed. Skype was the first one we used. It was free, so we downloaded it onto our computer as did our children and voila! It was amazing. We could actually see and hear our grandchildren on our computer screen when we visited.

Time moved along as two distinctly different operating systems made their own version for communicating. Apple’s iPhone developed ‘Facetime’ which worked wonderfully on any Apple device. Google came up with their own system, ‘Duo’. It was great to visit with our granddaughters using ‘Duo’ while they held a phone and were able to visit while moving around their living room instead of sitting still in front of a computer.

Due to this modern, mobile age, much of our family—like so many others, are living in other states and countries. Technology brought an unexpected blessing. When my Mama passed away, some family members were able to attend the memorial service by using Facetime. We set up two iPads on the front pew and everyone could see and hear quite well. Last summer, we were delighted to be able to witness our daughter’s wedding in North Carolina on an iPad when we were 750 miles away in Connecticut. Other family members watched from Canada 1,500 miles away. We used Facetime again a few months later when my youngest brother died in a motorcycle accident.

Facebook then moved the video bar forward with ‘Facebook Live’. Even though it isn’t like ‘Facetime’ where we can visit in real time. You can view the video and post comments. Unfortunately, we were able to see the benefit of ‘Facebook Live’ eight months later my other brother died in a car accident in California, and again, many family members were unable to travel to the memorial. Our niece used  ‘Facebook Live’ to video the entire service. It was wonderful to not only watch the videos, but to also comment and read the comments of others. Technology has indeed caused the world to become much smaller and more intimate. Ain’t technology great?