Remember AOL?
I do. I remember all the CDs you could get everywhere, upload them to your computer and listen for that high-pitched modem sound. The Internet was at your fingertips, as long as someone didn’t pick up the house phone.
Over the past few years I’ve dealt with some people who STILL have AOL email addresses. AOL made everything so easy with it’s “You Got Mail” and other fun links and quirky buttons but it seems they made it too easy. They have stunted the technological growth of its users. Far too many times I’ve had to deal with AOL users and they cannot seem to grasp modern technology. They don’t know how to work their phones, look up things properly on the internet or use their DVR. I think I heard “Um, how do I get to the internet on your computer without the AOL icon?”, “How do I know if I have email if it doesn’t say it out loud?” and the ever memorable “Can I get my new email address to say ‘You have mail?'”.
I know it probably is some kind of sterotype and I’m being an AOList or something but come on people. With all of the new systems and offers of speed and storage, come on out of the 90s and into the new millenium. I’ve helped a couple people across the bridge and they are taking baby steps (of course they are) but one day soon they’ll even know how to troubleshoot their Wi-Fi router or use an iPhone.
Do you know someone who needs a technology intervention? Check your email contact address book, find the person with the AOL address and think about your interactions with them. Seriously, its’ true. I couldn’t make this shit up.
A Dog-Eared Life 