See that green telephone? It’s been sitting on my desk for two years, and the number of times I’ve picked it up to make a call can be counted on the fingers of two hands. Why bother, when there is a sleek little contraption that lies on the desk right next to it that can do the same thing, and even enable me to take a walk while I’m at it? The telephone may not be obsolete quite yet, partly out of habit, partly because shrewd Internet Service Providers (ISPs) make you get one with your internet connection, but it is one of many objects that are slowly becoming a relic of the past as we progress.
A week ago, as part of their annual April Fool’s prank videos, Google released concepts for a mailbox that would keep your regular post warm, and send updates to your smartphone to alert you of waiting snail mail. The funny thing being, if someone actually made such a mailbox and put it on Kickstarter, chances are it would be pretty well received.
It also reminds us that the handwritten letter is now a thing of the past, not a necessity. Future generations are unlikely to remember us by going through clandestine correspondences locked away in dusty attics, but instead through our Facebook likes and Tinder swipes.
Floppy disks and their now laughable storage capacity also provide some humour when the current generation reacts to them (hey look, someone 3-D printed the ‘save’ icon!).
Some Facebook posts nostalgically display cassette players, touching upon how pencils were the tool of choice to fix cassettes when the tape winding went awry. Vinyl records and elegant gramophones transitioned into audio cassettes and Walkmans; the audio CD and even the iPod came and went, and now we live in an era of online music streaming and digital downloads, which have seen the music industry take a hit in recent years.
This progress however, is not always a bad thing, according to musician Yakzan Gary Pereira, “In the days of the audio cassette, availability was a problem, so we had to look far and wide and depend on others to get the music we wanted, with the only upside being that the money for the music did reach the artist. For musicians in general, progress has made our lives easier, as a project that needed 45 musicians and a space for them to perform earlier can now be done by one guy with the right tools. This is largely helpful, though it does affect the livelihood of orchestra performers.”
The heavy punches of the typewriter, its physical, sometimes, flawed impressions on paper, have made way for the soft clicks on keyboards that leave neat precise text on monitors. The short and succinct telegram made way for the Whatsapps, Kiks and WeChats of today.
But it is not just these objects and habits that we leave behind, but moments too. With information at our fingertips and influence stretching across the globe, the little things are soon forgotten. As downloads and video buffering become instantaneous, we rarely need to leave our desks behind for a break or a chat with a loved one, something we could afford to do while old dial-up internet connections loaded pages. While online shopping offers unlimited choice and insane discounts, the local bookstore owner shuts shop and leaves.
Speaking of books, the onslaught of e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle has threatened their turf too, though good old nostalgia has kept printed books alive so far. “Apart from issues like eye strain, I still prefer printed books for emotional reasons like the smell of the paper. The idea is that books are a sort of legacy, because you only buy the books you like and therefore your book collection reflects who you are and what tastes you have,” says Sherin Paul, a law student.
Our progress appears to have led us to a point where we are eager to move forward but reluctant to let go of our past. While Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality sound exciting, many miss the old days of 8-bit video games and handheld consoles, of browsing the shelves of quaint little bookstores and sitting down to write a heartfelt letter. Change is inevitable, and the objects and habits we love may eventually fall by the wayside, creating a brighter future, but also a rich past to look back and reflect upon fondly.
