Technology Changes Everything
Last night was our annual watching of Home Alone. It's been a yearly tradition since I was nine, and it's only gotten more fun since my kids joined the tradition. We had a blast!
One of my favorite practices while watching older movies is to assess how the movie would be different if it were to take place in today's era of technology. Some movies wouldn't change much, while others would be completely different. Home Alone fits into the latter category. If this movie happened today, it wouldn't even be a movie.
First, the parents wouldn't be relying on their plug-in alarm clock. The power outage wouldn't negatively impact them. Instead, their iPhone would have woken them up as planned, they would have systematically and methodically transitioned out of the house, and Kevin would be hanging out at the Eiffel Tower the next day.
But let's say the power outage prevented their phone from charging, and it died in the middle of the night. Kevin still might have been left alone. However, the phone lines being down likely wouldn't have caused such a major issue. Instead, Mom would have called/FaceTimed Kevin, or literally any other person in their town. Boom, crisis averted. Now, the Wet Bandits still may have burglarized the house in the days to come, but Kevin probably wouldn't have set up his house of horrors to torture those two poor men.
Try this game next time you watch an old movie. It's so much fun! How would the move be different if it were made in today's technological era? For many movies, it literally reshapes (or ruins) the entire plot.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The teens would have been carrying cell phones in their pockets when the shrinking happened. Within a few minutes, they would have called/texted their parents to coordinate logistics.
Momento: Instead of relying on tattoos and Polaroid photos with writing on the back, he would have just jotted thoughts in his Notes app.
Psycho: Instead of checking into Bates Motel, a quick search of Google reviews would have been a decisive indicator that perhaps other arrangements should be made.
Technology changes everything. We can yearn for the good old days, wish it didn't exist, or simply call it evil. But it's not going away. It's here to stay, and it's advancing quicker than ever. Each of us can choose whether we use it for good or evil. We also get to decide whether to take advantage of it, or simply disregard it.
This blog is a perfect example. For very little cost, today's technology allows me to instantly distribute my ideas to thousands of people worldwide. On the flip side, today's technology allows thousands of people to easily access our content for zero cost. The e-mail automatically appears in their inbox, or the webpage is just a click away. What a world we live in!!
What technology can you use to magnify your impact? Take advantage of it! Be a positive force!