Like every other Christmas for the last several years, we left the high tech metropolis for the much more pastoral setting of
In the past, technology divided more than it united. Teenage nephews would spend hours alone in the basement playing video games no one else enjoyed. Smaller children could only watch, and pose for, the adults who monopolized cameras. Teenage nieces would complain because the phone line was occupied. By adults who were spending hours checking e-mail through dial-up.
This year, technology brought people together in ways that demonstrate the dramatic changes that occur when it becomes available or affordable or, most important, easy to use.
An obvious example was the Nintendo Wii which my nephew brought. Rather than installing it in the basement, he set it up in the living room. At first, only the young ’uns, had a go. But soon uncles and aunts were drawn in by the simplicity of operating the game, and the physical motions that replicated activities they knew well, notably golf and bowling.
The Wii phenomenon is well documented, and is causing interesting changes in behavior. One of the more fascinating is the attempt being made by one blogger to see if his Wii “workout” will result in weight loss.
Aside from video games, we saw digital photography go way, way down market, into the hands of my three-year old daughter. Her new Fisher-Price camera is a marvel of simplicity and user-centric design, notably the big hand grips and two-eye viewing. It gave her the ability to participate in the ritual of documenting family gatherings, admittedly from an angle that places crotches in the foreground. The camera’s delete button is also easy to find.
The most significant change, however, was the presence of broadband in my mother-in-law’s house. She recently signed up, adding to the incremental growth in at-home Internet usage (3.1% in the
Access improved with the arrival of our nephew who, before he had unpacked his bags and well before he set up the Wii, configured a wireless hub. That enabled us to make full use of the Internet. At times, we had four laptops connected, with notable social benefits. The nephew could play multi-player games with friends. Our brother-in-law could manage his sales forecast and check updates on his beloved Packers… from the sofa while still interacting with others. We could download recipes and stay in touch with e-mail. And, when a medical emergency necessitated a hospital visit, we could check medical symptoms online.
The personal benefits enjoyed by our family as a result of broadband have much broader implications. According to eMarketer’s estimates, “an important milestone will be reached over the next 12 months — high-speed Internet penetration will surpass 50% of
According to eMarketer analyst Ben Macklin, “Broadband is now no longer about the size of your pipe, but how you use it.”
Based on what I saw over the holidays, the uses will be varied and defined by the users, which now include my three-year-old daughter and 80-year-old mother-in-law.
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