Well, we did it. We bought a new widescreen TV and signed up for HD service.
I didn't want to do it. I resist any technological "advance" that requires all of us to spend a lot of money. It took me a long time to switch from cassette tapes to CDs because I had all my favorite music on cassettes. (Much of it recorded off LPs that I checked out from the library.) I wouldn't have made the change in TV services at all, except that (1) the cable company keeps doing this thing where they price the low-tech offerings higher than the high-tech offerings (for the first six months, anyway) to force you to upgrade, (2) I could see that I was missing the left and right end of the screen in some TV shows, which meant I was missing most of Harry Shum's scenes on Glee, and (3) our old CRT TVs were heading into their second decade and were not as responsive as they once were.
We're all in now. We've got the HDTV, we've got the DVR, we've got the fancy premium channels (they were "free" with the upgrade, which I'm smart enough to be suspicious of). We've got everything except the time to watch TV, which is a separate issue.
And, as I feared, it is messing up my mind. At first, the clarity of high definition really jumped out at me, and the screen proportions seemed odd -- too wide for the height. Now I look at the remaining old TV, which is now in the living room, and the picture seems small and fuzzy and really square. The TV that seemed huge and crystal clear 10 years ago now looks so quaint, like it should be showing test patterns and Howdy Doody. I've been watching 4:3 TV for decades and now suddenly it's not good enough.
My brain has adapted, but my heart has not. I don't like this. I don't like how quickly we become dissatisfied with things that seemed state of the art not so long ago. I don't like that the cycle of obsolescence is becoming shorter and shorter. My two older girls have had their current cell phones for two years and already they are dying for new ones. In 2008, they squealed with delight when they opened the boxes; in 2010, they toss their phones around like old rags and complain about how sloooow they are. Our wireless provider helpfully offers a "free" phone every two years, which makes it hard for me to use the argument that we can't afford new phones. The girls don't quite hear me when I say that there are activation fees and accessories that we do need to pay for, and that the system requirements of new phones demand that we upgrade to a more expensive plan. I thought I was being pretty cool when I gave them unlimited texting. Now they want unlimited data.
I am trying not to be a square -- ha! that expression has new meaning for me now -- but sometimes technology just seems to be a big time and money suck. I am happy with my old washing machine that does not have a computer inside it to go awry. I like analog clocks. I liked my old Volvo. I like machines I can open up and tinker with. And I don't like replacing machines that still work just because they're outdated.
On the other hand, Harry Shum's abs really are fabulous.
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