Stories such as these from my friends only serve to confirm my belief that at my age I don’t consider myself “old”, simply “a generation behind”

At my hometown’s elementary school the school Librarian was showing a picture of Statue of Liberty to Kindergarten students.

Asks them what she is holding. “A torch,” says one student. What’s in the other hand?”, she asks. “An iPad,” replies another. “Could be a laptop,” says a third student.

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The son of my friend’s hair stylist is a Sophomore studying Engineering at UMass Amherst’s Commonwealth College (an elite college within UMass Amherst which requires a separate admission and acceptance after being accepted to attend UMass… but, I digress).

In general, Sophomore year is the “make or break” year for Engineering students (it sure was for me!) and he’s struggling with the workload. His mom, while Skyping with him on a Wednesday night, noticed two things: The almost constant pinging of his cellphone from friends texting him; and his girlfriend (who also attends UMass) passing in and out of the room. When asked how often he checks his phone he said “every couple of minutes.” Later, she asked often his girlfriend visits and he replied every day since her dorm is nearby.

His mom told him that when his dad was in college back in 1983 they only saw each other on the weekends, never during the week. Her son then asked: “Well then, since you saw each other so seldom, how often did you text each other?”

Thanks for reading!