Harold Goldstein
Hi. My name is Harold. I’m an addict. Not to alcohol, but to technology.No matter what, I always have to be around something technological. Whether it’s a laptop or a television set, I can’t stay away from them.There used to be a time when all I did was read books. Now, I’m either downloading music on my computer or playing video games until after midnight.Technology has gone from a revolutionary tool to a distraction, in my eyes. I feel more entertained looking at someone’s MySpace profile or checking out a YouTube video than taking a walk outside and enjoying the evening breeze.When I ride the bus to school every day, I see so many people who have the same addiction. Kids with iPod headphones in their ears, people chatting constantly on their cell phones – even the buses have television monitors bolted to the walls so people will be entertained along the ride.No one finds the time to just sit down and watch the grass grow. Board games have become a thing of the past. At dinnertime, we’d rather sit down and watch TV instead of talking about how the day was.Technology is entertaining and innovative, but in my case, it has turned into a distraction that keeps me from doing what I’m supposed to be doing, such as trying to get through school or maybe even find the time to get a driver’s permit.With technology by my side, the only thing I’ll be able to do is keep myself entertained without doing anything else. I do have a technological disease, and I’m not sure when I’ll be cured from it.One thing I do know is that it is reaching down to the younger set. A mother in my dance class brings her 6-year-old son in to participate in the teacher’s activities. When the boy wouldn’t participate, she threatened to take away his “dot com” time.If this doesn’t prove my point, I don’t think anything will.