Changes
According to those who study social trends, it appears that things are changing. In the ‘old days’ kids had to have a license to drive as soon as they turned sixteen. Today’s coming-of-age generation seems to be a lot less interested in having a car. Many of those who live in cities ride a bike instead of a car. And those who have a license to drive forego owing a car preferring the share-a-car idea now popping up everywhere. If the trend continues, it’s only a matter of time before huge cars are relegated to the dinosaur pile.
When I was charged with emptying a relative’s home after she moved into a care facility I was in for a surprise. She has exquisite things that I know for a fact cost a small fortune to acquire, but I had trouble getting anyone interested. For example, I was told by antique dealers that a set of superb gold-trimmed china is something nobody wants these days. And I hear the same type of remarks from boomers looking to downsize. Today’s younger generation is looking for dishes that can be washed in the dishwasher, so no gold trim. And they certainly will not spend time polishing silver.
And because of the forever-speeding-ahead technological advances those following us don’t own the things we had to have. We bought vinyl records and then CDs, VHSs then DVDs to enjoy in our home, and today find ourselves with piles and piles of them. By contrast, today everything is digital so the new generation downloads the music they want to hear and therefore there are no actual physical CDs to deal with. The same for movies. Today, young people simply choose the movie they want to see from the choices offered through television and wireless devices. Long gone are the days when you bought DVDs or had to go to the video store to rent a movie.
And with advances in photography, physical photos are becoming a thing of the past. Photos are available for viewing on phones, laptops, or tablets, not in photo albums like we used to keep them. There are some advantages to having photos stored electronically. They don’t fade or yellow like our photos have tended to do over the years. So will our kids appreciate getting all our old photo albums? Probably not. To circumvent the problem, I had all my old photos and slides (remember those?) transferred unto CDs and gave one to each of my children at Christmas. They really appreciated the gesture, and it is something they can pass on to their own children later on. Although, that might be a problem. I am told that CDs are becoming a thing of the past as many new computers don’t even have ports for them. Today it’s flash drives.
So what will happen to the CDs of photos I gave my children if their children can’t view them? I don’t worry about it; I’m sure someday they will be able to transfer them into some form of cyber storage. However, I do worry about getting rid of some of my things when I downsize.
If I have a yard sale, the new generation will certainly not show up. Young people seem quite satisfied to travel light.
