Life Without
Computers
Written March 2003
Computers play a
major role in life today. Can you imagine waking up and finding an
absence of computers? Think about it for a moment. Without computers,
those computer games that children so love would be gone. Research would
be harder to do and more limited. And all those people from across the
globe that you’ve met over the computer? You wouldn’t know them.
In the past, children played with toys such as dolls
and action figures. In the past years, however, computer games have
become popular. From the days of Atari’s Qix and Pacman to today’s The
SIMS and Diablo 2, computer games entertain children for hours at a
time. Children love to control virtual people’s lives, kill bad guys,
and beat levels to get their names on high score tables. Imagine that
computers were gone. Poof! No more computer games for children. No more
virtual fun.
In the past, all research was done by use of books.
Researchers were limited to what information was in the books they could
get a hold of, whether by use of library, bookstore, or private
collection. People have described that researching as a pain. With
computers, there are millions of pieces of information right at the
click of a mouse. Websites and computer encyclopedias obtain information
on every topic imaginable, and it’s all available to anyone who needs
it. Imagine that computers were gone. Poof! We’re back to book
research. We’re back to having our available information limited.
In the past, the people you knew were the people you
lived near. The only way you could contact someone far away was by
letter or phone. Now, with computers and their Internet, we meet people
from all over the globe. Friends are often international, and talking to
them is quick and easy—an e-mail or an instant message can be sent in
the blink of an eye. Friends from far away are easier to keep in
contact with. Imagine that computers were gone. Poof! Those
international friends are gone. Contact to people far away is back to
letter or phone. Your acquaintances are limited to those around you.
Computers do so much for us! Their games entertain
us. Their banks of information help us with quick, easy, and broad
research. Their Internet allows us to make far away friends and keep in
contact with them. Without computers, we would have none of this.