That Was Then And This Is Now!

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There is currently an informational advert on UK television warning children of the dangers of sending compromising pictures of themselves to friends/acquaintances as a bit of a laugh. It got me thinking about how things have changed since I was a youngster. These days, with a few button presses you can expose yourself to a global audience within seconds. During my childhood these sort of things were limited to a quick "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" session behind the bike sheds. If you required a wider audience then it usually required a dirty raincoat, a visit to the local park and humiliation when the local girls pointed, laughed and screeched "Is that all you've got?" Even less furtive pastimes were a complete minefield. These days, a romance can blossom via phone, text and social media access from the comfort, safety and, most importantly, privacy of a bedroom. As a teenager, the only phone I had access to was connected to a land-line and placed in a prominent position in the sitting room. Whispering sweet nothings to my latest girlfriend wasn't really an option when it would have to be conducted against a backdrop of The Black and White Minstrel Show blaring from the TV and my big sister trying to wrestle the mouthpiece away from me to make exaggerated kissing noises down it!! The only other option was the public phone box. And where I lived, more often than not, it was no option. Assuming it hadn't been vandalised beyond use it was difficult to hold a romantic conversation with the wind whistling through the broken glass and the local drunk trying to evict me as he needed to go to the toilet. Modern communication technology may be blamed for many of society's ills. But it doesn't half make life easier for the current day Romeo and Juliet!!