Technology has Changed so Much

Atari 2600

My 6-year-old grandson came to visit on a recent weekend. One of the things he wanted to do was play video games on his uncle’s Switch (it might be a Switch 2; I can't keep up). He's coming for Thanksgiving, too, and I'm sure will want to play video games with his uncle then, too.

I realized he’s never lived in a world without video games or the internet or small portable screens, and big-screen televisions a couple of inches thick, if that. His father and uncles had video games but not handheld ones until the Gameboy came out.

I remember seeing my first arcade game at about age 15. It was a space thing that was a blatant rip off of Star Trek.  I specifically remember playing "Tank" on an arcade for a quarter.  I didn’t have home video games until I bought an Atari 2600 when I was 21 or 22. I remember circa 1994 (I was 33) learning about email and then the internet. Now look at me, blogging and stuff.

I stopped playing video games about the time I turned 50. I kept dying because I couldn't react fast enough. It was no longer fun. Although I did play "Angry Birds" on my phone. Even that was a long time ago.

My point: my grandson will grow up with stuff I never had. His parents are smart and limit his game time and his "tablet time." And I noticed he plays mostly educational games on his tablet. I just hope he gets to enjoy some of the joys of my childhood: playing outside and riding my bicycle all over the neighborhood.

When did you first play video games? How old were you? Let me know in the comments below.