Technology Literacy Narrative

What is your earlist memory of using a computer, and what did you use it for?

There was always a computer in our home growing up (my father was, in those days, a self-employed programmer/consultant and bought an IBM XT in 1981), so I don't have a specific earliest memory. I do, however, remember being young -- maybe 4 or 5? -- and begging my dad to hook the TV up to the computer so I could play my games in color rather than in green monochrome. He would do that only occasionally, but when he did I would play with Delta Drawing and FaceMaker.

What is your earliest memory of using the internet to communicate with someone else? What was your intended purpose in that communication?

Very few people I knew had the internet when I first got access to it (1993ish), so my earliest communication memories involve things like IRC and talking to strangers. The main purpose was exploration of the new medium, but sometimes my best friend and I would go into a teenager chatroom and tell people we were thirteen (we were twelve).

How did who that person was (a friend, a relative, a teacher, etc.) shape the communication choices you made?

It was thrilling to think that we could represent ourselves any way we chose. Usually my choices were pretty tame -- like saying I was thirteen instead of twelve. I feel like my digital and "analog" identities have always been pretty integrated, and I'm not sure that my earliest communications had an effect on that either way.

What in your life (if anything) would change if you suddently were no longer able to communicate with others in digital ways?

I'd like to say something like, "I'd spend more time writing physical letters and talking on the phone," but I think the time spent on those things wouldn't increase proportionately, and my range of acquaintances would narrow. I also keep a blog and would miss it, both as an outlet for my random thoughts and a locus of community in my life.