Grim Predictions of Doom

It appears that when there is a new invention there are also prophets of doom who want to demonise anything new, as if they have an innate fear that it will be the ruin of civilized society. For example when Movies first began there was extremely strict censorship. If a man kissed a woman and they were near a bed, he had to keep one foot on the floor at all times so there was 'no funny business'.

The advent of Television was of a great concern, 'it will surely give people square eyes', they said. I see no squared eyed people yet.

Along came rock and roll. Elvis Presley was believed to have the power to corrupt a whole generation of young people as he gyrated on the stage. Even the Beatles were said to be harming the ears of the young, because they 'screamed loudly'. So did the fans I might add.

Even the advent of the motor car was of some concern. Apparently they were considered to be so dangerous that a man would run in front of the car waving a flag warning passers by.
As for the railway trains. There was a fear that the human body wouldn't be able to cope with moving at more that 30 miles per hour. Another railway warning stated that if the train travelled too fast the air would leave the carriages and people would suffocate.

Then there is the mini dress that Jean Shrimpton was dressed in when she appeared at the Races in Sydney. Apparently some fathers clapped their hands over their son's eyes so they would not become instantly corrupted. There is something there about responsibility for our own actions which I shall not go in to at the moment.

Computers once took up two or three rooms now they sit on the palms of our hands. Remember the Y2K bug in 2000, when it was thought the world as we know it might end?
Then came the Mobile Phone. I heard one man say that he often talked to himself and now felt quite 'normal' when he passed a mobile phone user as they looked to be doing the same thing.

Is society going down the drain through the use of the clothes dryer? No longer do we see neighbours hanging out their clothes on the Hills Hoist and stopping by for a chat.
The Ipod is now part of every day life, its easy to use and just slips in your pocket. The fear now is that Ipod users are becoming like Zombies, so intent on what they are listening to on their Ipods they are unaware of what is happening around them. Mabye all those old horror zombie movies are becoming true.

I love being in the 21st century and want to enjoy it for as long as I possibly can.

Glenniah