Tech Through The Decades
Imagine you jump into a time machine and whirring all the way back to 1900. You step out of the time machine with the same clothes on, your phone, and your airpods in your ears listening to Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” while wearing MSCHF’s Big Red Boots.
Honestly, you would probably be labeled a witch and chased out of town. Just the thought of the phone would send anyone from the 1900’s into a mental spiral. As they look at you, think about the differences that they are seeing. They’re seeing an entirely different wardrobe(let’s be honest, skinny jeans would kill them too), they’re seeing technology that won’t be invented for another 100 years, and they’re seeing music coming out of seemingly nothing.
Think about that. Imagine seeing someone having music come out of their ears. That would be insane. The biggest technological advancement that was seen in 1900 was the Zeppelin which was basically a blimp. They didn’t even have airplanes.
From 1980 to 2024, the tech advances have been world changing, from the cell phone to modern television. People in their 60s have seen a lifetime of technology appear before their eyes, increasingly getting more awe inspiring. Technology hasn’t always been great, but today I’m going to show you the coolest inventions from the decades.
Nintendo Through the Decades
NES- The NES came out in 1985 and was a prominent part of most of Gen-Z’s parents' childhoods. This device was amazing. The graphics were 8-bit like most things in the 80s, but there were so many games that you could buy for the console.
One of the things that was super intriguing and made it more popular than some of the other gaming devices was that it had a multiplayer option. You could play with brothers, sisters, family members, friends, anyone you wanted. The controllers were super simple: Just a square with a few buttons on the front. This was innovative for the time era.
Gameboy- The Gameboy actually came out in 1989, but was the tech of the 90’s. Alongside all of the advancements with phones and mobile phones starting to come out, the gameboy resembled these changes and was ahead of its time. Although you still had to put cartridges into the device, the gameboy cartridges were super thin and could be easily taken anywhere. The Gameboy also was amazing for long distance car rides and had about 8 to 10 hours of playing time. Again, this was super amazing for its time.
Nintendo DS- The very first Nintendo DS came out in 2004 and was similar to the Gameboy, but it had better graphics and the screen could be closed. The first DS that came out had two screens, one a touch screen and the other a display screen. It was one of the first devices that held this type of technology and it was another device that had an amazing battery life. The controls on the Nintendo DS were similar to the Gameboy and the NES, except the DS had the large touch screen in the middle.
With technology evolving, many other companies followed suit with it. Following the Nintendo DS, the Playstation Portable(PSP) came out the next year. It had a similar design as well as the prominent touch screen.
Wii- The Wii actually came out in 2006 but was extremely popular throughout the 2010s. There were so many different types of games you could play with so many different accessories that you could buy. This console also allowed you to play with 4 players instead of the usual two. Since the Xbox had come out the year before in a similar fashion, the Wii outdid them with the ability to have streaming devices, pictures, internet access, and so much more.
With the Wii also came the WiiU which was a more interactive form of the Wii. Some games that were incredibly popular with the Wii were Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Super Mario Bros, and Zelda.
Nintendo Switch- The Switch is the newest gaming console that Nintendo offers, released in 2017. This console was a mixture of the DS, the Wii, and the WiiU. It allowed you to play with other people that aren’t in the house and allowed more controllers and people to play at a time. The device also included a touchscreen display that someone could play on while others used the television. The Switch hit its peak during 2020-2021 at the times of Covid-19 and games such as Animal Crossing and Overcooked became super popular. The Switch is still being sold today and many people have one in their home.
Biggest Tech Advances from each decade
1980s- The Nokia Cityman was a first of its kind mobile telephone. While the 80s already had established car phones and other inventions like it, the Nokia Cityman paved the way for a boom of mobile phones throughout the years. This phone weighed 790 grams and was also known as “The Brick”. It was incredible to be able to have a phone that someone could carry around and was one of the most popular phones of its decade. The phone didn’t come out until 1987, but only a few other phones existed previously in the decade.
1990s- Amazon was born on July 16, 1995, changing the world of shopping forever. Amazon made shopping easy; not only could you have your favorite items delivered right to your doorstep but you could buy almost anything. Amazon became the most popular online shopping website and its popularity continues to grow every year. There will never be another website such as Amazon that so many people use. It’s truly an amazing invention that came with the help of the first web browser being created in 1990. Fun fact: Amazon started as a book selling store and nothing more than that. It was just books. Now, the company is worth over a trillion dollars and employs over a million people nationwide.
2000-2010- The Iphone: let’s talk about it. The Iphone was one of the biggest technological advances that the world has ever seen. Steve Jobs originally came out with it in 2007 for a whopping price of 500 dollars for a mere 4 GB of storage. The Iphone wowed its users and people couldn’t believe that something like it existed. Instead of having a keyboard with physical buttons, the Iphone had an all digital keyboard that could be used for various uses. The phone even had a web browser built into it. Let’s not forget that the phone could also take selfies… we definitely needed that feature.
2011-present- Electric vehicles completely changed the way that the transportation system works. Whether it be a bus, a trash truck, or a normal car, electric vehicles have overtaken what the normal world once knew. Self driving cars, such as Tesla’s, have created the future that people have been imagining for years.
Owen Liskey, a student at Riley High School, has a Tesla in the family and loves it. He likes that it is reliable and also doesn’t use gas. When asked his opinion on Teslas, he said “ I think we should utilize electric vehicles more. Fuel emission is one of the worst things for the environment”. He’s definitely right about this one.
People of the past thought that we would have flying cars by now, but instead we have cars that can drive you anywhere you might want to go. It’s honestly insane. You can eat a whole Happy Meal in your car while your car drives you to work. You could even do your makeup in your car while your Tesla seamlessly drives through traffic, avoiding other cars and taking you to the right destination.
Future of Tech
AI is undoubtedly going to be the biggest part of tech in the near future. With companies already playing around with different types of AI and implementing it into phones and using it in schools and workplaces, AI is making life easier. The use of AI is quite terrifying though. With people constantly using AI to do their work for them, nobody is using the brain power that they have to complete simple tasks.
It’s scary because if AI is used in the wrong way, it could lead to the downfall of our society.
The future belongs to robots which have already been implemented throughout our society today, but it gets worse when AI is added as well.
Katherine Balog, the DIS at Riley High School, had a lot to say about AI. “My hope is that more people will start to understand how to use it as a tool but also understand how to identify when something has been AI generated.” She believes that AI is a positive, but can also be a negative as well.
I think the future of technology also involves flying cars. People have been saying this for ages, but I really think that it will be a possibility with all of the advancements that have been made. Having flying cars would change the way that transportation works. It would be awesome to get to work or school in such a short amount of time.
Katherine Balog, the DIS at Riley High School, had a lot to say about the future of technology. “My hope is that more people will start to understand how to use it as a tool but also understand how to identify when something has been AI generated.”
Another teacher at Riley High School also agrees with this. Terry Tonkel is an engineering teacher at Riley and works with computer programs quite often. He uses these programs to draw up diagrams and to make 3-d models.
One problem that he has faced in his classroom was actually the need to rely on a phone to learn something. “People are too reliant on having some kind of device getting the answers for them, we need to solve problems through our own logical analysis.” The use of technology and AI has skewed the way that classrooms look today.
Even though technology can be scary, it is the most useful invention that we know. We use technology every single day, and that will never change.
Technology is amazing. It can be a tool, a weapon, a resource, and a place for entertainment. Technology will continue to advance and we will get to see the evolution of technology over our lifetime, just like our grandparents did.