From Nokia to Blackberry : How Malaysian children changed.

I got my first mobile phone when I was 15 years old. It wasn't mine alone mind you. It belonged to me, my sister and my brother. It was a Nokia 3310. Almost everyone my age had a Nokia 3310 as a first phone. That was in 2003. Fast forward to 2011, my 15 year old brother uses a Blackberry Curve 8520. Nothing spectacularly advanced but still, it was better than my Nokia 3310.  You may say that times have changed and that a Blackberry Curve is an entry level phone but still, there are cheaper phones around. The Nokia 3310 was the cheapest phone around when my dad bought it for us.

My 16 year old cousin uses a Blackberry Torch. My girlfriend's two 5 and 6 year old cousins own an iPad 2 each. My 5 year old cousin owns a first generation iPhone (it was his dad's but still, it's an iPhone) . My......*the list goes on and on*.

Nowadays when my young young cousins come over, they would play electronic devices to keep them busy if there were no toys around. I remember vividly how different it was for me when I was their age. If there were no toys around, my cousins and I would play traditional Malaysian games like Galah Panjang and Polis sentri or perhaps even PepsiCola. 

How things have changed. 2011 is about to close its doors. I am 23 and I will be finishing with my studies in 3 short months. 

Every time when I am at my grandparent's, I would pause and stare at them for a while. They do look very old. I still remember how they were when I was still very young. My grandmothers from both sides would take me out by taxi to the marketplace while my grandfather would constantly move about the house doing god knows what. Now they just sit down, watch us move about and smile. 

When I have kids, I'll make sure they know what Galah Panjang is. I'll make sure they know how to play PepsiCola. I'll make sure they know how to create a rubber slingshot with folded paper for "bullets''. I'll make sure they go 3310 first before they go all 9900 or 3Gs :).