Everyone can be accused of using technology to make their lives more convenient.
The payphone is becoming obsolete (if it hasn’t already) because of the cellular phone.
Communication in the office has been affected by online messenger services as co-workers can communicate using their computers.
There are some grocery stores in larger cities that have automated checkout stands.
The train has become less fashionable with automobiles and airplanes and social media has had an impact on the dissemination of news.
Streaming and downloading video has impacted video stores across North America with closures for stores of chains like Blockbuster and Rogers Video and despite being a smaller city, Grand Forks will not be immune as the Video Express on Central Avenue has announced that it will close permanently in about five weeks.
The aforementioned streaming services, i.e. Shaw on Demand and Netflix, were part of the reason fewer customers were physically renting movies – movies can even be streamed to cell phones now.
Nevertheless, people shouldn’t completely let their lives be run by technology and there are other benefits besides supporting local business.
According to The Obesity in Canada report released in June 2011, there are somewhere between 24.3 to 25.4 per cent of Canadian adults considered obese while there are 8.6 per cent of children and youth between the ages of six and 17 years.
Furthermore, the report said that obesity rates for both women and men roughly doubled between 1981 and 2007/09 for most age groups for adult and youth.
Sedentary lifestyles – where there is a lot of sitting and less physical activity – are becoming more commonplace and with video on demand and streaming services, it’s easy to see why.
People can “rent” a movie from the convenience of their own homes and some may see renting videos as an inconvenience as they have to physically get up and head to the store to rent and get up and head back to the store to return.
But something as seemingly insignificant as going to rent a movie still requires physical action and is good for you. There are a lot of rural areas in Grand Forks and Christina Lake, so it might not be that convenient to get up and walk to the store but there are plenty of trails to use for exercise and doing so will be of great benefit.
