An Old vs (Post)Modern Friday Five

Yesterday I had two separate conversations in which people were musing about how much change is occurring. The WW II generation, of which my mom is a part, went from horse and buggy to automobiles, saw the lessening, or even the end of many diseases, went from widespread use of kerosene lamps and outhouses (in the country, and most folks were rural)) to a totally electrified and plumbed society. The fastest means of communication was a telegraph. The second conversation--gulp--was about MY generation and how much change occurred in the last half of the 20th century. The person said his 13 year old had not seen a vinyl record album until a few days before, couldn't remember a time without cell phones, and on and on.
As for the questions!

1. What modern convenience/invention could you absolutely, positively not live without? Major appliances (fridge, stove, washer,dryer). Many other things would take a lot of readjusting but these would be very very difficult to lose.
2. What modern convenience/invention do you wish had never seen the light of day? Why? I think I would have to say the cell phone, and all that follwed from them. WHat is with this belief that we need to be available all the time? ANd why do we expect others to be always available? No wonder so many people are overworked.
3. Do you own a music-playing device older than a CD player? More than one? If so, do you use it (them)? The stereo has a dual cassette deck which is only used a very little bit. And the 11-year-old car (2nd vehicle) we just bought yesterday has AM/FM/cassette as a stereo so any trips in it will need tapes...
4. Do you find the rapid change in our world exciting, scary, a mix...or something else? Given those choices I would have to say a mix.
5. What did our forebears have that we have lost and you'd like to regain? Bonus points if you have a suggestion of how to begin that process. This is a tough one. It is so easy to over-romanticize the days of yore/bygone eras. But time. Time with each other I think has declined over the years. But this is osmething we do in fact have teh ability to control. It has to do with priorities. When I was a teen there were many nights in our house where 2 people eating supper at the same time was a bonus. But my parents decreed (to the slight objections of my sister and I) that Sunday night supper would be a family event. It was a good thing.