Color TV with remote control!

Remember Saying “Color TV”?

Once upon a time, families gathered around something called a “color TV.” That’s not a typo – it wasn’t just a “TV,” because not all televisions were color. Some were still black and white. So if you had a color television, you let people know. It was a big deal. A badge of progress. But rapid moving technology changes our words, and our world!

Fast forward to today: nobody calls it a “color TV” anymore. It’s just a TV. Why? Because the technology evolved. Black-and-white sets disappeared. What was once new and revolutionary became the standard—and when that happens, the words we use change too.

The cycle continues…

We’ve seen this cycle repeat countless times in tech: We used to say “smartphone” to distinguish it from “cell phone.” Now, nearly all phones are smart. Think about how saying “Digital camera” was once essential to distinguish the ones that didn’t need film. Now, we just say “camera”, and often we mean the one on our phone.

Remember “hi-speed internet”? That phrase has faded, because we expect speed as the baseline. You see, technology doesn’t just shift our habits; it reshapes our language. It reminds us that what’s cutting edge today will likely become everyday tomorrow.

Rapid moving innovation

The reshaping of our language is a good reminder—especially for those of us in tech or education—not to get too attached to how things are right now. The tools will change. The words will change. And if we want to stay connected with people, we’ll need to change with them. New innovation will fuel new ways of doing life, and we will realize that we have moved on to just another version of a technology we already have. So the next time you hear someone mention an “HD TV,” smile. It might not be long before we just call it…TV again.