Usually I don't watch "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

It's not that I dislike the show or anything, but it's just not on my must-see TV list.

But a few weeks ago "Oprah's Favorite Things for Spring" caught my eye.

After the segment on neon pink flowered flip-flops, Oprah introduced a new gadget to her millions of viewers.

It was the Apple iPod - a small mp3 player that stores thousands of songs.

After one of Oprah's assistants demonstrated how to download songs onto the gadget, I just sat there with a blank expression on my face.

Why?

Because I was thinking, "What the hell? Since when do we need all this crap technology that just makes us lazier?"

Like it wasn't easy enough to one, choose a compact disc by your favorite artist and then two, put it in your compact disc player and three, hit the play button.

Now we have to carry around literally thousands of music choices on a $399 contraption. When is this going to stop?

There are so many new and improved technologies hitting stores on a daily basis. How could anyone keep up, and why would they?

Remember when VHS lasted for more than a decade? DVD has only been mainstream for a few years, yet technology is changing so quickly that it will most likely be replaced by some mini-mini compact disc in the near future.

I just don't think our society needs all this stuff.

I don't care how obsolete it is, I will never get rid of my VHS player. I have invested way too many hours copying movies from TV and buying my favorite movie releases on tape.

But DVD is so much better you say? Well I'm sorry, but watching the movie is enough for me. I just don't need six extra hours of behind-the-scenes interviews with the stars.

And why do you? Do people honestly have that much time on their hands, or are they just going to buy this crap because everyone else is?

But it's getting harder for my kind to survive - case-in-point, Blockbuster.

It used to be VHS and DVD sat equally on the shelves of new releases, but not anymore my friend. DVDs for sale or to rent encompass the greater portion of the store's capacity nowadays.

I remember when buying a VHS cost some real money. Now it seems like stores are throwing them away.

By this point you might think I'm ancient, spouting off how it was better in the good ol' days. OK, so that's what I'm doing, but hear me out.

What about the remote control for your car's radio? I'm guessing the point of that invention was to make sure drivers were not distracted while they turned their radio dial.

But doesn't looking at which button you are hitting on the remote take the same amount of time

as hitting the scan button on the radio? Is this really preventing us from any danger? The answer is no.

Now, I'm not saying all technology is bad; the World Wide Web has completely transformed the way society functions, and it's for the better.

I admit that I check my e-mail at least a dozen times a day - I mean a dozen times an hour. I've always been bad at calling people, but with my "trusty" e-mail, I can send my friends a hello message whenever I get some downtime.

And of course who can't wait for their latest spam e-mail to magically appear in their inbox?

I personally don't know where I would be without my daily reminder to increase my breast size.

I like the Internet for shopping, because sadly, I sometimes just don't have time to go to the real Gap.

With online size charts and special sale prices, who can go wrong?

But I draw the line at the ridiculous technologies plaguing society these days.

So if you happen to be in the aisles of Best Buy, shopping for the latest cell phone that couples as a camera, e-mail and video game please, just put it down and slowly walk away. Ask yourself when was the last time you wanted to take a picture, but you only had your trusty cell phone on you? Unless you're an actor in one of those Verizon Wireless commercials, I doubt you could think of one.

If you want to invite Stephanie Korneffel over for a nice viewing of Almost Famous on VHS, e-mail her at korneff2@msu.edu.