Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

Man released from prison after 44 years is amazed at modern technology

otis johnson al jazeera
YouTube/Al Jazeera English

Otis Johnson went to jail at the age of 25, after he was convicted for assault and attempted murder on a police officer.

Advertisement

Now, after 44 years in prison, the 69-year-old is back among society. And he's fascinated by the way we've changed technology and how technology has changed us.

"I got off at Times Square and I was looking at the atmosphere, the new things that was happening," Johnson said in an Al Jazeera video feature.

"I see that the majority of people were talking to themselves. Then I looked closely and they seemed to have things in their ears. I don’t know the things, the phone things… iPhones they call them, or something like that. And I thought in my mind, what, everybody became CIA or agents or some stuff like that? Because that’s the only thing I could think of, someone walking around with wires in their ears... that’s what they had when I was out during the 60s and 70s."

Johnson makes particular note of how people walking down the street in Times Square weren't even looking where they were going.

Advertisement

"I’m trying to figure out how people do that: control themselves to walk and talk on the phone without even looking where they’re going," he said. "That was amazing to me."

Even grocery stores seemed completely alien.

"I eat different things now," Johnson said. "I look at all this crazy stuff they got [at the grocery store], so I'll try [new things] every once in awhile. The funny dinners, different colored drinks, what do you call that? The gator stuff. Pink, blue, all those different colors... I'll drink that every once in awhile just because it looks funny."

Al Jazeera's video feature on Johnson is excellent and absolutely worth your time. Check it out below.

Technology Society Culture
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account