After spending a significant portion of his life in prison, this man was shocked when he first walked around Times Square.

While admiring the spectacular fireworks, Otis Johnson appeared to comprehend how much he had missed out on while serving 44 years in prison.

He was left wondering if the smartphone-wielding visitors were hiding CIA spies due to the headphone cords wrapped around their necks, entirely ignorant of Apple’s rise to tech behemoth status.

Is it really surprising that Johnson missed out on the digital revolution due to his imprisonment in 1970?

This is a person who has most likely never heard of Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or Jeff Bezos…for better or worse.

Johnson was imprisoned at the age of 25 for attempting to murder a police officer in New York in May 1970, and he was 69 years old when he was released.

The former martial arts instructor never admitted to the crime and maintained his innocence, previously asking Dazed, “Why would a man shoot at a police officer and then stand on the corner talking to people wearing the same clothes?”

Johnson stated that upon his release from jail in 2014, he was given an ID, paperwork about his criminal case history, two bus tickets, and $40 (£32.04).

“Prison affected me a lot,” he told Al Jazeera 12 months after his release. “My re-entry was a little bit hard at first, because things have changed.”

You may repeat it again: when Johnson was first imprisoned, the first mobile phone had not yet been developed, and he was many decades away from the development of the iPhone.

So you can understand his surprise when he spotted bright billboards all over Times Square, as well as his suspicion that individuals hooked to their devices were government operatives.

When Johnson first saw the astonishing sights at the tech-drenched tourist magnet, he commented on the ads on the windows. I’ve never seen something like this before! Look! What’s going on with the windows?

“We haven’t seen anything on any windows but people walking by—not any video,” he chuckled before offering his opinions on those that went by the street.

“I was looking at the atmosphere, the new things that were happening, and I saw that the majority of people were talking to themselves,” according to him.

“Then I looked closer, and they appeared to have something in their ears. I’m uncertain about the name of those devices—are they iPhones, or something else?

“I thought, ‘What, everybody becomes CIA operatives or anything like that?’ When I see someone walking around with wires in their ears, that’s the only thought that comes to mind.” That’s what I remember from my time in the 1960s and 1970s.

Johnson was particularly perplexed by the fact that people could ‘walk and chat on their phone without even noticing where they’re going.

“That was amazing to me,” he said, referring to the street performers that frequent Times Square: “I’ve been standing out here for a long time watching this crazy stuff.”

While Johnson was inside, not only had technology advanced, but the cost of placing a call on a pay phone had increased by 75%.

“I remember this when I first got out,” he said, smiling. “I was about to make a call when I saw the $1 item. It was what? 25 cents when I left.”

In addition, Johnson was surprised to see how many more goods were in grocery aisles in the United States than in the late 1960s.

“I eat different things now because I’m looking at all this crazy stuff they got,” he told me. He mentioned the amusing meals and the varied-colored beverages.

“There are so many things to eat, it’s difficult to choose what you want. For example, did the peanut butter include jelly in it?

“And I’d never seen something like it before, and it certainly wasn’t in the jail system. Peanut butter and jelly together in a jar? “That was strange.”

He was delighted to learn that Skippy’s peanut butter, a condiment he remembered well from his childhood, was still available on the market.

Despite the loss of some of his favorite treats, Johnson was overjoyed to finally be free.

“Being part of society is a wonderful feeling. Inside the jail, you can only leave at particular times. So I enjoy being in the sun and observing others. It’s nice. It’s beneficial to be free.”

Hearing Johnson’s point of view may cause you to reconsider your excessive screen usage.