I’ve always prided myself in being computer literate and able to figure out new adventures such as blogging and social media. After all, lots of folks my age never had the advantage of working in a company where computers were the only way to get things done. I was blessed to get years of on-the-job education and training that kept me current with the ever-changing modern technology.
But lately I’ve begun to dig in my heels. A lot of what is happening these days is unnecessary and ridiculously isolating. Think of all those folks who won’t make eye contact with you because they’re looking at their phone or watch. Think of the guy who walked right in front of my moving car a few weeks ago because he decided to jog across the street in the middle of the block, his attention on whatever his handheld gadget was. I missed him by a hair, and I’m not sure he even noticed.
So here’s my plan. I’m going to take a different path and admit I’m becoming an old fogie. No, I won’t go back to using a typewriter, but….
I’m keeping my dumb phone.
I like my dumb watch just fine.
I refuse to wear one of those fitness devices that measures things going on in my body or the number of steps I take each day.
When I use my recumbent exercise bike, I will not turn on the heart monitor or enter my weight to check calories burned. I ignore everything except the time and the resistance level.
The only touch screen I use is on my Samsung Galaxy 4 Nook tablet. And to be perfectly honest, I don’t use it that much. It’s great for travel and for reading an ebook downloaded from the library, but I’m more of a hands-on printed hardcover reader when I’m not on the road.
We will never buy a car that drives itself, including one that parallel parks without my intervention.
I don’t want all my computers and devices hooked to the same cloud where all my activity can be monitored in greater detail than it already is.
I will not buy a drone, even for fun.
Nor will I purchase a robot (or a synth–if you’ve been watching Humans on AMC, you’ll know what I’m talking about…they’re just too creepy).
And I do not want that super, duper, special new thermostat installed that would allow our utility company to control our energy usage.
Have I forgotten anything?
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In case I don’t get around to posting on Wednesday, please come back on Thursday when my special guest blogger is Lois Winston, author of the Anastasia Pollack mystery series (and she writes in lots of other genres, too).
Ha! Great post. I keep things simple and use my clunker of a PC running Windows 97 over my new PC and iMac. But I do need to keep my wormhole in tip top shape. It’s in the shop this weekend getting fine tuned with upgrades and all.
Hmmm, my linkback doesn’t seem to be working. Maybe I need to take that into the shop too.
Stephen Tremp
http://www.stephen.tremp.com
Must be all the vino. Maybe I need to go into the shop. Let’s try again.
Stephen Tremp
http://www.stephentremp.com
Geesh, I’m jealous, Stephen. I wish I had a wormhole. That way I could avoid airports and airplanes, long car travel, and so much more.
Your link worked on the replies to your comment so the first glitch must have been one of those computer gremlins sneaking in while you were sipping that good California red. By the way, I love your avatar. It says so much about you! 😀
Well said, Patricia. When dining out, I see so many people eating “together” who are staring at their phone the entire meal instead of talking. This rude behavior extends to entire families. And, no, I don’t want to see a photo of your food. I believe our gadgets are to enhance our lives, not control them. Unless you’re a writer, in which case we are slaves to our computers.
Hi Caroline! I wasted over a month on computer issues with a brand new desktop and am just now getting my routine back to normal, so I’m in total agreement with your comment about being a slave to that piece of technology. Even with the craziness, I would still hate to go back to a typewriter….and carbon copies….and Liquid Paper. 😀
I like picking and choosing my technology, and I try not to use the cloud. However, on the cloud side of things . . . teachers at universities are now having students upload their assignments to virtual google sites for review and feedback. I’ve had students at the high school level request this, and I only teach small groups of home-school students once a week. I can see the convenience and the paper-saving blessing of it, especially since I make my students turn in three drafts plus pre-writing and checklists. But, I still like paper. I see more on paper than I do on a screen – maybe it’s my eyes, and maybe it’s training. I’m not sure. I’m also a far more formal writer on paper. (Notice all my bad grammar in this comment box – terrible stuff.)
Although I don’t want a car that parks for me, or drives for me (why not ride a bus, then?), my husband is involved with a project that helps individual drivers tweak the computers in their cars so they can either get higher fuel efficiency or faster speed. Most cars have computers for the anti-lock braking system, power steering, automatic transmission, etc. so the level of technology is the only choice we really have, unless we all choose to drive antique cars. My dad, who used to be an airplane mechanic and who loves to work with engines, refused to get a new car for many, many years because he didn’t want one with any computerized electronics. However, his rheumatoid arthritis made it hard on him to keep working on the engine, so he sold his 80s rig and bought a 2006 Ford, a simple enough car, but still it has a computerized chip to control the brakes, fuel system, etc. just like all modern cars have.
It really is a matter of choice. How much time, money, and thought do we want to spend on technology or the avoidance of it? We all have to come up with our own answers on that, but I hope that we all put our phones/screens down for at least a few hours every day and think about our choices.
Yikes! Sorry for writing a book, Patricia. You got me really thinking about this . . .
LOL — now that’s the joy of having a blog when we actually write something that makes people think.
I realize our hybrid car is pretty smart compared to the old Firebird I had many years ago, but it’s these crazy ideas about cars that can clog up the highways without any humans inside at all that worry me the most. And yes, I have used some Google sharing sites like the Calendar, so I don’t live totally free of the cloud.
Perhaps it’s just the speed new stuff is being thrown at us that bothers me the most. So many people are gadget addicted and run like lemmings toward every new invention or game or social media site — when burn out strikes, as it surely will. a lot of companies will find they’ve wasted a lot of R&D time and money for nothing. There’s a fine line between being convenient and being invasive.
I think it’s about picking and choosing what works for you. I wouldn’t buy a Synth either (watched the first episode of Humans and really liked it!) but the idea of a car that could drive and parallel park would totally be something I’d investigate. 🙂
Madeline, I saw an article in the paper this morning that showed a couple of hackers could gain control of a smart car being driven on the highway at 70 mph by hacking into the infotainmrnt system. That’s a lot scarier than having my computer hacked. I’d really freak out if all of a sudden my car was careening down the highway and I didn’t have control of the steering or brakes. I’ll pass on the car…
Agree, sister. Can’t understand all the opportunities people take to throw away their privacy. I don’t even use computerized loyalty cards.
Though must admit, I’m amused by survivalists-types [assumption based on t-shirts] who are running around with a active smart phone.
People are very funny, Kay. I don’t think they understand just how accessible and how connected those gadgets make us. I do use a couple of the grocery loyalty cards and have been awed by the info they gather on what I buy.
What really freaks me out are the ads that show up on my email page and on Facebook when I’ve been off shopping on totally different websites. But if you try to turn off “cookies,” some websites bug you to death to turn them back on before shopping. It would be very tempting to shut it all down……if it wasn’t for writing and wanting a good online social media presence.
Add another name to the list of technology foes. My $45 dumb phone stays in the car and is used for emergencies only. A desktop computer and Kindle are the only technological devices I’m addicted to by choice, but kitchen appliances and gadgets are getting as bad as computers when it comes to complexity…and don’t even ask about new car electronics! My wife has a smart phone that she has to upgrade with each new version, and I swear she does everything on that phone except talk. An iPad, a notebook, a laptop and a desktop have pretty much been relegated to dust collector status now that she has the latest iPhone. As for me, I’ve had enough beeping, chirping, ringing, flashing, hacking, and crashing to last a lifetime.
Hi Gary!! What’s going on? If you’re avoiding all these gadgets like I am, I’ll bet you’re getting some serious writing done. Let me know.
I agree about kitchen appliances too. And I don’t want anything in my house that thinks it knows more than I do or tries to tell me what to do.
I’m with you, Pat, dumb phone and all. (I don’t even know what a TracFone is.) And I most certainly don’t want the utility company controlling the thermostat–it’s hard enough now to reach agreement with DW on what the temperature should be. And I think the monitors on most exercise equipment are full of baloney, so I ignore them. No two machines at the gym come within a country mile of the same numbers, even though I do the same routine on each.
I have to admit though, I do kind of like the idea of self-parking cars…
Oops, missed you the first time through, Allan. A TracFone is one you buy and then renew use and buy minutes as you need them. It has been much cheaper for us than having a regular phone with a contract.
As for self-parking cars, I figure when I get to the point I can’t parallel park, then I probably shouldn’t be driving at all.
I’m going to catch up on that show, Humans. The people on their phones all the times is not only dangerous but rude at times. I do like Smart TV and I love my Kindle though I also like reading physical books too. I do like having my music and phone the same and I like having my phone connected to my car so I can make calls and take them without distraction.
I think you are more advanced than I am, Susan. My feeling of overload might be because I’m older, or maybe I’m just crankier. 😀
I don’t want them controlling my thermostat either.
People are so glued to their phones. No, I wouldn’t want to give up my iPad, as I use it all the time, but I will interact with people rather than just stare at my device. That’s rude. And in the case of the guy crossing the street, dumb.
Alex, I use TracFone and only carry it for emergencies. The thought of being any more connected than that to the world 24/7 gives me cold chills. I know lots of people love their iPhones and iPads but I’m not one of them.
I know what you mean, Pat. In one sense, technology is great – even important. But I do think there is such a thing as too far. So…I presume you’re not going to get a smart TV with apps? Oh, and about Humans? My husband likes that show; I’ll have to tell him what you said.
Our TV is plenty smart enough already, Margot. I know we don’t use a lot of its capabilities, but if I have streaming movies from Netflix, my favorite regular channels, and a DVD player, I’m quite content.
I watch Humans and eagerly wait for the next episode, but I sure wouldn’t want one of those things in my house. I’d be afraid to go to sleep at night. 😀