As much as I avoid using clichés, “preaching to the choir” is an apt description of this post. Readers of a blog have already discovered the contributions to our lives offered by computers, tablets, and/or smart phones. So perhaps this will be place to take a moment to appreciate that, as retirees, we have been privileged to witness an explosion of new ideas, to speculate about what new developments we can look forward to, and to share in a general celebration of the way technology has enriched our lives.
But I do have friends and family members who resist owning computers or cell phones. I have not been a particularly good technology missionary for these individuals. I resist the urge to ask them if they think “flying machines” are dangerous or how horse feed compares to gasoline prices. But I do wonder what could convince them to take advantage of the great gift these instruments can be for retirees.
I still own a set of encyclopedias – I use them to prop up a cabinet whose legs have deteriorated. The Internet, by contrast, is useless as a furniture prop – but invaluable as a source of information. I am still amazed when an obscure question that has come up during the course of a day can be answered after a quick search. I have never searched for an answer without finding one. Well, almost never.
Until I joined the world of smart phone owners, I kept the Yellow Pages in my car; this huge volume can still lead searchers to a business, if they can correctly determine to what category the business belongs. Once having located the shop or company, the next challenge, of course, is to drive to an unknown street and address. My smart phone is new to me, so I am still marveling at its ability to find a business, pinpoint my location, and then map the best route for me to follow. Perhaps I will one day take this incredible source of information for granted. I hope not.
How did we function before cell phones? What did we do when we had car trouble, or when we missed finding incoming passengers at a busy airport, or when we were confused about directions to a new friend’s home?
Last year, my cell fell out of my pocket and I was forced to call on a pay phone to locate it. But I couldn’t find a pay phone – even when I asked a librarian! (I thought librarians knew everything.) She was as astonished as I was by their disappearance, but in retrospect, it is logical. Cell phones have taken their place.
If you have friends who have denied themselves the opportunity of technology, you might ask: what is the underlying reason for their fear? Perhaps part of their reluctance is the recognition of the downsides that technology can play in our lives.
We have all seen couples at restaurants who were so busy with their “hand-held devices” that they never glanced at one another. Limiting your communication to quick texts or 140 character Tweets actually blocks our “communion.” No depth required, no revelation of true personality, no getting to know another person well.
A more serious problem is addiction. Too scary a word? Watch kids playing video games on their cell phones while attending a baseball game or passing through beautiful scenery in the family car. Think about what you do when you have no plans for the day? Turn on the TV? Play computer games? Is all your communication through Facebook? Do you ever agree to meet those “friends” for lunch?
For many retirees, the major determent to their becoming a technology user is the fear of invasion of privacy. This is the most alarming of all the negative effects. We have all read stories of TSA’s keeping records of our cell calls, and, more recently, of the way that search engines like Google stores and uses the information about our searches. But one of the wonders of the advancing technology is its ability to respond to problems. And so, we can seek out alternatives. One is the variety of companies who can protect all information emanating from a subscriber’s cell phone. The other is search engines that do not keep records of your searchers. There is a fee involved to become a subscriber to one of these engines, and using them is slightly more inconvenient, because records of previous searches are scrubbed, but if you are concerned about the privacy of your Internet surfing, the fee may be well worth it. Ironically, you can find these companies by doing a Google search.
It is true that mankind has gotten along for centuries without this instant means of communication. But technology can bring incredible advantages, unimagined just two decades ago. We have the ability to use its power to our advantage, or we can unwittingly walk into situations where we are controlled by it. I believe that intelligent, controlled choices can grant us the enrichment opportunities while keeping the downsides to a minimum.
We live in a remarkable time, with vast stores of knowledge available through ever-evolving technology. Our only deterrent to their use is our own fear, our own lack of flexibility.
5/15/2014