There’s a good chance that may never happen.
Getting used to technology, that is. But this was a thought I has a few years back (the headline). Maybe even before smartphones entered our lives.
I actually thought to myself…
I’ll be glad when the new wears off.”
—Self
How much can people have to say to each other over a phone, anyway?
The question however, remains. Will we humans ever settle in to all this new technology? By settle in, I mean will we get to a point where new technology isn’t at the center of every waking moment?
Everywhere I went I would see people with their flip-phones glued to their ears… talking away. They were usually younger people (oops, sorry… that’s what I saw). Then it started to creep, now the demographics no longer matter.
Will we reach a place in our techno-cultural development where tech is part of our lives, but doesn’t disrupt our lives?
It’s there… but it’s now riding shotgun instead of being right there on top of us in the driver’s seat while we’re trying to navigate the everyday.
Will we eventually stop our obsession with every new electronic indulgence?
I’m not meaning to take a shot here… I’m simply asking the question. Because I know I’m not immune. I have a smartphone, and a tablet, a desktop, an e-reader, and whatever else I’m not remembering at the moment?
Rewind five or so years. I honestly felt like that I had “let the old man in” and fallen way behind in this new world.
I’ll admit… IT SCARED. THE CRAP. OUTTA ME. More than a little. Have you ever felt that way?
I wasn’t going to stand idle…
C’mon, I survived 1984. Then I survived Y2K. I can survive the rest of this techno-stuff.
Let me share a few realizations that allowed me to overcome what was more likely than not… just another irrational fear created by my prehistoric lizard brain. (Don’t laugh, you have one too!)
- First, I realized that I didn’t need to master everything about everything. Only what I found to be interesting and useful to me. Then I simply ignored the rest. With that perspective, the world of tech becomes exponentially simpler. Trust me.
- Second, there’s nothing to worry about because it’s getting harder to really screw things up. As a technology nymph of Microsoft’s Windows 95 era, I learned that I could lose seemingly infinite amounts of data in a heartbeat (data = hours and hours of “work”). It might have been something I did or didn’t do. “Save and save often” was the mantra of the time.
- And finally, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. In other words… stop trying to use every little shiny new thing. Ask yourself, “Is this for me?”
Living with and keeping up with tech can be that simple.
These fears of really screwing things up have stayed with us and they make it hard to just try things and see what happens. Which you can safely do.
REALLY. It’s Okay. Just try it and see. It won’t break. Seriously…
Be untucked.
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Copyright © 2019 Jeff Meister
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