The World According to Technophobes

A few weeks ago, I was in an antique store and the guy on duty behind the counter was busy playing solitaire with a deck of cards. I mentioned that I played solitaire on my computer and was met by a grimace and “harummph,” indicating that the computer solitaire wasn’t real solitaire.

First, I wondered what made it so much more legitimate to manually flip cards over; not something that requires magnificent skill in my mind. Then I made the connection; he was discounting it because a computer – or technology – was involved.

I have been exposed to a number of technophobes in the past few months, which I’ve borne with as much equanimity has I could muster. However, yesterday a conversation with some co-workers, about how wonderful the internet is, sparked me to remember just how much my life has changed for the better since its inception (as well as that of others who embrace rather than discard technology.)

I probably appreciated technology the most as a reporter. First, the internet made fact-checking and information gathering a whiz. I couldn’t imagine the lives of those who had gone before and had to make trips to a library to get their articles together. Don’t get me wrong – I love libraries. However, being able to Google (see, even our language has changed radically as a result of the advance of computer sciences) something, and receive hundreds of thousands of references, transformed the art of journalism and many other disciplines.

While being able to email someone has reduced the amount of real mail we receive, most people would trade off instant communications for the aesthetics of receiving the occasional letter. Now, it seems, our biggest problem in this regard, is not becoming a slave to our email. Culling through the spam and irritating fluff emails can be annoying. Still, I’d never want to have to go back to having only the options of mail, telephone or, God forbid, telegraph messages.

Cell phones are the most maligned of the newer electronic devices. I often hear sarcastic remarks like: “What in the world did we ever do without cell phones?” Actually, this is an easy question to answer. We worried about our spouses and children when they didn’t get home when we expected them, where now we dial them for an update. We got to the grocery store and forgot what it was we needed and usually went home without a critical item, when now we can just call home for help. We got stranded on a lonely road in the middle of the night and were dependent on a stranger to come along and help us out, instead of being able to call the police or AAA.

Now, let’s talk about one of my favorite technological advances – the digital camera. How freeing is it to snap shot after shot, never having to worry about running out of film or the expense of printing all the horrible pictures along with the few gems? I have gotten the best photos by simply shooting several of every possible scenario. In the old days, I’d have to be very careful not to waste film. Also, I can now store all my photo on my computer, email copies to others, print only the ones I want and take an unlimited number of shots. Wow!

There are so many more innovations – Ipods, camera phones, GPS devices – it would take forever to cover all the enhancements that technology has and continues to provide. I, for one, am thrilled to be living in the age of technology.

I wonder what they will call this period in 100 years?