by A. M. Stewart
Behind-the-times doesn’t even begin to describe my relationship with technology (or better yet – lack thereof). My contempt for computers began early in life. Memorizing stupid MS-DOS commands in order to play a game of jeopardy wasn’t exactly my kind of fun. My hatred sprang into full bloom when I was required to take a keyboarding class in high school with the most despised teacher on campus. The one thing I learned from Keyboarding 101: If you don’t want to sit through class, have a friend call in a bomb threat. (My school had lots of bomb threats.)
So as you can imagine, I’m iPod-deficient. Yep, I still buy CDs. And I am proud of my resistance to becoming tech-savvy. I do have a cell phone, but even that venture is only two years old. To me, cell phones are the equivalent of being tied to a leash. Why does everyone need to be connected at every moment? I may never understand it, but my job requires that I stay in touch. So now it’s a necessity.
No matter how much I wish for simpler times, it’s clear they have passed. My challenge is to get my learn on, to become inspired by technology and jump on the techno-bandwagon (not likely), and who better to guide me than Joey Marchy, creator of the Urban Jacksonville blog (urbanjacksonville.info). He’s an 8-year veteran in the web industry and serves as the Master Technician at nGen Works, a web development company.
Recently, I found out that I will be forced to buy a box for digital frequencies for the television within the next year because our government wants to be greedy with their precious analog signals. I still use the antenna-only method (that’s right – no cable TV either). I suppose I’ll have to apply for government coupons to purchase a discounted converter box, and still, I may not get all the channels I do now.
Sadly, society doesn’t care about the people who don’t want to change with the times. We should be respected and revered for preserving the ‘old ways of life,’ like a museum or a historical reference.
Someone will say, “The girl down the street still uses analog TV signals. The screen is completely black and she can’t get any channels. I gotta see this.”
Joey, our tech guru, agrees that we are moving at a faster technological rate than ever before. And he says if you want to keep up, you need thick skin.
“Timelines for everything are getting shorter, because people’s attention spans are getting shorter,” Joey says.
Once a new product is developed, not all bugs may be worked out until its second or third version, he says. So if you’re an “early adopter,” accept that there will be something better and cheaper on the market at some point.
I have trouble maintaining my own life on a daily basis, so keeping up with a detailed summary of my life on a social networking site, like MySpace, is an arduous task. I joined MySpace about a year ago, but only from my boyfriend’s persistent urging. My account is pretty basic, no bells and whistles here. I am not sure where people find the time to ‘pimp out’ their MySpace page. I only use it when I can’t get in touch with people the good ‘ol conventional way, by telephone.
Our tech guru says social networking sites allow you to simplify personal interaction and focus on building the relationship. These sites let you, “remove the barrier of having to manage all your relationships’ meta information, like e-mail addresses and birthdays, etc.”
Even when these sites claim to provide security, I can’t help but think it’s a bizarre social climate ripe with opportunities to steal your identity. Or, even scarier, to become a cyber-stalked victim. Facebook has recently been under criticism for the way its program, Beacon, tracks your every move on the Web, then reports it to everyone you know and don’t know. Sounds like Big Brother is looming closer than ever.
Sites like these also make you more disconnected with the world. They only offer virtual experiences, keeping you attached to your personal circle. What happened to meeting people face to face or enjoying life the organic way? We are creating a generation of anti-social people concerned only with themselves and their virtual lives. And that, my friend, is a scary phenomenon.
Joey admits that the drawback to social networks can be “social network overload.” This is where you end up spending all your time managing, “things like compatibility quizzes, vampire bites and friend requests, so you never accomplish anything.”
But he’s quick to reassure us that social networking is not going anywhere anytime soon. Joey says these sites will benefit people in the future as these networks evolve.
Aren’t Americans stressed out enough with their non-stop, workaholic behavior? Someone please tell me why we need the Internet on our cell phones. Doesn’t constantly checking e-mail, keeping plugged into work and staying informed about the latest news add to everyone’s stress level? I have a hard enough time responding to text messages, much less, trying to check my e-mail on a tiny phone.
Joey says all this Internet-on-phone business depends on each person’s own temperament. He’s the type of person who enjoys being connected.
“It gives me a feeling of empowerment to know I can access any information I want at any time,” he says.
But you can’t deny the prevalence of stress in our lives. Last year, the American Psychological Association conducted a survey on stress. The survey found that work-related stress has increased 15 percent within the last year. Seventy-four percent of respondents said work was a significant cause to their stress levels. Even more, almost half of Americans said their stress level had increased over the past five years. This couldn’t have to do with blurring the boundaries between work and at home, relax-time, could it?
I’m beginning to wonder if all this technology just makes one’s life harder than it has to be. Corporations want to make you think all this connectivity is fabulous, so they can make billions. It’ll offer so many new and interesting dimensions to your life, not to mention a ton of stress. Soon computer chips will be implanted into our forearms to keep track of us like cattle. Oh wait, that’s already happening, brought to us by VeriChip.
I’ve decided that I could simply move to New Zealand. They’re accepting anyone from the US who claims political asylum as citizens. I’m sure I could find a job herding sheep or something that involves limited technology use.
On the other hand, the Pope started sending text messages as early as 2003. I didn’t start texting until 2007. If the Pope can get with the times, maybe there’s hope for me.
Article Published in the 03-08 Issue of EU Jacksonville
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