Sunday, July 13, 2014

A Low Tech Guy In A High Tech Society

How many of you can identify with me as a low tech.guy(gal) in our high tech.society? The frustrations of being technically challenged in today's society is totally embarrassing. How to explain to a new friend that I don't text and at the same time convince him I really do have a Ph.D. As I have learned first hand, smart phones are only as smart as the user.
Recently my cell phone contract expired and I faced the daunting prospect of re-newal, not to the ubiquitous up-grade but to the lowly downgrade. How to purchase an old fashion flip phone in today's society is no easy task. Try accessing the fully automated phone system of any carrier(what happened to actually talking to a live person), where there is no, I repeat no, option for downgrading.
After a totally frustrating week in which I visited and expressed my needs to countless well intended individuals representing most of the major carriers I was no further ahead. They simply could not comprehend my desire to purchase a cell phone for the sole purpose of talking!
Finally one last attempt connected me to a woman who clearly had accumalted some helpful life experience. She actually understood my phone needs. I knew I was on solid ground with her when she called me "sweetie", a no-no in today's culturally sensitive society, but totally cool with me. A few minutes to process my request and viola I had a phone that met my limited needs and ability.  
To understand the effect that high tech has on our society all one has to do is look at the foyer of any condo in Canada. What use to be the familiar site of the local newspaper strewn on the floor of the foyer ready to be delivered to it's owner 's door now stands a single paper the lonely remaining sentinel of my generation. Sadly I now find myself  a lonely holdout of an actual paper as the younger generation choses to go paperless. Soon I fear my daily multi-sensory pleasure of reading an actual paper will be replaced by the cold and dispassionate electronic version 
I'm totally impressed by the technical savvy of my clients often multi-tasking as I attempt to engage them psychologically. Their smart phone seems attached to their fingers as they effortlessly respond to the texts being sent to them. Nevertheless I silently note one last victory, for those of us technologically challenged. At the end of the session, as they laborious struggle to note their next appointment in their electronic calendar, I surreptitious write it down on my paper weekly calendar, smiling inwardly at my token victor.
The debate regarding technology is long over. Technology has a valid place in our own homes and offices but must be used with discretion,balance and integrity. Despite my personal resistance I have successfully incorporate many new technologies into my practice. Indeed learning new technology such as this blog, website and interface banking  has been most gratifying. I am not advocating to go back in time,only for the consumer to have choice in his/her decision whether to participate or not in this technological revolution.