technology

Technology Dependence

Yesterday I decided it was time to back up my IPhone, because I have so many phone numbers and e-mail addresses stored in it. I had bought a MacBook Pro over the weekend, so decided to back up the phone on the new computer. It seemed simple and harmless enough, and I had my video editor/computer technician Harold here working on my desk top computer. It was a sunny Martin Luther King Day holiday, and I figured Harold would be here, give me a brief tutorial on the laptop, and I could have a restful holiday. But noooooooooooooooo (as John Belushi would say). The back up hit a snag, and before I knew it, my phone was completely empty of any data. Nothing: no phone numbers, no pictures, NO WORDS WITH FRIENDS. I had become addicted to playing that online Scrabble-type game, and was totally dependent on the memorized phone numbers. We tried to retrieve the information from the desktop, and then the phone completely froze up and stopped working. I was extremely upset and concerned, and began preparing myself for the inevitability of re-entering the hundreds of saved phone numbers. Harold made a few calls to the Apple help desk, and we finally decided to copy the data from the last time I saved it on my desk top computer. Finally, after more than 5 hours of working to fix the problem, the data was successfully transferred back to the IPhone. Everything returned from the last time I saved it in November, except Words with Friends.

This event made me realize how much I am dependent on technology. Memorized phone numbers, e-mail address, settings, ring tones, Blue Tooth technology, the whole electronic enchilada. In the back of my mind, I kept saying, “What about Words with Friends?” How I got so addicted to an online word game is beyond my understanding. We are long past the day of memorizing phone numbers, and I know I depend very much on computer memorized e-mails and of course Passwords. We must never forget not only that computers are NOT humans or substitutes for humans, but rather complex and sometimes enigmatic machines that have come to virtually dominate our lives. Facebook, Twitter, Google, LinkedIn, Apple, clones, operating systems, and all the rest. If I think of anything else on this topic, I promise to text you the information, if I don’t blog about it first. But I can’t remember my damn password.

Technology: How much more can it change?

I grew up with rotary phones, busy signals, party lines (not political), and being in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone.  I have seen the rise and fall of answer machines, pagers, “car” phones, and many other technology fads and developments.  The more things change, the more things change.  Just when you get used to one more advance, another one is on its way.  I tweet, friend people on Facebook, but have yet to “de-family” anyone.  I find it ironic and dangerous that not two years after California passed a “hands-free” law outlawing holding a cell phone to your ear, most people in LA are doing something with their hands that has to do with technology while driving and there aren’t nearly enough police to enforce the laws.  I am among the guilty, though I don’t hold the phone to my ear.  Texting has become a true pandemic, and no one really knows how many accidents have happened or are going to happen because someone was typing LOL or OMG on their portable keyboard while crossing Wilshire Boulevard.  Just when I fully embraced e-mail, texting virtually replaced it, especially for younger generations.  I was sitting on a Metro train in Boston, and virtually everyone was doing something on their personal “hand held device.”  Considering how much everything has changed in 5, 10, and 15 years, I cannot imagine what things will be like in 5, 10, and 15 years.  It seems like only yesterday people would get someone’s answering machine and say, “Bob, are your there, can you hear me, pick up the phone.”  Now we text the person in the next room to tell them we are going to stand up.  I’m trying to stay on board and stay connected.  But there are times I just want to call a friend and shoot the breeze, chew the fat, and gab.  Call me old fashioned, but you really can’t do a voice impression or emphasize something in a text message.  I don’t know what the future holds, but I will never give certain things up, as long as I have some choices.  So page me tomorrow, and I’ll send you a letter  with a stamp on the envelope.  LOL