One of the greatest obstacles in my life is technology. There, I admit it. I literally cannot cope with the multitude of gadgets that exist and how they have somehow rudely thrust themselves into my daily life. Does this make me sound like an elderly woman wistfully longing to go back to a time when writing was done with an actual pen on actual paper? Perhaps. Unfortunately for me however, I was born into a digital age and there seems to be no end in sight to what is technically possible.
Presumably all you tech-savvy people, or you know, pretty much everyone that isn’t me, is wondering how I function. I don’t. My attempt to avoid technology at all costs is often as time-consuming as it is necessary. If I come into close contact with anything remotely complex (or simply something beyond the realms of my understanding) it can sense my severe incompetency and will slowly start to crumble like a Ryvita tower until it is merely a hard outer shell no longer able to function. If I can find a way of avoiding being around technology, I will. I do everything in my power to minimize the amount of time I have to be on the computer and when it came to upgrading my phone I was dismayed at the lack of mobile phones with actual buttons; my fingers are really too clumsy for touch screen.
Yes, I own a computer. It’s silver, and no I didn’t know how to turn it on when I first got it. Technology-wise I’m sort of back when the ZX Spectrum was at the forefront of technology in computer terms – that seems like something I could have coped with. I like to stick with what I know and that means staying out of the technological loop as much as possible. This also has the added benefit of saving some poor soul from answering my incessant questions when the inevitable happens and I’ve forgotten how to answer my phone again (people do not appreciate it when you hang up on them…it was an accident I promise!).
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for necessary technology, advancements in areas such as medicine and space travel are as vital to the future as they are today, but thankfully for me (and everyone else) I do not need to come into close contact with it. (Note to self: Jurassic Park is not and will never be a necessary reason for advancing technology). However, appreciating things like the incredible images the Hubble Space Telescope captures and being safe in the knowledge that there are people out there who are clever enough to understand and create life-saving machines is enough for me. Arguably however, the world has become slightly consumed by unnecessary products that are advertised to persuade people they cannot live without them.
I wonder if there will ever come a day when technology gets to the point were there is no possibility for advancement; it is literally the extent of man’s creativity and capability. I know I’ll never see the day. The fact I’m still in awe of the concept of photographs, (you can’t tell me if you really think about it you’re not super impressed someone invented a permanent way of capturing little moments in time) demonstrates just how far away I am in discovering what is already possible even at this point in time, but wouldn’t it be nice if things were just a bit simpler? You may disagree, but fortunately for me I am technically incapable of ever finding out.
