Technology, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…
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You might assume that I’m a Website Caregiver because I love technology, and you would be correct.
Many people whose jobs involve a lot of computer use are all too happy to set it aside when their workday is done, but not me. When I see all the amazing ways technology helps me in my work life, it just makes me want to tap into its power in my personal life as well.
I recently wrote down ways I use technology aside from work, and in a matter of minutes, I’d come up with quite a list!
- Communicate with friends and family via email, text, Facebook messenger, Zoom, phone, etc.
- Keep track of movies I’ve seen on IMDb
- Keep track of books I’ve read on Goodreads
- Keep track of teas I’ve tried on Steepster
- Request books, movies and TV series from the library with Bibliocommons
- Shoot, edit, organize, and share photos (multiple apps)
- Save and rate recipes in Paprika
- Play Scrabble with my sister
- Color (using Happy Color)
- Play games – currently Wordle and Zen Blossom
- Scan photos and documents related to family and personal history
- Pay bills and transfer funds online
- Shop online (including research for offline purchases)
I’m sure there are others, but these all occur frequently, so they popped into my head very quickly.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not one of those people you see with their nose buried in their phone while walking down the street or dining with a friend.
My dad once said he thought Facebook was harmful to personal relationships because people will just send you a message or tag you in a post instead of calling you. That may be true, but only to a point. Here are some examples.
My cousin and I were close growing up, but drifted apart as adults. Although we eventually reconnected, life is busy and we weren’t in touch often enough to feel truly connected. Facebook lets us keep track of what we’re each up to, and we don’t just “like” and comment on each other’s posts; we share lots of old photos and other memories too. I honestly feel that we are closer now than ever! In other words, Facebook has enhanced, not hampered, our relationship.
I’m also in touch with lots of former co-workers, classmates, and neighbours who would otherwise have faded into memory. No, these aren’t important relationships in the big scheme of things, but before I moved to Hamilton in 1990, I didn’t stay in touch with many people when I left somewhere, so having these connections reassures me that the earlier years really happened.
How do you use technology in your personal life?
Please share in the comments.
Photo by entukio / DepositPhotos
Janet Barclay
I eliminate stress for my clients by hosting, monitoring, and maintaining their WordPress sites so they don’t have to worry about security, downtime or performance issues. When I’m away from my desk, I enjoy reading, photography, cooking, watching movies, drinking tea, and spending time with my family.
All right, you have me thinking, Janet! Usually when I heard “technology,” I moan. Mostly because of all the times it doesn’t work as I expect, or there are glitches, or spam, or malware, or viruses, or updates that change everything.
However, after reading your list, I have to admit that there are many aspects of technology that I love. I love being in touch with my daughter who lives quite far away. She was able to Facetime into our Father’s Day celebration last night, which was very nice.
I don’t think I could live without GPS. I use it almost every day. A definite wonderful piece of technology.
I download and listen to books from my local library on Libby, stream movies, and am able to be a part of a blogging group (wink, wink), all because of technology.
So, kuddos to you for adjusting my thinking this morning!
I knew my list was incomplete – I download ebooks from my local library all the time!
And I’m thrilled that I adjusted your thinking. I never even thught of that possibility. 🙂
I love your list, Janet, and I use technology for many of the same things. For me, add: Genealogy research (many apps and resources): Webinars on various topics: Several social media platforms; Audiobooks and podcasts: Write and self-publish books; Zoom book club (and other regular family and friend meetings)….and there’s probably even more!
Some of these are included within mine, e.g. Zoom book club (and others) are part of communication, but you have a lot of different ones too!
I like your list, Janet. I use technology for many of the same things.
Also, I’m able to be better connected with my grandchildren because of technology. They can call me by touching my picture on a screen. This lets them facetime with me. I get to see their sweet faces and listen to them tell stories about their day.
You are so lucky! My grandchildren don’t seem to have grasped this yet. Our attempts to connect online haven’t been very satisfying, but they’re a bit older than the last time we tried, so maybe there’s hope.
I love technology — up to a point. My TV started doing a series of weird things — a flickering picture, a “squishing” of the cable guide listing, a menu in the settings got greyed out. I Googled the brand and the problem, and got instructions for upgrading the firmware. For a TV! (And the instructions were flummoxing.) In the end, I unplugged/power cycled everything and all the problems went away (but do did all my lovely color/tint/sharpness settings). So, I love technology when it works intuitively.
Social media is a pernicious form of technology because people tend to depend on the dopamine hits that come from novelty, but we also benefit from being able to get turn-by-turn directions that can be updated and revised if there’s an accident up ahead on our route. I wouldn’t give up technology, but I think we all need to be careful of how much of our attention and time we give to it.
Your list is fabulous, though I don’t do all of those things. But for me, I can add using Duolingo to learn Italian, Fitbit to track my steps, sleep quality, repro health, etc., GPS for driving, podcasts (for listening, learning, and just today — guesting!), blogging…and a Friday night organizers’ group that I’m in with Hazel!
I guess, as with anything (ice cream, perhaps?), tech gives us delights but an over-dependence can make us ill. (What app do you use to play Scrabble?)
You’ve summed things up really nicely with “I wouldn’t give up technology, but I think we all need to be careful of how much of our attention and time we give to it.”
I also use a health app to track my weight, blood pressure, and daily steps, though now that my dog doesn’t walk very well or very fast, I’m not looking at my steps very often these days.
Janet, I love your Ode to Technology mostly because you hear all too often the evils of Technology. I think it just depends on who’s in control- you or the Technology. I used Chat GPT recently to help me build an itinerary for an upcoming trip. I use Google Tasks all the time to organize my life and I have no sense of direction so Waze helps me be bolder about venturing to unexplored places in my car. Plus, anytime I want to give my dog a human-food treat, I google “Dog and foodname” to make sure it’s not toxic for him! Oh, and I love that I don’t need cable TV anymore because we can use streaming services. Now I get to decide what I want to watch and when (remember when we had to record everything).
Awesome, Jill – thanks so much for sharing!
I use technology some. I try to keep it to a minimum. I stay away from apps that track habits, fitness, sports scores, weather and finances. I have 2 games on my phone for when I am sitting waiting and to keep my brain young. I use Libby for audiobooks mostly and a GPS. I may use Zoom personally more than some people because I have playdates with my grandchildren and family chats with my kids. I stay away from streaming services but don’t forget Netficks etc and music streaming, sports streaming. I use technology when it makes things easier and avoid it when it is there to give me more to do.
That sounds like a sound approach. Before I discovered Steepter, I kept all my tea notes in a blog, but it was too much work to keep it up.
I’m a mental health counselor at a community agency with primarily low income clients. So for work, technology has allowed for more access to older people (phone or a HIPAA compliant video product), to people who have no car, to people who are isolated, and to people who work but can’t make the hours work for in person appointments. So the access has been fantastic for reaching people who need or want it. (We also have phones we can purchase for clients who don’t have them for use with our services.)
I’ve solidly noticed what is great about in person vs. video/phone and what is great about video/phone instead of in person meetings when I meet with people. So that’s been an education – and I’m usually an early adopter of tech.
Personally –
relief: jigsaw puzzles to help me leave my day behind;
sleep and exercise: audio books occasionally to help me fall asleep and definitely my company on a treadmill for morning exercise! [also a Libby fan];
healthcare: Good, digital technology has helped me with identifying health causes so we fix the right problem!
Fun: travel is big for us so everything around that has really helped. Or at intermission of a concert making reservations for the next one!
Bringing us together longer after dinner: at night, my wife and I spend time talking after dinner, and then we finish NYT Spelling Bee together, so we can make Queen Bee together., talk about the words — it’s become part of our evening routine together versus both on our phones/books/studying.
And staying in touch with you, Janet, my extraordinary team member when I had my own business and now on facebook !
Great idea for a post!
Sue, it’s wonderful to see you here and to learn more about your “new” life since you moved from your coaching business to working as a mental health counselor. I didn’t realize who your clients are, and having recently read Her Name Was Margaret: Life and Death on the Streets, I am so glad to know you are out there supporting as many people as you can. Have a good summer!
Thanks for the mention, Janet. 😉 I do have a bit of a love/hate relationship with technology but I’m always thankful for the chance to keep in touch and see what you’re up to, even if it’s just the little things. And one thing I bet your father/Uncle Doug didn’t foresee was all those times his name would come up in my memories where he “liked” one of my posts. That always makes me smile. 😊❤
That makes me smile too.