This week Sadje asks Are you tech-phobic?
You can find out more here
I’m 66 and was not brought up in the computer age. Computers to me were contained in large rooms and hummed with large spools of tape going round in different directions.
Technology has come a long way since then.
I am not comfortable with it. Although I find it fascinating, it is also scary, intimidating and they know fear. My brain just isn’t wired that way and I find it difficult to get to grips with the simplest things which a five or six year old takes in their stride.
When I first joined the bank in 1989, I hadn’t used a computer other than one with a floppy disk when my boss was on holiday. Everything then was done on paper with an adding machine and calculator, so that was what I could cope with. Learning a new way of office life, and it was for me, was very much a case of making notes, including how many times I hit the tab key to get where I wanted to be. As I got more familiar with the work, these things became second nature and I enjoyed my job.
I attended courses and got familiar with word documents and spreadsheets, but I’ve forgotten a lot more than I remember mainly because I’m retired now so apart from my household budgets and projections, there is no call for it.
Years ago, we never wanted a mobile phone but FIL gave us his when he upgraded and we agreed it was a useful tool to have. It took about two years to realise what the little blips were and to discover our phone also received and made text messages.
Someone knackered the software though by trying to send us a photo which of course our phone couldn’t handle and it locked everything.
We each have more modern mobiles now but we only want them to make and receive calls and texts, though the camera, although not that good, can come in handy.
I have a good camera which I treated myself to last year when I was 65 and know I don’t make the best of it, mainly because I’ve never been shown. I am one of these people who find it hard to read something and then apply it, but show me what to do, it goes in and usually stays there.
However, whilst it is a sign of the times, I believe we rely too much on it, and this has been proven when systems fail and people cannot add up or know what to do because the lights have gone off sotospeak.
Both Hubby and I are old school so considered dinosaurs, but we get by……………. just.
pensitivity101 
It’s sad when people don’t know how to do simple math sans a calculator or even tell time on a real clock!
I remember a customer coming into the bank wanting his Mother’s savings book made up. It wet back to 1962 and I had to add up in £sd!
It’s another reason I was popular as a darts chalker because I didn’t need an electronic scoreboard.
Oh I can relate to you Di. Thanks for joining in
🙂
Technology has its advantages, but just like my mum used to tell me calculators teach you how not to add, technology can teach you how not to think
I’d go along with that. Wise Mum.
Well I’m still relearning even just to try to blog on phone, I like to but it can be a challenge when I forget how to link to a post, then my one bar of cell service I can’t get to the wordle to try that, well baby steps again later👍
I’m one of the lucky ones! My father was a 1st generation computer programmer so we grew up knowing about computers. Then I married a computer programmer! We’ve been on the cutting edge of technology so long that I’m not at all intimidated… Still the tech keeps changing and just when you get comfortable with one thing it changes and you have to learn something new! Good thing I’m a “Life-long Learner”!
I wish I was. Hubby used to fix the damn things and says he’s about 25 years out of date.