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Sometimes change isn't an advantage.
As I have gotten older and decrepitude has gotten significantly more pervasive, I find that I have less and less ability to deal with changes that are being made with- what appears to be- less and less regard for those who use a product.
I try to embrace change. I fail miserably when that change comes wrapped in a sense that it is inflicted, rather than granted, on we who must use the new and improved... rather than the old and antiquated that worked so much better.
I live with an iPhone and an iPad. I also live with a MacBook Pro and an iMac. This disregards the XP net book and 17" Windows laptop that also share my space. Since I come from a time that believes that redundancy is good, I don't question this. However, I begin to wonder what benefit- if any- is brought to the table.
I don't recall the last time I answered my cell phone. I recall the last time I used it- the first week of December, when poor weather and driving conditions combined with an insane GPS (can you get therapy for a GPS?) required me to phone a friend for more reliable directions than Google Maps (and my insane GPS) could provide. I try to remember to keep the darned thing charged.
I actually use my iPad. I was looking for a specific book at Barnes and couldn't find it where I assumed it would be... so I pulled out my iPad to find the section THEY thought was appropriate. Found what I was looking for, too.
Somehow, I don't want to believe that this is what they designed this tool for...
We've become a nation of inanity and absurdity. Worse, we accept and embrace this. Our social reality is encompassed by Facebook and Twitter, we think in concepts that can be embraced in 160 characters or less, and our "networks" are comprised of people we have never met- and never want to.
I find myself avoiding my computer and refusing to answer my phone. I don't recall the last time someone emailed me because they wanted to talk to me- the email I get is more often notifications of things I don't care about and frequently from people I don't know. At some point, technology stopped serving me and began to assume I would serve IT.
What did I miss?
I understand the idea that one must grow with the times. In general, this doesn't bother me much. But to think that "Dance Moms", "Toddlers and Tiaras", "Dancing with the Stars", and "The Bachelor" are a part of what is considered to be "the social fabric" makes me ill. That a fundamentally flawed search is the best tool I have to find content on an otherwise beloved site irritates me to my soul. That people who think like me are being driven deeper into hiding spaces tells me that perhaps the promised change is nothing more than an empty promise that is not kept.
I long for simplicity. I long for a day when I can actually find content that is relevant for what I search for. I long for the days when thinking was a requirement and not optional.
I long for changes that provide an advantage to the user... and are not merely changes for the sake of some ill-conceived marketing notion of "what's best" for the consumer.