Networks

For the past several years I've noticed a shift in the mindset of this country. We no longer have any tolerance for delay. This is reflected in many of our habits, but especially in our information and communication technology tools and how we use them. I don't know if this is due to the way we've chosen to use these tools, or the way we've chosen to let them use us. But the more we interact with them, the less tolerance we have for delay.

We no longer plan ahead. Instead, we rely on tools to let us fill our needs on the fly. Unfortunately, many have lost the ability to plan even the simplest things. I can understand calling a spouse to ask if we need chicken when it's on sale. However, yesterday I was grocery shopping and frequently crossed paths with someone who appeared to be on the phone constantly. It sounded like she was asking about every individual item on the shelf.

No one plans a trip anymore, they just hop in and fire up the GPS. They may not have the slightest notion of even what major roads to take, so they can't attempt navigation when their blind obedience to the device leads them astray. (Sorry, not picking on you, but we've both seen it.)

Marketing tells us it's desirable to be in constant contact. Why? It wasn't a necessity even ten years ago. Do I really need to know right now who my football team chose in the draft, or the latest inanity to pass through a celebrity's lips? What's the impact if I don't get the vacation photos on my web site for a couple of days? Does every message sent to us merit an immediate response? We've lost the ability to prioritize; questions about where to go for lunch are treated with the same urgency as a notice that Mom had a heart attack.

All this immediacy leads to a failure to consider long-term consequences. We live in the 'Now', with reduced consideration for our actions. It's not just those who fail to consider the career impacts of the ill-advised Tweet. Look at the federal government and its repeated failure to deal with long-term problems. Kicking the can down the road occurs regardless of party in control of legislative or executive branches. Not only are elected representatives willing to make the big decisions, voters are won't elect anyone who says he will. Short-term convenience regularly trumps long-term necessity.

I could go on, and probably will, but it's not just you. Maybe it's the result of the 'self esteem' approaches to child rearing. Maybe it's the desire for new toys, and the feeling that if we spent the money then we must maximize the use of them. Maybe it's just that I'm older and less adaptable. Or less gullible. Or less materialistic. Or more discerning regarding what I need vs. what I want.

C'mon over and we'll scream at kids on my lawn together.

Cell phone, desktop, no GPS, no ipod or smartphone, not even a laptop. Joined facebook but hardly go there. Those shows you listed, "Dancing Bears", etc., don't even make sense to me.

Your comment about IT serving us or the other way around reminded me of my Dad. He did almost all his auto repairs himself, to save money. Thing was he spent a significant amount of his free time (as a trucker he worked 60+ hrs/wk) fixing the cars. OTOH, by the time he was my age he was one of the best Mickey Mouse mechanics I ever saw.

I think to each generation there's always something that changes for reasons that don't make sense.

This is the second time I'm posting this...

Just the other day a friend and I were speaking about technology and its impact on us. It's quite frightful that when you go into a store and a teenaged kid types in the wrong amount into the register, and it gives them an absurd amount of change due, they just stare at the cash register like a deer in headlights. They have no concept of a simple task as making change.

After working for 8-9 hours on computers at work, I go home and avoid my computer like the plague. People are often surprised that I'm not on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn etc... They constantly say, "well you are a geek so you must be on those sites." Ummm, No. Another client asked me if I had an iPhone. I said I have a simple 5 year old phone that I use for calling and the occasional text. That's it. I don't need access to the web or any other thing that it may offer. I have a GPS in my car that I love, but I still carry my trusty Rand McNally in the trunk. Call me cheap but I already pay $45 for internet at home and I'm not going to pay an additional $15 - $30 for access on my phone.

Another thing my friend and I pondered was what would happen if the electrical grid went down due to a solar flare/storm and it was down for weeks, months or years. Could you survive? I think I could. Every summer I use to go to Maine with my Uncle before he passed away and we would spend 2 weeks without phones, power, and cell reception at his "Man Cave" (no bathrooms either. A port-a-potty in the garage or a tree were your choices ). Now that's roughing it. Nothing like sitting down to a campfire with good company and telling stories. I loved hearing my Uncle tell me about when he was in the Army during the Vietnam era and his travels across Europe.

Hubby and I went camping every fall. He would go up and irritate the local grouse while I read (yes, a book with PAGES!) in the truck. About an hour before sundown we would pull into a camp area and put up the tent, make fire, grill a steak, and have a martini. There was generally an outhouse somewhere, but it was so darned COLD that a downwind tree was often the better choice.

We'd wander back to civilization after a few days- him with greying stubble that reminded him yet again why he refused to grow a beard, and both of us in need of a shower and wearing blaze orange. We loved it.

Up there, our phones didn't work and we didn't miss them. The computers stayed home and we didn't miss them either. The GPS wasn't optional- we had two. One lived in the truck, the other was a handheld that he insisted I carry on the theory that I would be able to find my way back to the truck should I get lost. Nice theory, but I never went further than the sound of his voice. I can get lost in my BATHROOM.

I have the smallest plan for my iPhone that is reasonably available. The rationale for the phone was that it cut the number of devices I carry by one. With it, I no longer need a PDA. I find that I use it- or USED it quite a lot. The iPad is easier on my aging eyes as well as my aging back. Both tools are handy to have when the GPS decides to go bonkers. All the technology in the world can't keep me from getting lost on a regular basis and I don't have the option of staying close to hubby any more.

Those chilly evenings by the campfire enjoying a martini and listening to the silence of the trees were some of the best in my life.