I am not what you call an early adopter of any new technology, and it doesn’t really matter what the technology is. I believe I am holding my husband back in this area – we still don’t own a large screen TV and all our computer monitors are the big clunky old ones. I don’t know if this is an embarrassment to him or not – he works with computers and technology – but he seems to go along with me. I think he was pleased last weekend when we (finally!) bought a Slap Chop. (See? Hardly the newest technology … but how long did that take?)
All this new stuff seems to be no-brainers for most people, but I’ve started to question the purpose behind some of it. (Okay, the Slap Chop I get – no more tears, making a quick job of dicing and mincing and all those good things.) Big screen TVs – I’m sorry: I don’t really see the point. LED? LCD? Will I actually see the difference? Faster computer? Really? Faster by milliseconds – like I’ll notice. Electronic gadgets and digital this and that? How is it all improving my life?
Taking a look back on things we already take for granted, I really wonder if they are blessings they are made out to be. Take email for example. While email makes it easier, faster and more direct to correspond with friends and family, it can also be a curse in the workplace. I receive an email, and then get a follow-up email or call if I don’t respond within one-half hour. Since when does every question require an immediate response? Just because the subject is higher on someone else’s agenda than it is on mine, I am expected to respond immediately.
I was reading the other day that the concept of time management in the workplace is dead. We can’t plan our own days anymore because we have these constant interruptions that must be dealt with as they are received. And they are interruptions. We are all at the mercy of someone else’s agenda. This goes both ways, of course – I impose my agenda on other people as well and have come to show as little patience for their slow response as they have for mine. It doesn’t take long to get sucked in to the idea that once you hit the “send” button, you can expect and are entitled to an immediate response. And it doesn’t stop with email – it’s an attitude that has gone into everything we do.
I don’t like it. I’m trying really hard not to sound like one of those people who keep saying “back in the day …”, but really, back in day, you sent a letter, knew (hoped?) it would reach its destination in two days, it would be opened and sit in the inbox for a day or two, be dealt with and you’d receive your answer a few days later. And if it was really important, you’d phone and have a conversation.
Imagine that – a real phone conversation. I’ve found that even within our office, we will send emails to co-workers who are across the hallway, or around the corner. No one phones; no one gets up and walks over to talk. Everything is done by email. It’s ridiculous.
I have described myself in conversations as a Luddite, and I take a bit of pride in that. I like the personal touch; I like having conversations with real people rather than listening to an automated voice give me the balance on my credit card. I like looking in a book for information rather than heading for Wikipedia. I like watching an unobtrusive television that fits behind a cabinet door when I’m not watching. I like to dice onions and mince garlic. The Slap Chop is for my husband.
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