I am the proud owner of the iPhone 4GS. And just in the nick of time. My iPhone 3G, which I purchased two years ago was on its last legs.
I must have dropped the thing about 30 times and had to replace my cover because my first one got so damaged.
So yesterday morning I headed over to the local electronic store to pick up my white beauty.
Then, like with any new computer or cell phone, I had to import all the necessary data and adjust the various settings.
That only took 3 hours.
And guess what? I’m still not done.
To make matters worse, when I tried to update my iPad it just went haywire. Great…just what I needed?! More things to fix.
I’ve got two computers on the fritz, my iPad is not updating and I can’t get my new iPhone working properly. And these things are meant to make our lives easier?
Computers, cell phones, tablets and the Internet have made our lives more convenient, but there is always an investment that needs to be made.
Upgrading tools means we must take the time to upgrade our own skills.
And with knowledge doubling at the rate of every 18 months we must stay every vigilant otherwise we will soon find ourselves dazed and confused.
Now I know there are those people out there who are technophobes but even they have a cell phone close at hand and use email regularly – my mother is one such lady.
She’s in her 70s now, but admitted to me that without having access to the Internet and her emails she can’t get things done. And this from a lady who only started using the Internet as a means of keeping in touch with her son, me, at the age of 67.
I respect her for taking the time to learn because it allows us to keep in constant contact with one another.
What amazes me is how many young people are still in denial about the use of technology in their lives. They know everyone’s using Facebook, but either don’t bother signing up for it, or if they do, barely comment or share things with their friends.
Computers are pretty much a requirement for nearly every job these days and yet most teenagers I know barely know to use anything other than Word and the Internet.
I was talking to some kids the other day and I asked them what browser they used and they had no idea!
New technology brings with it a learning curve. That means time, energy and a little frustration.
Some people just cross their fingers and close their eyes, hoping that it’s just a bad dream and that when they wake up things will be just the way they were. They hope against hope that they won’t need to learn it. They stick with older technology as it gets the job done.
The mistake is not trying to keep up with all the change that is going on can be disastrous long term.
There will come a time when old technology becomes obsolete and whether we like it or not we are forced to make the move.
The problem is that we are five steps behind and have to play catch up. And by the time we have caught up, everyone has moved on.
So what can we do? The sheer volume of information prevents any of us from learning them so we must pick and choose.
Forget trying to do all the social media sites – do one, but do it regularly till you get the hang of it. And be sure you go with an industry leader so there is little chance of them going under.
Now I know what you’re saying, “But I don’t need Facebook.”
You probably said the same thing about 7 years ago regarding a cell phone.
Nowadays it’s hard to live without one.
Times change, technology changes, and you can either fight it (and lose) or go with the flow.
Learning new things can be tough at first, but if we keep going them we will be rewarded for our efforts.
That is as true with technology as it is with learning a language, photography, magic, music, investing, golf or any other endeavor.
Going from the known (what we are comfortable with) to the unknown (what we don’t know) is unnerving, frustrating and sometimes even painful.
But by devoting a small amount of time each day or each week, in time, we will learn. And the more we learn, the easier it gets and the more useful it becomes.
In my parents’ generation, we could afford to take it easy but with the speed of change as it is today there is no time to dilly-dally around.
Get started today.
Don’t wait till tomorrow and find you wake up a dinosaur and close to extinction.
Accept that change is here, and do something about it.
Adrian Shepherd