Most people know someone who is “technologically-challenged.” Whether it’s a family member or friend, sometimes it’s funny to hear and watch the situations and problems that arise from a tech-savvy perspective. For most I would assume the challenged would be grandparents and the elderly. However that does not mean youth do not have difficulties with technology. I can say for myself that I don’t understand video games (besides Super Mario Bros. Wii and MarioKart Wii), how to fax a paper, digital TV channels, and other miscellaneous tasks. In the past few days I have seen three specific examples in all dealing with cell phones. This evening while eating dinner, the following three examples came up in discussion, and I thought it would be interesting to share levels of comfort with technology and how technology makes an impact on lives.
We ate at a local Panera Bread for dinner tonight. There was a family behind us; a granddaughter, daughter, and grandfather. All three generations were present, and all had different thoughts. The grandfather didn’t understand the benefit of having a cell phone on and with you at all times. The daughter and granddaughter explained to him that if something were to happen, such as getting lost, falling, a car accident, or any other emergency situation, a cell phone would act as a tracker. They told him it’s almost like a dog chip. It was also explained that it doesn’t do you any good if it’s sitting in your car, while someone is trying to reach you, and if it’s always off, it defeats the purpose of having a mobile device. Another thing I wish I could have added to the conversation was that it helps to answer your phone when it rings! More than often I have called someone and they never call me back until I see them in person and let them know.
My Grandma, (my mom’s mother), is not opposed to technology, but definitely isn’t comfortable with it. She does not have a computer, simply because she feels there is no need for one. The only thing she knows and likes to do on a computer is play Solitaire. We then bought her a hand-held Solitaire game for Mother’s Day, and she returned it because she wasn’t completely comfortable using it. She has a cell phone and knows how to call people, answer incoming calls, and just recently, my mom taught her how to check voicemail messages. She has no idea how to send and receive text messages however. I think she receives about one text message every year so it is not of great importance. I am glad that she leaves her phone on a lot so we can reach her on the go.
My Grandma, (my dad’s mother), has a computer, checks email regularly, and is fairly comfortable with technology. The problem is that she has a hard time with her phone because the letters and numbers are so small, and she doesn’t have quick fingers for texting. The screen goes dark before she can get the next letter in, and then she gets frustrated with the lack of efficiency. My Grandpa was thinking about getting her a touch screen phone, but realized that an iPhone would be way too complicated for her with all of the extra features. I like talking to her when her phone is on, however her phone seems like it is always off. She turns it on when she wants to use it, but when finished she’ll turn it off. When people reply to her text messages or leave her a voicemail, it takes the phone a couple minutes for them to show up once she has turned it back on. This confuses her even more when she her phone starts beeping at her. I am not quite sure why she turns it off, but I think one reason is to save the battery.
From these examples, you can see that there is a wide variety of comfort levels in technology. Maybe you never knew that not every single person in the world has a computer and access to internet. It seems like our world today relies on the internet and media so much, that “normal” is based on the majority. For example, businesses may advertise “for more information visit, www.____.com.” What if someone without a computer wanted more information, how would they find out? It’s unfortunate that some people have to suffer without knowledge of information simply because they haven’t progressed as fast as the majority. (757)
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