“This iPhone hasn’t been backed up in 13 weeks. Backups happen when this iPhone is plugged in, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi.” It’s a message I wake up to daily, the week count steadily climbing alongside my anxiety. Here’s the thing: in the last 13 weeks, my iPhone has all-at-once been plugged in, locked and connected to Wi-Fi. And I even pay for extra iCloud storage each month, so what gives?
I haven’t done anything about the iCloud problem yet because it feels like just one of my many issues rooted in technology. I have a calendar that won’t show up on my phone, a gmail filter with a mind of its own, an Apple TV that cuts out mid-streaming, a brand new Macbook that won’t connect to my desktop monitor, and so on. And don’t even get me started on the “retired” devices that sit unused in my home, collecting dust, loaded up with music, photos and documents from past lives. I got my first laptop at 18 years old, and if this is the kind of chaos and clutter that comes from just 9 years of using technology, I don’t even want to imagine what my situation will look like in another decade or two.
If history is indication, the future will go something like this: a new device or operating system will come along, claiming to be the answer to all that disorganization, the streamlined solution we’ve been waiting for. But it’ll come rife with its own set of problems, pop-up notifications and incompatibilities. On the tenth repetition of that cycle, could you see yourself reaching a point where you opt out altogether? Would you ever choose to stick to what you’ve finally found to be functional at the risk of falling “out of touch”?
I’m grateful to have access to the latest cutting edge devices, and I acknowledge the amazing progress that technology has enabled (socially, scientifically, creatively, etc.), but these days it feels like it’s evolving faster than ever before. Just when I found a way to organize my external hard drive, Dropbox came along. And right when I got my iPhoto in check, Photos became the norm. For me, the learning curve is becoming greater with each innovation, and with that, so is my frustration. I have a good friend who often attends Genius Bar classes just to understand her devices. Me? I don’t have that kind of patience, and really, should it be that complicated? After all, these inventions are meant to make our lives easier.
Around the office, we complain talk a lot about our technological issues, and how infuriating it is when something doesn’t work the way it should — I know, I know, #firstworldproblems… but a problem nonetheless! So we thought we’d open the conversation up to you guys: Have you had enough of technology? Or if you’ve found a way to stay caught up on it all, what’s your secret?
Yes! I’d say I have a love/hate relationship with technology. One on hand, digital technology has given us the tools and platform to produce our own creative work from anywhere in the world. I also enjoy the information access. But the battle against incompatible devices (and annoying pop up windows) is a daily one. Not to mention expensive. I’ve often felt lucky to have been part of the last generation who had a relatively internet-free high school experience. Just the joy of cruising the aisles at a video store or record shop… the moments of discovery were truly epic back when you really had to work for them.
I’m right there with you Jenn! My best childhood and adolescent memories have NOTHING to do with technology. I can’t help but miss the days when we weren’t so dependent on it.
Definitely a love-hate. I am so grateful we live in an age where iPhones, texting, and email have made life way more convenient/efficient. But at the same time, it definitely seems more complicated! And I do feel like those little nagging tech issues (I share your pain with the iPhone backup alert message, as well as the photo organization frustration!) add a lingering sense of stress to everyday life. I could never do away with my technology altogether, but I’m thinking about doing a tech detox soon just to see how it feels…
Technology definitely drives me crazy! Specifically my iPhone, which I’m constantly looking at, an almost chronic addiction. My phone tells me at least once a week, “I’m too hot. I need to cool down.” – like I don’t already know I’m using it too much IT has the nerve to rudely shut off and force me to take a breather lol.
I personally love tech ( but I’m a programmer so take that with a grain of salt). However I always recommend to my non-tech friends to read “D is for Digital”. It’s basically my first year of comp-sci in 100 pages of plain English, and will make dealing with technology so much easier when you understand the basics of how it works.
Ooh I’ll have to check it out! Sounds like it could be super helpful… thanks Erin!
No problem! Computer literacy is so important nowadays, I try to help out wherever I can since it can be a little intimidating. If you want to take it a step further I also have a post on resources for beginning to code / increasing your tech literacy on my blog here: http://www.erindepew.com/blog/2014/02/17/learn-how-to-code/
Technology is requirement, addiction, joy, source it inspiration and cause if many headaches.
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Has anyone figured out an answer to the cloud backup message? That greets me every time I plug my phone in too … and I repeatedly pay for more cloud storage! Drives me crazy.
How can I tell? I’m already crazy!
Technology can drive me nuts!!!!! We live in a world where our phones have to be updated every 2 years , our pc’s shut down because of various “issues” that we, the users , have nothing to do with!…Constantly deleting emails or other promo mail(time wasting) getting aggravated over things that shouldn’t be wasting out time.
Feeling obligated(or addicted )to your devices!!!
Though cell phones are great for emergencies…we are beholding to them since many of us have given up our land lines(way too expensive) and according to a friend who works in the field-they want to get rid of land lines in the near future.
I can HONESTLY tell you I didn’t feel this way in the 80’s. I liked a life where we had more privacy-and weren’t sitting on our rear ends getting fat.(Luckily I’m not in that category) Look at how much fatter people have become since owning pc’s.
It’s very depressing. And now -we have people having superficial relationships on Facebook…and can’t ell the difference between a real friend and your thousand “friends” on FACEBOOK.OY!!!
OK -I’m going to stop now but I could say more.
I absolutely HATE it. I remember what it was like to wait till you got home to check your answering machine. I remember what it was like to have actual conversations with people without a via. We are supposedly more “connected” because of technology, but are those connections meaningful? We swipe left without even knowing what the person’s voice sounds like. We engage in the world based on whim, and we dismiss it based on whim as well. Now everyone talks about having a “brand,” when branding was once just for tangible products.
Also, as someone with ADHD, I find it very difficult to wade through a list of instructions to get help (I need verbal directions and or a model) or search a web page for just the right tab to click on (ads coming and going, headlines scrolling, etc. are all very distracting). Adapting to a new phone or even a new platform being used at work is extra anxiety-inducing as well. Of course, you’re just given a handout and told to follow the directions, and unless the colleague in the cubicle next door is happy to help, you’re on your own. It’s a nightmare.
And don’t get me started about how difficult it is to even get a job today. It used to be that you could actually walk in to a place and talk to a real human being. Today, your CV or resume gets screened by a computer based on key words, and there is now a less than 1% chance of landing a job via an online application. The job market was much easier to navigate before the advent of the internet. It sucks, and it makes a person more inclined to stay in a job they hate rather than face the travails of filling out the endless online job applications.
So, is technology making us “crazy”? I know it causes more problems in my life than it solves. I hate it. I long for the days when one could talk to an actual person instead of having to press 2.
So many good points here!
I’ve never really been addicted to my phone other than using it to play music so that I could attend to real life things like caring for my children. That being said; it is a necessity these days to do any sort of business so I’m forced to learn, to upgrade, to see how many passwords I can possibly keep track of 🙁
I’m glad to have grown up in the 80s when you would look a person in the eye and shake their hands, when customer service was only a phone call away.
I want to know how do I extract my kids baby pictures from the early digital cameras I store in case I figure it out someday? How do I get my phone to stop doing things without me? And please chill out with auto correcting the words I say. I’ll ask for help if I need it. Plus, as an elementary school paraprofessional, I can tell you it’s ruining our kids literacy skills.
I get really bad anxiety when a computer software program tells me that I’m wrong or some auto pay robot keeps taking my money and I can’t get a hold of a person to fix it. Then, when I explain the problem they just parrot what the computer says! UGG, even now I’m mad at myself because I just spent an hour researching ways to deal with technology anxiety when I should have been in my garden.
Well I guess that’s settled, I’m turning my phone off, again so hopefully people understand when I don’t reply/post…however; if a friend decides to call me I’d be happy to hear the sound of their voice.
I MISS PAPER! There, I’ve said it.