Technology Tuesday

Technology Tuesday.  Some of us are extremely fortunate to live in a world where information is readily available at the click or swipe of a finger; however, is technology making our life simpler or more complicated?

I must admit that, I have been living in a bubble, I do not keep up with technology.  I am cheap and try to work with whatever I have.  For example, I am currently listening to a CD on a boombox that I received back in the 90s.  It has a cassette player, tuner and can play CD with MP3 files!  This is one of many old technologies that I still use and own today.  Do I want to replace them? Sort of; however, it is a big commitment because I will have to replace close to everything I own, re-wire everything and learn the new technologies that I purchased.  I am reluctant to replace them because these old, outdated and perhaps obsolete products are still working perfectly (or close to it anyways).

In addition to the above, shopping for new technologies is difficult in itself.  Technology is improving so rapidly that there are so many choices.  I like choices but it's confusing!  Do I want a new computer, tablet or smartphone? Which platform do I want to use (and perhaps commit to)? Will I make the wrong choice? What if the choice I make become irrelevant?  Maybe I am just very uninformed (or maybe I just don't like changes) but I want to be a responsible customer and know what I am buying so that I don't end up regretting my purchase afterwards. So where do I find such information and which sources do I trust (after all my teachers have taught me not to believe everything I read on the internet and my mom has told me not to believe everything I hear).

I think I am still living in a period of time where I am fearful and curious of technology.  I remember, back in the 90s, freaking out when I used to receive error messages from my computer; nowadays, I don't really care anymore and sometimes even send (anonymously) to the developers the errors encountered.  I remember watching educational videos about using the internet carefully and that there are predators hiding somewhere wanting to kidnap me. I also remember being part of an online gaming community.  As technology improves is our navigation through these improvements advancing at the same time?

Lastly, how can we ensure that technology is not misused and that the vulnerable is protected?Maybe for now I should just stick to grocery shopping since it is something I will always need!