Good morning, it's raining.
I was having a chat with my friend, she was telling me about her friend who had been given one of those iphone thingys. The friends friend is in her late sixties and has not had one of these electronic gadgets before, and was reluctant to accept the gift. She did accept it to give it a try. The friends friend decided that it had some uses. She particularly liked the camera, and it gave her new ways to keep in touch with her family and friends, with messaging and something called facetiming, and suchlike.
My friend said her friend was pleased that she decided to keep it.
My friend said I might find one useful and suggested that I might consider getting one. How this conversation started was because Tesco has offered me a deal on a new iphone thingy. They know I have a cheapo Nokia which I only top up once in a blue moon because I only use it for texts and phone calls, and I don't want a contract. I feel a contract would be another noose around my neck, and another way to control me, and I don't want that to happen.
I know that this is the way technology is going because I see people glued to their screens, even kids on their short walk past my house to get the school bus. They have their earphones plugged in and are chatting away to their gadget. It worries me that people have the need to be communicating electronically every minute of the day.
I see people sitting on park benches caressing their gadgets. They walk around the town centre oblivious to what's going on around them because they are engrossed in conversation with a screen. Face to face chatting skills are being lost, it is no longer necessary to actually be in someone's company to communicate with them.
Look what happens when a new updated model comes out. Queues build up outside big shops, they need to feed their addiction. And an addiction it is. The world is rapidly moving on at an alarming pace, and to keep up you must be connected to the internet.
Big Tech are pushing forward with new technology. Artificial Intelligence is here already. There are robots programmed to do almost any job, and it won't be long before most humans become redundant. Not needed, on the scrap heap. Those that don't keep up will be of no use, and surplus to requirements.
There is good technology, and bad technology. In the wrong hands it can decimate the world. No need to go to war any more, no bombs needed, Just a few clicks of the mouse, flick a few switches, and there will be no power, no water, and no food. The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. This will be a journey that surges forward, and there will be no way to reverse it.
I won't be alive to see where all this is going, but I wonder how our children and grandchildren will fit into this new world.
I am not going to get a iphone thingy.
Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon. Toodle pip. ilona
I was sad when my cheap Nokia died . If nothing else, it had a Zeiss lens for its camera and took cracking good pictures.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't easy to get a decent basic phone now instead of a mini computer with a phone function.
I wasn't sure what you meant by 'iphone thingy'. Do you mean an iphone, or a smartphone? You can get smartphones which aren't iphones for as little as £10 (no contract), so whilst there is an argument about people being addicted to them, I don't think you could say all smartphones are expensive or bad value. A lot of older people have also been able to keep in contact with their family using this technology too (for free).
ReplyDeleteI used the term iphone thingy as a generic term. All I know is that you get on the internet with them, and take photo's. I have no idea about what else they do or what they cost. The main point of the post is that people become addicted to technology, whatever gadget they are using. My friend pointed out the benefits and how it had broadened the horizons of her friend. I can't see that there would be any benefits for me.
DeleteI don't spend a lot of time on my smartphone, but one thing I have started doing recently is paying in cheques using my banks app. It's so easy to do, and now saves me time and money by not having to travel to the nearest bank branch and having to wait in the rain to get in. Extremely convenient.
ReplyDeleteIf it works for you, do it.
DeleteI'm with you Ilona on this one. My desktop/laptop is additive enough without the carryover into every aspect of my life. Plus, I worked a job where I had to be at the beck-n-call of anybody that wanted my attention. I never want that intrusion into my every moment again. It's worse than being a mother of a toddler, who is having a melt-down on the other side of the bathroom door cause you would like a little privacy.
ReplyDeleteI love and agree with your "It's worse than being a mother of a toddler.....etc". It truly is, indeed. And I know, since I raised four of those toddler darlings, adults now, three of them grown to be at least slightly addicted now....
DeleteCheers,
Jeanneke.
My cats have a melt down if I am in the toilet!.They like to sit and watch me or even jump on my lap,lol.xx
DeleteI'm also with you Ilona on this and I still use an old Motorola flip phone without internet.
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ReplyDeleteAmen! Well said, Ilona. You are right on the money!
ReplyDeleteThey are just another tracking device to keep tabs on us all. Your thought are the same as mine, they are making us more and more reliant on the internet for all sorts of things. Eventually we will not be able to use cash it will be all cards and your money will never be your own. If they can make the whole world wear masks for virtually nothing more than a flu virus imagine what else they could make the sheep do.
ReplyDeleteI feel for my kids and grandkids future.
Briony
x
Thank you Briony. That's exactly the way I see it. People are wandering blindly through life, not able to see the bigger picture because they are attached to a screen which does everything for them. No need to use their brain any more, press a button and the answer will appear. Grand kids will be living in a completely different world than we are. There will be no opportunities to develop their own skills, they will be monitored 24/7 and get their instructions from Silicon Valley. I am pleased that I made the decision not to have any kids.
DeleteIt worries me too, to see so many constantly watching those tiny screens and never looking up, then there are those with "blue tooth", walking around seemingly talking to the empty air because the blue tooth in their ear does all the connections. It's scary how fast technology is expanding.
ReplyDeleteYes it is. People are happy to hand over every aspect of their lives to technology. The human brain is becoming redundant.
DeleteI agree with you, a 'dumb' phone is what I have. Just for emergencies and the occasional phone call. A £10 top up every few years seems to be enough. For a start I have to put on my glasses to see the screen, what a faff when I can use my pc with its big monitor. My husband has a smart phone should we need any of the other things they do and I have his old phone (without smart card) as a back-up camera when I don't feel like carrying my beloved Nikon. The only cost of running it is the trickle of electricity to charge it up and the torch works too. My husband worked in IT so we are aware of how much money is lost through on-line banking fraud. Our pennies are much safer tucked away in a savings account and it's worth the minor inconvenience of having to call at the bank every now and again. We're not dinosaurs and do make on-line payments through safe methods but we try and keep what we do have safe. Seeing people walking along and talking to themselves does make me smile, an old person thing I suppose.
ReplyDeleteMy cheap basic Nokia is over twenty years old and never let me down.i will keep it untill its old and gray it does every thing I need for a phone I'm pretty certain although the smart phones do more they also appear to know our every move
ReplyDeleteI have a cheap pay as go Samsung smart phone. Its mainly for texts and the odd phone call and i only have to top up ever 2nd month as i don't need or want a contract phone. I only bought it cos my old phone broke and at a price i could afford. I never replace anything until the old one is broke. Technology changes ever year and specially so with phones laptops tablets and now even tvs. and yet so many people now say they are more lonely. Its scary how much technology is taking over the world even self service checkouts and not long ago our local Tesco brought out a self service scanner so when you go to the checkout you just pay the checkout girl and a special checkout for this which i will not be using it will the loss of more jobs as you are doing what they are paid to do. I am not a fan of face time on the phone of laptop but it can be good for people with family members who separated by long distance. I find it very sad to see so many glued to screens and now with headphones and talking out loud walking about or on public transport i never a phone or any screen could be so addictive but i was wrong. Those latest up to date phones are vey expensive a basic phone is all i will ever need and i am sure for many here.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this one Ilona. I see people walking but they are 'plugged in'. They are taking absolutely no notice of what's going on around them. If technology should crash they won't have a clue howto fill their time. This year I've turned a large part of my garden into a veggie plot. Next year I plan on creating even more veg space. It's filled my time and really lifted my spirits these past few months and the veggies taste amazing.
ReplyDeleteI've only got a basic phone too. I receive quite a few incoming calls on it but hardly make any outgoing ones myself.
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