I honestly thought I was a Luddite, finding many technologies complicate my life, and feeling nostalgic about a simpler time. I am quite unlike the true Luddites, never destroying technology, or fearing it would outstrip my job. As to the latter, maybe it will be possible, but I think the improvements possible for my job in health care (legibility, accountability, error prevention, communication) are more likely than erasing the need for health care providers. That being said, I enjoy the simple things of life, but I am probably so dependent on technology that I could never live without the basics for long with feeling nostalgic. If I discount the "basic" technologies of electricity, hot water, and telephone/internet, I would have thought I was satisfied at that. Perhaps it's just appealing to my laziness this morning after a crazy couple of weeks, but today my smartphone gave me great pleasure in how it simplifies my life.
I was sitting on the couch (a rare event honestly) and had a kitty curled in my lap when my home phone rang. A message followed my greeting, about an appointment my optometrist had booked for me two years prior, which I could no longer keep. So I picked up my smartphone, googled the optician's number, and while making the call, put the receptionist on speaker to enter the new information in my calendar. All this without dislodging the happy sleeping kitty! So embrace technology, at least when it makes life easier. Remember that the best technologies we enjoy are the ones we forget about. Like a morning coffee, it's always best to acknowledge the dependence, be grateful for its existence, and always remember how to live without!
No comments:
Post a Comment