Today as I was waiting for my lunch at the counter in a diner, an elderly woman sat down next to me. After she placed her order, she watched intently as I sent a text message with my cell phone.
"Is that an iPod?" she asked. No, it's my cell phone, I explained.
The conversation went on longer than I would have liked, with her playing the part of the self-righteous luddite, demanding to know why there's so much unnecessary technology in the world, and me being respectful to my elders and trying not show my annoyance.
She owns a business, she bragged, and she still banks the old-fashioned way - by walking into the building. She doesn't want a computer because of hackers. She doesn't want cable television when her TV antenna works just fine. Yada yada yada.
I was polite. I didn't tell her that evil hackers wouldn't be interested in her computer; they would much rather hack into her bank's servers. The only thing I did allow myself to say was that many municipalities do not allow installation of unsightly TV antennas. She muttered that wasn't the case in HER neighborhood. That's when I bade her good bye.
I consider myself to be a reluctant technophile. I don't automatically lust for every new gadget on the market. Heck, I don't have cable TV OR an iPod. But I do embrace technologies that obviously enhance my life. (I LOVE my cell phone!!!) What annoyed me about this woman was her outright rejection of individual differences, her ignorant belief that there is no need for new-fangled things like computers, and most of all, her lack of reciprocation in the manners department.
I mean, really, old people these days are SO rude.
Labels: lusers, toys
2 Comments:
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At 4:23 AM, Rita said…
I still have trouble loving my cell phone, but I definitely need it! Been thinking lately how I seem slower than ever to embrace each next toy. It started with ambivalence toward cordless phones (or, at least, unwillingness to rely only on them). I've run into problems with automated billing, too, which I mostly avoid.
I was always first to read manuals and learn gadgets in our house, as a kid, and I still feel that way toward camera stuff. (I did wait a long time before finally, reluctantly going digital, though.) Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever develop enough anti-gadgetry pride to sound like your new, elderly friend.
I hope not. It's fun (in a snobby way) to analyze new developments and decide whether they'd really enhance your life. But those answers are different for everyone.
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At 6:34 PM, Julie said…
Rita, I think you would find this Pew Report on different types of users interesting.
1. Omnivores (8 percent of the U.S. population): They enthusiastically use everything related to mobile communications technology.
2. Connectors (7 percent): This group, trending toward older females, really uses the communication aspects of these technologies.
3. Lackluster Veterans (8 percent): They use the Internet frequently, but are less avid about cell phones.
4. Productivity Enhancers (8 percent of population): They have strongly positive views about how technology helps them increase their productivity at work and at home.
5. Mobile Centrics (10 percent of the population): They fully embrace the functionality of their cell phones, but don't use the Internet much.
6. Connected But Hassled (10 percent): They find all this connectivity intrusive and information something of a burden. They often experience information overload.
7. Inexperienced Experimenters (8 percent): These casual users occasionally take advantage of interactivity.
8. Light But Satisfied (15 percent): They have some technology, but it does not play a major role in their lives. They love TV and radio.
9. Indifferents (11 percent): They proudly proclaim that they don't like this technology, but they begrudgingly use it a little.
10. Off the Network (15 percent): They have neither a cell phone nor an Internet connection. Older females dominate this group.
That elderly woman is in good company, as Off the Network types compose a whopping 15 percent of the population.
I'm probably in group 2 (Connectors), though sometimes I feel like a group 6 (Connected But Hassled).
