- You are the boss of your technology.
- Figure out what you want your technology to do for you and make it do that.
- You are way smarter than your technology.
- Technology is a matter of "want" or "need," not "should."
Here are what I think are the major sources of problems in a person's relationship with their tech.
1. Tech Guilt - feeling guilty that you're not getting everything you possibly can out of your technology; that you don't know how to use every feature.
Tech guilt is unnecessary and counter-productive. Decide what you want your technology to do for you, and figure out how to make it do that. Do you just want to make calls and play music on your smart phone? Then learn how to do that, and love your phone because it fulfills those needs in your life.You are the master and your tech is the servant. It is there to fulfill your needs, not the other way around. The phone doesn't care if you don't know how to check stock quotes on it, or play games, or check email, or whatever. You care that the phone does what you want it to do for you. And that's as it should be.
Now, I'm not saying that, should the spirit move you, you shouldn't investigate what else your phone could do for you, through books, Youtube videos, just playing around, or a little cybertherapy, but you should first set a strict mindset that you're not obligated in any way to do this. As long as your phone makes calls and plays music, you're golden.
2. Tech Fear - a. the fear that your technology is smarter than you, will outwit you, and is secretly laughing at you. Or, b. the fear that you'll never be smart enough to make it do what you want to do. Or c. the fear that you'll do something wrong and break it.
Computers and other technology are stupid. They can only do what people (users (you), programmers, designers) specifically tell them to do. Technology can't infer, doesn't think, and is very limited. And it has no sense of humor, irony, or ridicule. You are way smarter than your technology. It's just a matter of figuring out how its designers and programmers were thinking when they built it, and learning some basic standards of use that apply across different devices and programs. I have full confidence that you can learn to do that.
As for breaking it if you do something wrong, were you planning on throwing it out a window or stepping on it? No? (As tempting as that may be at times!) Then the chances of you breaking it are miniscule. Additionally, many devices have a "back to factory settings" option, so if you should, somehow, manage to snarl something up irretrievably, which you won't, you can fix it that way. I can help you learn some skills, from backing up to the classic Ctrl+Alt+Del to take care of any difficulties (that will NOT include breaking the computer) that might arise.
3. Pace of Change - there's too much change and I don't have time to learn new stuff.
This is a toughie, and has a few possible answers, depending on circumstances.
a. Your tech worked just fine for you, but you were forced to upgrade, and that came with a whole slew of unfamiliar tech.
My advice? Keep the basic principles in mind -- you're the boss of your tech, figure out what you want your tech to do for you and how to make it do that, and you're way smarter than it is -- and jump in with both feet and find out what you need to know. There are a plethora of books and websites out there that can help, but finding a person to teach you is almost certainly going to be the most efficient method.
My further advice? Take this as an opportunity to see what your tech can do for you now, that it couldn't 5 years ago. Reassess what you want your tech to do for you that you didn't 5 years ago. Do you have new interests? Are you playing new games? Have you heard enough about this Facebook thing that you want to try it? If you've got to put the time and mental resources towards learning anyway, you might consider widening your horizons a little bit and learning a couple of extra new skills.
b. You don't have the time to learn the new tech you feel is being forced on you.
This is just not happy-making. It's seldom fun to feel forced into anything, but especially when you had stuff that was working for you and don't have time to learn new. Hopefully I can help.
First, you don't have to learn everything at once; that will not only take way too much time, but will also overload your brain. Go back to basic principles, and prioritize what you want your tech to do for you; what is it most important you learn first? Figure out how to learn that. (Again, just getting a teacher is often the most efficient method.) Then move on to the next thing on your list.
But work from YOUR list, not anyone else's. Don't let yourself feel guilty about not learning things about your new technology because you think you "should" or because it's there. Learn things because you need to to get your tasks done, for your convenience, or because you want to. Guilt will just make you feel bad.
Hopefully coming at your new tech on your terms will help reduce the resentment and resistance that might be affecting your relationship with your tech, and make your learning process faster. Emotional response will often make something seem like a much bigger and uglier task than it may really be.
And remember to be patient with yourself, and that you're way smarter than your tech is. I have every confidence that you can master your tech.
Finally, finding time to learn new tech is just like finding time for anything else. It has to be a priority and you have to make the time.
4. Keeping Up with the Joneses - it seems pointless to buy new technology because the moment I do, something better comes along.
"Keeping up" is a fallacy based on a "should:" you should only invest in the cutting edge of technology, which is not only ridiculous, but impossible, and will drive you nuts in short order.
Go back to basic principles; decide what you want that new device to do for you, how much you want to spend, and then buy accordingly. Then relax and retire from the tech rat race with the satisfaction of knowing you just bought technology that does what you want it to do well, and without breaking your budget. And you won't have to do that again for a while. Bliss.
And if your current tech works fine for you, don't upgrade it! If your 4 year old PC is doing everything you want it to do, keep it until you're forced to upgrade when it breaks, finally gets slow enough to drive you crazy, or won't run that new software you really want. That old flip phone makes calls just fine? Keep it. Who cares if your sister insists that you must have the latest smart phone; she's not going to pay for the data plan, and, frankly, it's none of her business.
To sum up:
- You are the boss of your technology.
- Figure out what you want your technology to do for you and how to make it do that.
- You are way smarter than your technology.
- Technology is a matter of "want" or "need," not "should."
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