Former Lancastrian

I guess Im in the category of being classed as old as Im over 40 but younger than 60.
This week I had several introductions to smart technology and while impressed with some I can still do things on my own and not becoming reliant on this new way of living.

I don't own a smart phone so restricted to some of this new way of doing things.
Call me old fashioned but I still like having cash in my wallet along with debit card and credit card and occasionally a coupon reducing the price of an item.

So this week had my new smart TV delivered with Google assistant and voice remote control. Tried it out and it worked however at 10 pm last night it stopped working I think as I asked it to make me a cup of tea and it didn't.

Google/Alexa/Siri or whoever else can help but for FFS if laid on the couch do I really need to say Alexa turn up temperature to 74F/24C rather than getting up off the couch and doing it myself.

Took my younger adult son out for lunch yesterday. He needed to pick up some soft drinks so off to a grocery store. The usual buy 4 for $5 promotion on offer.
Now to head for the cashier area. Find the express lane or use the self checkout area? So he picks the self checkout, scans in the items and now has to pay. Whips out his phone accesses an app and holds phone to be scanned rep beep and items now paid for. Impressive or not?

Did he have money on him or at least a debit card? What if when whipping out phone the phone is dead What if there was a fit looking bird on a checkout till who he might be interested in or she might be interested in him and you know they could interact with looks and possibly words exchanged

Where will it all end?

Alexa make me a bacon butty. Great if Alexa is your wife/girlfriends name

caretaker

A man got in his time machine, travelled back 100 years and explained to the people that he was from the future. They asked, "How is it different in your time, can you give us an example?" He replied "I have in my pocket a device that can access all the available information in the world, and I use it to look at pictures of cats and argue with strangers."

BristolUK

"Does not compute"
If quicker, by all means. But speaking for my favourite Sobeys store, it seems quicker the old fashioned way. Self serve looks really slow considering how little people have to pay for.

Nice

Danny B

dave_j

Technology. Don't you just love it. Imagine, we have all of those manufacturers out there screaming for our cash and they do this by offering to make our lives simpler and easier and all the while making our lives more fragile and less robust.

Years ago, as often happened the car stopped. We opened the bonnet, took out some rusty tools and looked to see what had gone wrong. Sure the car didn't start sometimes and other times it needed cajoling but I felt I was always in control, I knew that barring a catastrophic failure of some component then the car, helped by tools and a little knowledge would always get me home. Today, the car always starts, it never stops but I know deep down that I'm the weakest link. I always carry tools with me but I haven't a clue how all the bits go together and if the dreaded 'Stop Engine' light comes on then I know that the end of the world is nigh, I feel like a failure.

A week or two ago, as usually happens just when you need it, the trusty printer refused to do anything. It told me there was a 'paper jam'. Now this was strange because there was no paper in the machine but I dutifully cleaned it out but without luck. The trusty internet told me this was a catchall type of message and that if I looked closely there would be a piece of plastic somewhere behaving badly. Hours later and with the printer in pieces I discovered three things. 1. There was no paper to be jammed. 2. Everything seemed to work as it should. 3. I'm absolutely useless at mending printers. It's now been recycled.. probably into another printer.

So I'm a reasonably proficient DIY guy who likes to mend things rather than throw them away, but when it comes to 21st century electronics I'm no better than the caveman who when presented with the first wheel thought it was a new kind of log and burned it.

Do I feel in control of my life more now than in the past? I don't think so. There's always the feeling that that nice gadget that I rely on so much to tell me when to clean my teeth will stop working. How will I cope then?

Oink

The cliche of middle-aged people moaning about technology is probably just the realization that you don’t matter anymore.

Former Lancastrian

Good to know. I can now tell my kids if I don't matter anymore then they don't need to borrow money from me

scrubbedexpat091

Most smart things I find of no real use. I don't need a smart thermostat or pay with my phone or use smart stuff on my aquariums to control everything.

I have a basic smart phone but just use it as a phone and internet. Only 2 apps I use are work app for schedule and Evo app car share.

I carry some cash as there always seems to be one place or another that have a debit system down and only accepting cash.

I also find cash easier to manage.

BristolUK

Also convenient for tips in restaurants, paying someone for casual labour, snow clearance, collections at the store....

Teaandtoday5

Controlling things with my phone just seems like so much bother. I'd spend so much time having to get my phone out of my car, my bag or ringing it from someone else's phone to work out exactly where I left the bloomin' thing. At least I can always find the thermostat. Plus imagine not being able to shop just because your phone battery is flat.

bats

I'm a cyborg so I've definitely embraced techology. I've always used it at work and do like a few gadgets around the home but my husband is a Luddite who mutters and grumbles at anything fancier than a clockwork mechanism. I take no notice of course. I have Hue lights that my lights come on and go off automatically and I can the change the colours. I chat to my mum on Facebook messenger she's 89 and batters away at her gadgets. Age is irrelevant.

Siouxie

+1

My sister is in her 70's and repairs her children's and grandchildren's computer/laptops.

I'm a lot more computer savvy than some of my friends in their 40's; I ask them if they have checked xyz or if they have updated something or suggest that they download a tool and run it - and I get blank looks back. They don't have a clue. Half the time I have to walk them through each step or else screenshare / have remote access so I can show them what to do.

I love technology but I wouldn't want to rely solely on it. I was watching a UK program where someone had replaced all the electronics in the house for smart ones - even down to turning the lights, heating etc., on and locking/unlocking the doors, all from a centralised computer terminal - and thought 'what if the computer went down or the electricity went off'? I'd always want to have a way to manually over-ride in the event of a failure (you know, like a light switch or a lock, lol).

Shard

It's definitely a mindset.

The good news is that with 'personal assistants' using devices is going to get easier and easier.

not2old

I take oink's point

But you know what, here I am at age 70, a retired (primary) Electrical/electronic Engineer that did my part in the technological advances of the 70's - 90's that have further advanced to where they are today.

I am also smarter than any technology out there & the reason being that I have choices to use it or not and can live without being dependant on it.

I can live with it or without it unlike the under 30's that will do themselves in if it wasn't in the palm of their hand, their ears or eyes or if they had to actually speak face to face with another person over using two thumbs or tapping a computer keyboard.

I admire technological advances, all that it has come to & will get to in the next 100 years.

I am more than happy with the technology in my life, the old fashioned (dinosaur) skills that I have that allow me to live & survive each day without worrying about being cyber-bullied or hacked or the fact that I don't get depressive withdrawal if I'm not always connected to technology or I lose my hand held life-line palm whats'it.

Technology is a small part of my life

dbd33

I'm generally unfazed by electronic stuff. I see the merit in having the phone as the one remote and the internet as the one communications medium but I don't personally have need to start the oven or open the garage remotely. When I'm in Europe I'm electronic, paying by phone, having no boarding card and so on. When I'm in Canada I make the adjustment and do things manually. It's usually not a big deal either way.

People and organizations that are way behind even the Canadian norm do piss me off though. I don't have a cheque book, I can't pay that way. Take cash or electronic transfer or I will find someone else to do the job.