WHY DO WE NEED A COMPUTER?
To err is human, but to really
Foul things up requires a computer.
Farmer’s Almanac, 1978)
Edna Jane was 90 years old when she bought her first computer. Her family thought it was marvelous that she wanted to learn to communicate the way they did and they were very proud of her. She signed up for computer classes and she took a cab to the computer store to learn about her new plaything twice a week for 8 weeks. When they gave her a certificate of completion, she felt very confident and knew she was ready to send e mails to her family.
She came home, booted up and promptly forgot her sign-in name. She called her son who explained how to establish a new sign-in name and a password and told her to make note of it so she wouldn’t forget again. However, Edna Jane has macular degeneration. She wrote down the proper information but now she cannot find that piece of paper.
Every now and then, she dusts off the computer and tries to reboot again but she KNOWS it’s not going to work. It never does. Then, she picks up the phone to call her daughter in law, Susan. “Would you mind ordering my groceries, darling?” she says. I”I have the list right here….but I can’t seem to find it.”
“Never mind, Mother,” says Susan who has had this identical conversation every Monday since she married George. “I have last week’s list. I’ll take care of it.”
Every one of you has an Edna Jane in your family. Your mother reads maps instead of googling a location. Your father doesn’t know what a video game is. He does crossword puzzles. Your Aunt Lucy takes books out of the library and when she wants to see a film, she drives downtown to a movie theater. Your Uncle Jeff uses a dictionary when he can’t spell a word. What is wrong with these people? Are they still in the dark ages?
When I was your age, I used a telephone to stay connected with my friends and the people in my workplace. I used the library for research on topics I wanted to understand better. I typed the articles I wrote for newspapers and magazines on an electric typewriter. When I proofread my stories, I cut out phrases with a scissors and taped them in a new paragraph.
I drove or walked to the grocery store to select the food I would eat and I wrote letters to people too far away to be in my immediate circle when I wanted to keep in touch.
I bought a computer in 1985. It was my substitute for that typewriter. Nothing else.
It wasn’t until 1989 that I became hooked on e mail to communicate and I was ahead of my time. Most of my friends didn’t get into e mail until the mid-nineties. The idea of using the computer for anything but communication and composition is still foreign to me. I know people do it, but I do not. I have begun to check out news on the computer but if a story looks interesting I always print it out to read. I like to see words in ink on paper.
It must be very frustrating to buy your mom a computer and spend several hours showing her all the wonderful things she can do with it. She smiles and says thank you and never boots it up again until you come over to ask her how she is doing. You are ready to bundle up the computer and give it to your neighbor’s kid, but that would accomplish nothing. All it would do is confuse your mom who is trying very hard not to hurt your feelings.
The truth is she is more comfortable living her life the way she has been living it all these years. She doesn’t NEED a new way to shop, communicate or entertain herself. When you are used to accomplishing a task a particular way, you really don’t want to change. It involves too much effort and way too much concentration.
Most computer savvy people order products on line. It has been years since I have browsed in a book store, or even wandered into a department store. I wouldn’t think of wasting an afternoon at Macy’s when I could be outside walking my dogs or painting a picture in my studio. What has astounded me is how many people in your generation now have decided they would rather SEE the dress on the rack or the pot in the culinary display before they actually purchase it. That is the way I used to do it. I am amazed at how many of my old fashioned ways are back in style. I suspect you are beginning to see it our way.
I walked into the Apple Store and it was crowded with people of all ages playing with computers and I pads. Every one of those shoppers could have saved money by purchasing their computer on line but they preferred to actually SEE what they were getting. I for one have ordered my last two computers on line. It saved me hours of time. And after all, compared to you, I don’t have that much time left. I don’t want to waste it.
The increase in farmer’s markets is another example of the way computer shopping is beginning to lose its luster for you. You like to chat with the farmers, squeeze those melons and inspect the lettuce for vermin before you buy. You are willing to spend almost double for organic produce you can see and bring home yourself. My generation doesn’t feel that way anymore. The aging process has changed our minds. The truth is, it has become an effort for us to leave the house these days. We don’t see the way we should. Our joints hurt and our energy level fades with the sun. It is much easier for us to go on line and order our groceries, buy our underwear and find discount books.
Entertainment is a different story. We like to go out to see a play or hear a symphony. We like to play board games or bridge with real people sitting across from us. Computer games don’t tempt us at all. We cannot understand why your generation is hooked on them There is one young man who got so involved in the virtual games on his computer that he couldn‘t pull himself away for four days. He didn’t sleep, he didn’t eat, and when he collapsed his parents took him to the emergency ward because he was dehydrated.
My generation would never do a thing like that.
The best way to explain our attitude about computers to you is to say, of course we use them, but for different things. Our computers are only tools to make our lives easier. Your computers set the tone of your day. You might ask me why I don’t check out face book every morning to see what my friends are up to and I will say, “I if I want to know how they are, I telephone.” It’s an age thing.
