{"id":2884,"date":"2012-09-08T05:23:06","date_gmt":"2012-09-08T05:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=2884"},"modified":"2012-09-08T05:23:06","modified_gmt":"2012-09-08T05:23:06","slug":"why-go-on-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/why-go-on-line\/","title":{"rendered":"WHY GO ON LINE?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

WHY DO WE NEED A COMPUTER?<\/p>\n

To err is human, but to really<\/p>\n

Foul things up requires a computer.<\/p>\n

Farmer’s Almanac, 1978)<\/p>\n

\n

Edna Jane was 90 years old when she bought her first computer.\u00a0 Her family thought it was marvelous that she wanted to learn to communicate the way they did and they were very proud of her.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She came home, booted up and promptly forgot her sign-in name.\u00a0 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\u2019t forget again.\u00a0 However, Edna Jane has macular degeneration.\u00a0 She wrote down the proper information but now she cannot find that piece of paper.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Every now and then, she dusts off the computer and tries to reboot again but she KNOWS it\u2019s not going to work.\u00a0 It never does.\u00a0 Then, she picks up the phone to call her daughter in law, Susan.\u00a0 \u201cWould you mind ordering my groceries, darling?\u201d she says.\u00a0 I\u201dI have the list right here\u2026.but I can\u2019t seem to find it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNever mind, Mother,\u201d says Susan who has had this identical conversation every Monday since she married George.\u00a0 \u201cI have last week\u2019s list.\u00a0 I\u2019ll take care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Every one of you has an Edna Jane in your family.\u00a0 Your mother reads maps instead of googling a location.\u00a0 Your father doesn\u2019t know what a video game is.\u00a0 He does crossword puzzles.\u00a0 Your Aunt Lucy takes books out of the library and when she wants to see a film, she drives downtown to a movie theater.\u00a0 Your Uncle Jeff uses a dictionary when he can\u2019t spell a word.\u00a0 What is wrong with these people?\u00a0 Are they still in the dark ages?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When I was your age, I used a telephone to stay connected with my friends and the people in my workplace.\u00a0 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. \u00a0When I proofread my stories, I cut out phrases with a scissors and taped them in a new paragraph.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I bought a computer in 1985.\u00a0 It was my substitute for that typewriter.\u00a0 Nothing else.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until 1989 that I became hooked on e mail to communicate and I was ahead of my time.\u00a0 Most of my friends didn\u2019t get into e mail until the mid-nineties.\u00a0 The idea of using the computer for anything but communication and composition is still foreign to me.\u00a0 I know people do it, but I do not.\u00a0 I have begun to check out news on the computer but if a story looks interesting I always print it out to read.\u00a0 I like to see words in ink on paper.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 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\u2019s kid, but that would accomplish nothing.\u00a0 All it would do is confuse your mom who is trying very hard not to hurt your feelings.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The truth is she is more comfortable living her life the way she has been living it all these years.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t NEED a new way to shop, communicate or entertain herself.\u00a0 \u00a0When you are used to accomplishing a task a particular way, you really don\u2019t want to change.\u00a0 It involves too much effort and way too much concentration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most computer savvy people order products on line.\u00a0 It has been years since I have browsed in a book store, or even wandered into a department store.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t think of wasting an afternoon at \u00a0Macy\u2019s when I could be outside walking my dogs or painting a picture in my studio.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 That is the way I used <\/span>to do it.\u00a0 I am amazed at how many of my old fashioned ways are back in style.\u00a0 I suspect you are beginning to see it our way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I walked into the Apple Store and it was crowded with people of all ages playing with computers and I pads.\u00a0\u00a0 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.\u00a0 It saved me hours of time.\u00a0 And after all, compared to you, I don\u2019t have that much time left.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to waste it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The increase in farmer\u2019s markets is another example of the way computer shopping is beginning to lose its luster for you.\u00a0 You like to chat with the farmers, squeeze those melons and inspect the lettuce for vermin before you buy.\u00a0 You are willing to spend almost double for organic produce you can see and bring home yourself.\u00a0 My generation doesn\u2019t feel that way anymore.\u00a0 The aging process has changed our minds.\u00a0\u00a0 The truth is, it has become an effort for us to leave the house these days.\u00a0 We don\u2019t see the way we should.\u00a0\u00a0 Our joints hurt and our energy level fades with the sun.\u00a0 It is much easier for us to go on line and order our groceries, buy our underwear and find discount books.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Entertainment is a different story.\u00a0 We like to go out to see a play or hear a symphony.\u00a0 We like to play board games or bridge with real people sitting across from us. Computer games don\u2019t tempt us at all.\u00a0 We cannot understand why your generation is hooked on them\u00a0 There is one young man who got so involved in the virtual games on his computer that he couldn\u2018t pull himself away for four days.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t sleep, he didn\u2019t eat, and when he collapsed his parents took him to the emergency ward because he was dehydrated.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My generation would never do a thing like that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The best way to explain our attitude about computers to you is to say, of course we use them, but for different things.\u00a0\u00a0 Our computers are only tools to make our lives easier.\u00a0 Your computers set the tone of your day.\u00a0 You might ask me why I don\u2019t check out face book every morning to see what my friends are up to and I will say, \u201cI if I want to know how they are, I telephone.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s an age thing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[837],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-joe-cillo"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"