9/19/2014
I admit it. I am a technophobe. I’m not good at using new
technology and I don’t even want to learn. I have someone who handles my
website. I have only mastered the rudimentary art of ‘liking’ something on
Facebook or making a post. I don’t understand how Facebook works, how to share,
how to find things again or God forbid how to ‘tag’ someone. Don’t even mention
other social media.
I have a dumb phone and it stays off in my car. I turn it on
when I go somewhere in case I need to call home or Bob needs me to pick up
something at the store. All my friends have smart phones and they can do a
million things with them, but I don’t want one.
My lack of smart phone is starting to cause some issues with
my work. Clients call and say ‘did you get the photo I texted you?’ Then I tell
them I have a landline and no way to accept a text. They don't understand what I'm saying. It’s amazing how many
people only take photos with their phone and don’t know how to email them. And
please don’t leave me a message and say ‘you have my number’, because I don’t.
If it goes to voice mail, there is no way for me to get your number. It's not a cell phone!
I love my landline. It has clear and consistent volume and
quality. Calls don’t drop and I don’t need to perch in the southwest corner of
my kitchen to get a good signal. I do value being able to make a call when out
on the road, but I honestly don’t understand why people have given up a really
great phone system for one that only works some of the time and not very well
at that. Isn’t phone technology actually worse than it used to be?
I also don’t want to be ‘connected’ all the time. When I
walk in the park I see people engrossed in their phones, texting or talking and
they never see the stunning Roseate Spoonbill flying overhead. They are not
connected to nature and the things around them. Technology is creating a world
of disconnect.
I want to be connected to people face-to-face. I love to see
them and feel their energy and give them a hug. I don’t want to read their
thoughts in tweets and smiley faces. That’s not connection, that’s distance.
That’s hiding behind technology and creating separation. Life is meant to be
lived in person, not virtually.
Although I do my work on the phone, I am connected
energetically to the animals I speak to every day. I get to feel them and be
with them on a deep intimate level. I am very fortunate that so much of my time
is spent in this space.
I often describe myself as ‘technologically impaired’. I
know it’s not good to put negative labels on myself or anyone else, but there’s
just no way around it – I’m bad at technology and I won’t be getting a smart
phone anytime soon.
