So Much Tech, Not Always Accessible

Without Rocky, I am vulnerable to technology problems. He would simply sit down at my computer and fix whatever was bothering me. I did not know what to do, besides I was emotionally frustrated by the stoppage. I would just as soon as throw it out the 4th floor window than try to fix it. 

Today, I do not have that option. I fume over the issue, think how it could be set right, then try several actions. Most of the time these do not work. Eventually I sleep on it overnight. Sometimes it takes several nights! Eventually I think of some simple, logical move and it works in the fresh light of morning. 

This routine is tiring. It is often not productive. And the older I get the more often tech stoppages occur. 

After two weeks, if I cannot ‘fix’ the damn thing, I call on my granddaughters. They usually know just what to do and in a very few minutes.  I am grateful for their help but am embarrassed at my tying them up with these problems. 

I think I have mentioned here that my frustrations cause me to rethink my volunteer commitments. At some point all this nonsense with technology will become unbearable and I will need to stop doing what I am doing. That is a solution. But... 

The but is this: I need to be involved with meaningful activity and thinking. The brain must be engaged, or I am one bored puppy. Turning into a couch potato would be easy at that point. Coach potato-ed-ness, however, would lead to inactivity, weight gain and a decline in mobility. It would be a matter of months before I would be unable to do much of anything. 

I have chosen to remain active. I like these commitments. I thrive on them as well. And they do others some good. Mobility is the reward. Health is the reward. Positive mental attitude is the reward. 

So, the question remains: why is technology so utterly inaccessible due to denseness? Why must older people feel this way? A typewriter was simple. I used it intensely for many years. Computer word processing was vastly better than a typewriter. Faster, correctable and offered such creativity. But then word processing software changed constantly, continued to become more complicated and now is almost impenetrable. Why is this? I am not dumb. I should be able to adjust to all of this. 

But I do not. Frustration builds. The inevitable is approaching. I do not want to allow that to happen. So, what do I do and a million or so others like me? 

There must be a simple, direct way to address this. Any ideas? 

August 28, 2024 

 

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