Why am I so attached to technology? Specifically my TV, computer, internet, and cellphone.
I am perfectly able to take care of myself without these support tools. I can hold a physical, printed book in my hand and read. I can cook, garden, exercise, and sit on my porch and watch the world go by, greeting neighbors, dogs, kids, and newbies-visitors and summer residents.
Each morning I check my email and messages, and enjoy the challenge of online puzzles. How did I survive without these crutches? Of course I did. We all did, as did folks for centuries. There are millions if not billions of people around the world today living daily lives independent of tech gadgets. Are they happy? Isolated? Maybe they are better off.
Maybe I would be better off letting go. Which is what I had to do for a couple of days this week.
Over the weekend my TV and internet caught an unnamed, unknown ailment. Hub and I were forced to call our technology doctor – Comcast.
And the aggravation began…
Hub handles most issues involving the technology end of our lives. I avoid as much as possible tech customer service representatives. They sound polite, caring, and soothing on the phone, but that is a front. After a few moments the irritation kicks in.
Reading from a script, a rep forces the owner of whatever device has gone awry to try various fixes. Sometimes the suggestions work, and sometimes they don’t.
The various proposed fixes did not work, and a series of phone calls with Comcast followed. Each call a different person required hub to try fixes that hadn’t worked a couple of hours earlier. It brought to mind the adage: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result.
Trying to debug our problem with Comcast felt exactly like that. We fell deeper and deeper into a black hole of madness. Finally the phone calls morphed into an appointment with a live technician.
An actual person knocked at our door Monday morning. The serviceman replaced our router and TV box, and changed a wire on the outside of the house. He replaced the wire after the box and router change did not resolve our problems.
A follow-up visit on Wednesday fixed a couple of glitches remaining in the system.
Almost…
We have TV service and can connect to the internet. However I have yet to sync my computer and printer. I cannot print. I am sure the root of the problem is my lack of technical expertise. I try to follow written directions but my eyes glaze over and my eyesight diminishes as my frustration level rises.
Theoretically service calls and phone calls cost nothing. But the new router and TV box are more expensive than the old ones. Our monthly Comcast bill is scheduled to rise. My next bout with Comcast will be a call to lower our bill, probably by deleting services rarely used. I am not looking forward to the conversation. I needed the weekend to recover from the past week’s Comcast interactions before dealing with the company again.
Eventually all will be well once again. Meanwhile I contemplate how my life has evolved into one intertwined with technology.
I am of two minds. I enjoy my puzzles. I like watching British mysteries on TV. I write, and I cannot write for long in longhand, my hand tires quickly. How can I write and disseminate my words to the world without a computer? I am not about to mount a pedestal in Washington Square in New York City’s Greenwich Village or anywhere else and spout my words.
No one would listen to a wild old coot, a.k.a. me, an oldish female.
Contemplating my dilemma, the answer is clear, if not eagerly embraced.
I should spend less time on useless, needless tech-related activities. I don’t have to spend so much time on New York Times puzzles, or do them almost daily. Or watch TV, a time-consuming habit that started during the pandemic. I always watched TV, but not as much or as often as today. Is it my fault Midsomer Murders is a two-hour show?
Will I turn over a new leaf? Maybe during the warm, sunny, beckoning days of summer, but once the air chills and nights lengthen, I suspect old habits will return.