I mostly am only here when at work computer. I take weekends off from the online also, you'll notice.
The big key is learning what that off button is used for then start living again. You don't have to shut everything out; we still have some choices. But yes, all the recent changes have been terrible and aggravating. The one that gets to me the most is that it is now extremely rare to be able to talk to a live person when calling most companies. Customer service died.
Our local Wally World had gone to the digital price tags. With some of the help they have, I can see why...... If you're in the store and search for an item, the tag will flash where it it.
Amen and Amen! I have had to cut them open with scissors or a pocket knife and then if I don't use it all it goes into another zip lock bag that won't un zip lock when I try to open it.. I use a flip phone. I threw my smartphone in the trash in 2015 when I retired. When I'm typing there is a way to change from abc mode to ABC, 123, and kt9. kt9 will make suggestions as to the word it thinks you are typing and sometimes it even works. It's not AI or anything just looks at the local list of stored words. I watched a lady walking down the sidewalk of an intersecting street of the one I was driving on. She had assumed the smartphone position of looking only at her phone and walking. She came to the corner and walked straight through the street I was driving on and never lifted her head. Since I have a rule about not killing other people. I stopped and watched her walk by. There was absolutely no recognition from this person or any realization of what she had just done.
It's far from being only the 'younger' crowd. I know of several people my age (or older) that are beyond addicted to their phones. One couple in their early 60s. for example. would invite me over for a cup of joe and within a couple minutes, both would be lost in their phones...every...single...time. Either looking at videos, responding to a (not even remotely important) text, or just doing whatever. I stopped even bothering to go over because what's the point. I don't think I had a real conversation with that couple in several years because they were always on their phones. And almost every time a question was asked, one or the other would immediately have to go look it up on their phone. I don't care about videos on TikTok, I don't care about what some random person posts on YouTube, and I want to have a dialog with another person, not with whatever is pulled up on your phone. So even many in the 'older' crowd have lost the ability to have real conversations because of their addiction to technology. Aside from when I was travelling and needed to check things like flight info, rental car stuff, etc., my phone is a phone, not the source of what gets me through the day. Another peeve of mine about technology is something like people who are too $&@*$ stupid to turn their wipers on in poor visibility weather because "my car will do it for me". How #@$%#^&# difficult is it to turn on your $#@^#$%# wipers? (Apparently very difficult for those that rely on technology...). Rant over. I use technology, and it has its important values...but it's a tool in the toolbox that too many people have come to rely on inherently and that is not good. I'm not talking that we all need to go anti-technology like Teddy Kaczynski, but every day I think how much simpler life was decades ago (as do most generations, I'm sure).
Regarding the wipers but on another level.....self driving cars. WTF? The steering wheel and pedals are RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!!! It's not like you are going to take a nap while the car drives you? Maybe they do, I don't know.
With so many people being glued to their phones while driving, maybe self driving cars isn't so bad of an idea. At least something is making an attempt to keep an 'eye' on the road.
Probably do a better job with turn signals, red lights and stop signs. A former football strength coach from work had a sticker on his back window that said “use ya fkn blinkas” I’ve seen another one that said “visualize using your turn signals” The SC I95 pileup was probably caused by a phone 100mph bumper to bumper
For this reason I keep a pair of Fiskar scissors close to the fridge and island in the kitchen. Got so fed up with that packaging I now just cut the package open, take the contents out and put it in a real ziplock bag! Problem solved
Computers never malfunction right? I believe they have a place (the elderly come to mind) I just don't trust the technology. Not that I trust people either. Maybe I should just stay off the roads, HAHAH!!
