We are Analog Refugees in a Digital World

Mrs. S., who is 95, needs to reach her ophthalmologist and can’t locate his telephone number, so she picks up her phone and calls Directory Assistance. However, Directory Assistance doesn’t work as it used to. Instead of a person, Mrs. S. tries to explain her request to a computer with a voice. Mrs. S. is a bit technology-shy and has limited experience talking to computers. Directory Assistance leads Mrs. S. over the river, through the trees and around the mulberry bush, but doesn’t connect her with her doctor. Mr. D., who is 72, sets off alarms whenever he uses the grocery store’s automated checkout. The checkout is very specific about where to put grocery items and when to put them there. Mr. D. hasn’t figured out the where and the when yet. Whenever he puts an item in the wrong place, the machine freezes and an electronic voice says, “Please wait. Help is on the way.” Mr. A., who considers himself an experienced computer user, retrieves a package from his porch and realizes it is an ink cartridge for his printer. “That’s odd,” he thinks. “I didn’t order this.” No, he didn’t. His printer did. Folks, let’s face it. We are analog refugees, stranded in a digital universe. We were born into a world where telephones had dials, receptionists were sentient beings, and news traveled fastest on AM radio. While we were going about our lives, phones got a lot smarter and we fell farther behind. We may love tech, we may even use tech, but we haven’t mastered tech. For that, we need help from our children, our grandchildren, or anyone else under age 14 — the so-called “digital natives” who have grown up with iPhones in their strollers and an intuitive understanding of how to operate multiple TV remotes. <a href="https://medium.com/crows-feet/we-are-analog-refugees-in-a-digital-world-5f72e3145b16">Website</a>