Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

Digital Dinosaur

August 30, 2023

Yeah, that’s right – I’m not much on online or digital stuff but that’s okay. To each his own right? Well, apparently not. My bank wondered why I don’t do banking from my phone. Uh, because it’s my PHONE and I only text, take calls, take pictures, and especially keep track of severe weather on it. Also, I don’t feel banking is really secure on a small device that could get lost or stolen. That said, if I ever traveled internationally or even within the US for any lengthy amount of time I might do it then. Might.

I also have most of my bills automated and I usually pay any that aren’t online. Those are two things I’m extremely thankful for too. The spending 2 hours plus paying bills and balancing the account I used to do is long gone and I say good riddance.

Of course I text and send pictures to family members on my phone and I enjoy that. You can send a message and get a reply back right away (unless your kids ignore you). My oldest son is sending me lots of pictures and videos of my grandson so even though they live 1500 miles away, I feel I can be a part of his growing up in some small way. This technology is great so I’m all for it. Although, that said, I’m not the best at texting.

I shop online at a few stores but rarely for clothes – it’s just easier to go into stores and actually look at the items and try them on. To me, it’s a huge hassle and waste of time and shipping to shop for clothes online when 9 times out of 10 I have to return it anyway. I enjoy shopping in real stores too – it’s fun and I can see an item up close and personal and know right away if it’s something I actually want or will use or wear.

Grocery pick up I do fairly often because I don’t always love or have time to grocery shop. The first time I did it I felt really lazy, but now I’m just thankful it exists because it’s one less thing to do especially on a busy day. And it was crucial during the pandemic. Shop online, pay, they toss it in your car and you go. Saves my senior ass a lot of trouble. That said, when I do go grocery shopping it’s usually early in the morning when I’m practically the only one in the store. I can take my time and be more intentional about what I’m buying.

Digital books? That’s a hard pass from me. I prefer real books – you know, the ones made from paper? They are easier to hold, you can highlight and write in them easily, slap a bookmark in it to keep your place, and when you are done with it you can pass it on to someone else. And you don’t have to worry about charging a book. If the power goes out or your phone or tablet dies, hey, just grab a book off your shelf. Or if you’re traveling just toss a magazine or a book or two in your bag and you’re good to go.

Digital music? I like that it exists so that I can find back the music that I had on records many years ago. However, I did the Napster thing and when they went under so did my music so I’m not as keen on it anymore. And I do have an mp3 player and headset but I don’t use it as much as I used to. Might get back into that if I ever start walking around town. But, I still love all my cds and records and will probably never give them up. I can still find my favorite albums on cd online and in thrift stores so it’s not an issue for me. And liner notes are crucial – you can’t get liner notes with a download. So yeah, I’ll be sticking with my cd’s and records until I die most likely. I’ll also add radio in here too since it’s music. Sirius XM is great and they have many stations with every genre of music you can think of. Even 80s new wave. Mostly I listen in the car. Yeah, haven’t set it up on my phone either. TOTAL dinosaur. :D

Digital planners? Forget about it! I am a paper person through and through. I will never get into doing that stuff on my phone or on my computer. If it’s in a paper planner or on a paper calendar I can look at it and add to it with something called a pen. Oh, I tried doing the online planning once but it was just too complicated and annoying so I gave up on it. It takes me less time to write a note on a piece of paper and then I can transfer that info where it needs to go or I can easily find that info again when I need to since I keep files as well. For me if I’ve got something on paper then I know it exists and can go back to it anytime. If it’s digital, then it’s out of sight and out of mind and that makes for problems.

One digital thing I do enjoy is youtube. I have a very few channels I watch to get inspired or just for fun. I can watch videos on places I’ll never visit like Japan, watch other seniors my age talk about things like homemaking or just being a senior woman. I just have to take care not to watch too many in a day because it’s too easy to do and time really slips away when you’re on the internet. Sometimes I stop altogether for a time with social media because it can also make me feel less than and when that happens I just drop out for awhile until something catches my eye again. But it’s fun overall.

So, yeah, my phone is a phone and my computer is for doing business or shopping and fun stuff, I do everything else in the old ways. I’m like Fezziwig from “A Christmas Carol” and I prefer doing things the old fashioned way and I like it like that. What works for one does not work for all but we can all get along. FWIW I wrote all of this on my desktop computer – yes, I don’t even own a laptop. :D

2 comments
Comments

On August 31, 2023 at 1:58 AM, dxprog said:

Music, like coffee, has a couple of distinct forms. There's "practical" coffee, which doesn't taste great, but gets the job done. This would be the equivalent of loading up and MP3 player or a streaming service (Spotify/Apple Music). It's convenient, especially in the car/on a run/doing the dishes/whatever.
Then there's coffee to _savor_. This comes from a roaster that cares, costs a little more, and is made in a way that _really_ extracts the flavors, but takes more time to do (pour over, in my case). This I would like to listening to a CD or record. It's all about the enjoying whole experience, with all its flaws or inconveniences.

On August 31, 2023 at 4:47 AM, java_queen said:

Very interesting analogy - and of course happy that you used coffee for it. :D

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» Digital Dinosaur » Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

Digital Dinosaur

August 30, 2023

Comments

On August 31, 2023 at 1:58 AM, dxprog said:

On August 31, 2023 at 4:47 AM, java_queen said:

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