I recently acquired a Nook e-reader. That fact may not be stupendous news for many of you, but for me, a person who adores the look and feel of a physical book, this new leap into the 21st century was nothing less than a paradigm shift, so to speak. Now here is the surprising part: I love it! I can think about a book I would like to read, and from the comfort of my own home, I can acquire that book almost immediately. I can either purchase the title from Barnes and Noble or check it out of my local library. A few seconds to download onto my Nook and voila! I am ready to read. It is sort of the fast-food/microwave version of book acquisition.Now for the downside to this little technical wonder. I recently took my Nook on a trip. It was wonderful to carry all my reading material in one light-weight device; however, an e-reader is one of those devices that must be turned off during take-off in an airplane. So while my husband read at least two chapters in his old-fashioned book, I waited for the signal saying it was okay to turn on electronic devices.
Another disadvantage to my Nook is the complicated process of learning to check out books. Yes, I said "learning" to check out books. Our library offered a class on checking out e-books, in which I chose not to participate. After all, how hard could it be? Well, I know I am probably the exception, but it took me six hours to figure it out. That's one fourth of a day.
Who would have thought that we would someday live in a world where we would need a special class to learn how to check out a book from the library? But life in general has become so technically complex that many of us spend our days in a constant state of confusion and irritation. Take remote controls, for example. If I go to my daughter's house, I cannot watch her television because I can't work the remote control. In fact, I don't even know which of the myriad of remotes works the TV. I had been feeling a bit stupid and inadequate because of this frustrating fact until I watched (on my own TV) 60 Minutes on CNBC. The subject of the show was overly complicated technology. The show featured a man who had a Ph.D. from MIT who could not work his remote. Needless to say, I felt validated.
We often hear that older adults and senior citizens cannot learn to use new technology. Young people supposedly having grown up in the computer age have a natural affinity for all things technical. Well, I am here to tell you that little bit of information is a myth. While some senior citizens eschew all things technical, it has nothing to do with ability. They simply look at technology as a waste of time. (Remember six hours to learn to check out a library book.) It is true that many young people are adept at posting their lives on social networking sites, and they are attached to their cell phones like the devices are appendages as necessary to life as a hand or a foot. However, a great many of those same young adults struggle to navigate the educational software they are required to use in college classes. In addition, utilitarian software such as word processing and spreadsheet programs baffles them.
The truth, I suspect, is that life nowadays is technically challenging and frustrating for a majority of us. I sometimes feel that life is like an old VHS tape on fast forward. But unlike the tape, there is no way to hit the pause button and catch our breath.
