Techno Challenged

Here's an example of my ongoing struggles as an older person with new technology: Last week my guy called me out to look at this sky. I like to take pictures of beautiful sunsets, but I grabbed my camera from my office rather than use my phone. Why?

Actually I do use my phone to take pictures, very beautiful pictures at that as you see here. But then I have to text them to my guy for him to e-mail them to me because I can't get my phone to e-mail them for me. I've tried to set it up a dozen times, but I'm not doing something right.

I managed to get the e-mail working on my old phone, which of course after five years got too old and had to be replaced (I barely used it.) I can't type on this phone's tiny keyboard without making a mistake, which annoys the hell out of me. I can't take phone calls because of my hearing loss, so I only use it to text a handful of people. Honestly, hate these phones. Every time I use mine, I want to throw the damn thing across the room.

Please understand, I'm not asking for help. I am way, way past that. I'm tired of new technology and I'd rather use my old, clunky camera. Yet everything today is about these idiot phones. Do you know some restaurants have given up handing out menus and expect you to scan a code to read their menu on your phone? I can't get that to work on this blasted thing, either. It's an ominous sign of more to come that I won't be able to do.

When I worked on the very first PC computers (yes, I am that old) I remember my older colleagues viewing them with great dislike and suspicion. Some flatly refused to learn the then-new techology and left it in my hands. I was young and it took me some time -- including learning computer language -- but it was also fun for me. I sensed that computers would play a big role in my work life, and for almost 50 years now they have. I've gotten to the point where I don't understand all the functions of my computers now, but I manage to hold onto what knowledge I need to keep using them.

These phones? Never will I understand them.

Comments

Maria Zannini said…

I'm with you, sister. Phones drive me crazy. With mine, I sometimes have to "push" the first photo with a second one. A few seconds later, they both show up.

When I'm in a hurry or have several photos to move, I just take a usb cable and hook the camera to the computer. It's much easier to open the camera folder, go to the DCIM folder and find the picture I need.

September 22, 2025 at 8:53 AM

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