Technology and Lifestyle

[Cleoriff]

On the forum tonight, some of us started chatting about this so I have decided to start a thread on it.

It is a subject that fascinates and even bewilders me at times...

I freely admit I am a 'child of the 60's' and our lifestyle was... and still is... a lot different to many of you who post on this forum.

I would love honesty...as anything else wouldn't give me the answer....and its about the use of technology (Smartphones and Tablets) as part of your daily lives and how it has changed since 'my day'

Sooooo...how do you do it?

By IT I mean...

* Having a job

* A family

* A social life....

and combining all of these with todays technology....

Its not just posting on this forum...its the bigger picture that folk nowadays can't go out without a phone...ready to post stuff on social media sites, forums and whatever else is available.

I know it will be 'managing your time to suit society today'....but at the risk of sounding like an old fool...in 'my day' (I hate that expression).... people used to talk, laugh, discuss and debate. face to face...

If anyone takes offence at this post....rest assured I am NOT having a dig...I am fascinated by the whole way society is changing.....

[jonsie]

There's no doubt that the world has changed so much over the last 15 years or so. For the better? Well yes and no.

No one these days goes out without their smartphone or tablet and it's probably first item on anyone's check list before they leave the house...phone...check, wallet...check, keys...check, trouser zip...check....

I do believe however we have lost to a certain extent, the art of conversation. I can normally guarantee that 7/10 people walking past my home will have their phone in their hand and not taking in the surroundings. If there are two or three people together it's the same scenario.

None of our younger generation can sit on a bus, train or in a bar unless they are using their bit of tech and I find myself doing the same thing more and more. It's a habit and compulsion that's here to stay and none of us can get through the day without checking our social media or browsing the internet.

I have not bought a newspaper for years, why...because the news is there with me anytime I want to check it, in my pocket with notifications for any new items.

It used to be that you couldn't wait to get home and turn on the tv or radio for the footy results. No need now, I can get it on the phone with goal updates and see videos of each goal within minutes of it happening.

All this has changed our lives and to me it's great. I love the tech as much as anyone. How many people keep their phone switched on at work, muted but with vibration on so they miss nothing. It's a fact that many members here post on the community whilst working.

Most young children have smartphones now and it's peace of mind for parents that our kids are contactable anytime and vice-versa.

What I do miss however is the ability to go walkabout, disappear for a while, go offgrid! It's not possible now unless you switch off your tech to stop being tracked via GPS or GSM signal. Our every movement down any high street is caught on camera, every aisle in a store is covered by CCTV, cameras track our movement on the motorways and cars are monitored by unmarked police vehicles with ANPR systems.

Big brother is definitely watching our every movement. With body scanners and x-ray machines at airports. finger prints taken at some international immigration passport controls and eye-in-the-sky drones and helicopters it makes me wonder why I sometimes feel so lonely?

So I'm not sure whether the question is how we manage our daily lives and technology but more how the technology manages our daily lives...:smileywink:

[jonsie]

Great topic by the way @Cleoriff and should be a very interesting one

[Cleoriff]

Thanks for your response @jonsie  I knew you would add further examples of technology 'managing us'..

I find myself straddling two camps really.

My close friends (known as the gang of 8 ) go out together regularly. I am the only one of us that slips her mobile into her pocket. However when I am with them I rarely use it...it just sits on the table between us while we  talk and have a laugh etc. On the odd occasion I am asked a footy score, or who got evicted from X Factor...:smileywink:

I have a Kindle. I rarely use it. Yet I am an avid reader. I still prefer the look and feel of a new book....

(I actually doubted when I started this thread that many would read it all the way through...the reason being that it requires too much time)....Nowadays people are so busy and have the need to move on to the next topic/job/event in their lives)

I  find myself standing in awe of those who can use all these gadgets and still 'have a life'...

(Says she.... sitting here... typing away very slowly....on my laptop)

[Anonymous]

It is interesting and sometimes entertaining to see people walking and texting/surfing dodging people with their eyes fixed to the screen, or oncomers dodging them.

I recall a test was carried out in the states where a walkway was split into two lanes. One for mobile users and one for non mobile users !

Pretty much what jonsie has said hits the nail on the head.

People now also think , mobile phone check, and then charger or battery juice pack - check so they can keep connected. When going somewhere on the train I always take my plug charger.

Now that these devices hold pretty much everything we want to fall back on such as Calendars and reminders I'm not surprised we feel like we've lost a limb if the phone / tablet has been left at home. I've known colleagues pop back home from it. I work with an 18 year old and when his phone is on charge he's constantly checking it for it's charging up level.

How we handle this technology and our life's is just second nature now as it's become so integrated into our lifestyles.

Notifications that these devices push out make it a simple procedure to keep up with sites. I watch a few blogs and would be lost without these updates.

As some don't / cannot get out as much this technology allows communication with the world and friends and family.

Social media has managed to allow communication all over the world. It has it's good points and bad points depending on the mindset of the user.

I laugh when @Cleoriff asks me how on earth I'm eating breakfast in MacDonalds and am still interacting on the forum. Until pointed out one doesn't even realise we multi task as much as our devices !

[jonsie]

One thing I forgot to mention is that we have strict rules about using mobiles when out with family or friends, mobiles stay on standby and only used for answering calls or texts. When I go my son's for tea even the tv is paused at meal times so nothing can detract the kids from essential family time.

My grandchildren are 11 and 7 years old and it's now that time where the eldest is wanting a mobile but it certainly won't be a £500 smartphone. Mind you he already has an ipad and xbox for which he wears headset and microphone, talking to friends whilst gaming, so it's not as though he doesn't already embrace technology.

[Cleoriff]

Your rules are pretty much the same as mine @jonsie in terms of family time. If any of the grandkids bring the phone/ tablet to the table...they get the 'look' and phones disappear with the speed of light

However my personal use of these devices depends very much on who I am out with and in what circumstances.

I have already spoken about my friends...same age group.... same interests...no phone activity when WE are out together....

However, in July I came on holiday with my daughter in law and 15 year old grandson....I then adapted myself to their world... Phones came down to the pool ......tablets and laptops were constantly running in my apartment...(with the WiFi I have had installed 4 months ago!)....

When we were out, phones did come with us...but never got in the way of our other usual activities..

such as eatiing, drinking, (and watching the grandson make grown men cry with his skills on the pool table)

[Anonymous]

GM @Cleoriff @jonsie @Anonymous 

I agree with everything you all have said above     & thanks to Cleoriff for postinf this thread in discussions & feedback & not off-topic

at home I have my beloved laptop & a mobile phone, which @MI5 recommended for me, after I explained what it is used for)

does anyone listen to the radio anymore ..... I'm a big listener to BBCR4 particularly late evening & over the 1am watershed into the BBC World Service ..... I only watch the news on screen at the local pub

does anyone else out there listen to the radio ..... or am I a dinosaur ?

I use my mobile as intended ..... it goes everywhere I am in the house ..... worse case scenario = I live on my own & if I had an accident how long before someone would come knocking at my door = no-one, but my mum & dad would wonder why I wasn't answering their calls or hadn't called them much ..... not to mention my cat Marty = inside or outside house

my phone is never switched off, only ocassionally when I have a Stop the World I want to get Off moments ..... then I ring my mum & dad 1st to let them know I'm switching off because I want to be not contacted by anyone deliberately so & go put my feet up on the bed, curtains closed for a rest ..... & why not ..... when switched on again ..... I ring my mum & dad

my son knows that he will catch me sooner or later on the not so many times he rings me, but that's how it is in today's society he has a girl = she comes 1st & yes they have practically grown up with IT ..... see a comment in a thread of mine Attn: you young ones, where I posed the question ..... what would you do if the lights in Britain went out = would you survive?

this post has been written 'off the cuff' so-to-speak ..... & ..... I would very much like to hear from some very very IT savvy young people who can't live with out IT

thank you so much to you Cleoriff for putting the op so eloquently likewise jonsie & BoB

personally I would love to hear from such as @aldaweb whom I know is older than me but does IT stuff for a living & is very, very IT savvy = no offence in anyway shape or form to you aldaweb & also eg @PapaDug & @piperdog123 & @Bambino

WidpaRed7 :womanvery-happy: 

[Anonymous]

Very interesting topic, folks. I recently overheard two brothers arranging a family get-together. When they agreed a date, time and location one of them lifted his mobile. He said "Just putting that in my calendar. It syncs with the wife's. Do you do that?" The other brother looked at him quizzically and said "No. We just talk."
Like others I have mixed feelings. I love the ability to look up and find information more or less when and where I need it. But the site called "social media" I find to be a pain in the processor, especially when people on the other side of the world seem to know more about my life than I do until I discover my daughter has been posting photos on Facebook!!!!
I would certainly feel very lost and, yes, vulnerable without my S4 and never leave home without it.
Gerry

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous

Hi Jane,

I love listening to the radio.

One in my kitchen listening to tunes while I'm pottering about and one at work in the Warehouse to help my working day go a little more smoothly