When I first started work, I only had a pager. For those of you who remember, these are small gadgets that one could call with the phone number that you want the owner to call back on. Often, my dear husband (at that time my dear boyfriend) and I would send each other codes like 9-12-21 to say "I love you". Basic but it worked. Other than pre-arranged codes, there was no other way of contacting each other on the road and we all lived that way.
So in came the mobile phones. My dear husband skipped lunches to save for a mobile phone for me. It was an Ericsson (Sony has not bought Ericsson yet) and probably twice the size of any average phone now. All it could do was call out, receive calls - there was no option to do texting or play games, much less surf the web or take pictures.
I cherished that phone. It was a sign of my dear husband's devotion to my well being. It lasted for years and was really reliable. It meant that there were less missed connections and we were able to get each other easily.
Then there was the laptop. The first laptop I got was a company issued machine that was used by my predecessor. It was a chunky Toshiba and would hang several times a day, despite my best efforts to keep it in good health. I assured you that it was sweared at quite a few times a day. It was really heavy and I would get a sore shoulder carrying it around to my client sites for meetings.
Every few years, I would get my laptop upgraded (company policy to keep up to date technologically). I cannot remember all the in-betweens but my latest is a Fujitsu Lifebook, T series - a slick tablet, barely 1.3 kg in weight - not topline but compared to my chunky Toshiba, this is a godsend.
Between my mobile phone and my laptop, and all the fantastic technological advancements, I was able to answer emails, prepare a client presentation, do a conference call with my workmates, update my status on Facebook, chat with my friend via Instant Messaging whom I have not seen in a while online, put in an online order for my son's birthday cake, play some games for relaxation, research on the recipes for Sunday lunch, see if my ebay item has been bought, take pictures of my kids and uploading it on Flickr, text a happy birthday wish to my sister, sync up my Outlook calendar on my mobile phone so that I would not miss my appointments and more.
I could live my whole life like this. In reality, I could stay at home the whole day and yet still able to do what I did 10 years ago at probably half the time.
How has it changed my life? Let's talk about the good things first. I am more productive and efficient. This gives me the sense of achievement that would be few and far between in the past. I am able to juggle better as a working mother, knowing that I could pay a bill online rather than having to queue up at the bank. Information is just a click away so I am better informed and able to make better decisions. I am better connected to my friends and their lives. Things move faster with the phone and Instant messaging, thus issues get resolved faster as well. As my kids belong to the generation of instant gratifications, by being up to date, I am staying relevant as a parent and also able to communicate with them in terms they understand. I am writing this post, sitting at the bar counter in my kitchen - thanks to wireless technology - and having a cup of coffee at the same time.
There is always 2 sides to a coin. Being more productive and efficient means that I am expected to do more as a professional. This means that I am always on and stress levels go up. Text messages from workmates and clients come around the clock; once they see you online on instant messaging, before you know it, it is 1 am in the morning. Distraction by technology is also an issue in my life. I often catch myself or dear husband pouring over Facebook updates and games on a weekend when we really should be spending time with family. Every text message has to be answered and every email has to be responded to. My kids are also addicted to surfing the web or watching videos or playing online games. If they were not allowed to use the computer, the complain I get would be, "But I am bored! What should I do?". When did kids start not know what to do with free time?
For the last few weeks, I have been shutting down my laptop and leaving it off for the entire weekend. It is liberating and on every Monday, there is never anything that is even close to the sky falling down! I am working on ways to changing my habit to deal with the downside of technology.
What have you been doing to get back the part of your life that technology has taken away?
PS : I later found in my inbox an article from Simple Marriage on a similar topic, title "Leave Your Work (Mostly) At Work"! Enjoy!
Technology has certainly enhanced our lives but also made us all 'addicts'. When I first left the corporate world, I was overwhelmed with a sense of loss. Simply because I no longer have an inbox full of mails to clear. In fact, I didn't even have to log on every day! A part of me (should I say the sense of self importance) seemed to have died then...
ReplyDeleteBut then I got used to it. And just like what you discovered, the sky didn't fall down! And I guess this detachment has allowed me to focus on myself, my kids and (ok, I am guilty of not doing this very often...) my husband.
It's also leading by example for the kids. Parents complain that their kids are literally stuck to the computer and TV. Who are we to complain when we ourselves are doing exactly the same thing?
So let's all try to utilize technology to improve our lives but not be it's slave. That is a challenge but I believe that it can be done.