A Cautious New Year

I was getting ready to send out an electronic New Year's card to my friends, and all of a sudden this rant just popped out.  The card features famous clocks from around the world striking midnight.  I was trying to write a Happy New Year message when these thoughts came out of my fingers.  

Turns out the most iconic clock of all is in your hand most of the time:  It's your iphone.  Mechanical clocks, especially wearable ones are virtually obsolete.  When's the last time you put on the one in your jewelry box?  Just another example of technological obsolescence.  Watches are going the way of paper maps, phone books, land lines, paper checks, and a whole slew of other things.  No wonder we're all so anxious.

Even an optimistic person like myself feels wary rather than happy about the coming year.  So, let me wish you a Cautious New Year.   There're going to be pitfalls, quicksand, fell strokes, quagmires, catastrophes, and fiascos, and that's only the big stuff which will befall some, if not all of us, in the coming year.   Try not to let the frustration of not being able to talk to a live person on the phone, find a clerk in a brick/mortar store (another thing becoming obsolete), or being able to find anything to watch on TV despite the 200+ channels you're paying for kill you.  Who knew screening your calls on the nifty answering machine using endless loop cassette tape your family got for Christmas in 1972  would morph into text and Instagram?  At least we finally have video phone calls ('Facetime').  It was really tardy arriving.  I wonder when flying cars are going to make their appearance?

The mounting anxiety we all seem to be feeling is a greater malaise than just personal setbacks and minor frustrations.  The yearning for the past, you know those idyllic 'good old days' however you define them is really more about slowing down the pace of change than really wanting a return to an earlier time.  Pre-electronic people (life before individual computers) are really feeling disconnected, rushed and downright angry.  I've managed to 'keep up' (sort of) picking and choosing my tech while constantly feeling there are too many choices while technologically running as fast as I can.

There is too many of everything.  Every time I'm in a grocery store, my thoughts keep veering down the path of do we really need so many types of _________.  I most often have this thought on the cereal aisle.  If the plethora of products aren't enough to convince you, well, think about the constant barrage of electrons thrown at us every day. How many people at your family during the family Christmas dinner pulled out his/her phone at sometime during the meal?  Text checking, Tweeting, Facebook checking, or worse 'following' are more important to an increasing number of people than face to face conversation with their families during a special social time.  Face to face real time communication is emotionally messy, requires a longer attention span, and isn't always all about you.  The electronic version is so much more reassuringly self-centered.  

In its defense, tech life is also the convenient life.  Siri, Alexa, and whatever the Google version is called are changing our home life usually for the better.  Technological advances in medicine are astounding and life saving.  Information at the tips of your fingers is a good thing.  We all love to Google an answer, look for a You-Tube video to show us 'how to', or map our route.  We love being able to Skype with our family members around the globe.  I think WWII mothers would have chopped off a digit to be able to actually see and talk to their soldier child even for 30 seconds.  The list of good tech stuff really does outweigh the bad.

What's causing our anxiety is we aren't learning how to psychologically manage the electronic revolution fast enough. Major technology advances used to be around for hundreds of years with gradual adoption by the general public.  Clocks are a good example.  Even our beloved computers took a few decades before they were an integral part of every person's life.  Now, major advances seem to be coming at us like flaming lava bombs.  (Look it up - very pre-tech; I got one for my birthday.)   We are increasingly engaging directly with our 'smart' tech.

Here comes 'virtual reality'.  (Can holodecks be far behind?)  I can hardly wait to see the advertising for self-driving cars.  (Imagine the first personal injury law-suits!)  Plan on wearing your tech.  That's what is currently replacing your wristwatch, and your glasses aren't far behind.  Your phone is going to be so fast you're going to need to tether it to your person.  All your devices are now starting to talk to one another.  (I fear they will eventually plot revolution.)  Have you heard of the newest spectator sport?  It's mega video gaming.  Yes, it's a tournament of the best video gamers in the world shown on an Imax, 3-D screen to screaming fans in a pay-per-view streaming format all around the world. This past year the winner took home $100,000.  Cyber security is a hot new field of employment.  Then, there's 'crowdfunding'; a new way to raise capital.  I could go on and on and on, but the tweet/text generation has already stopped reading.  This paragraph is too long for the 140 character attention span.

So pull up your sox.  Here comes another year.  I predict it's going to be a bumpy, exhilarating and even exasperating ride.  Do your best to concentrate on the positive.  Life is way, way too short (still) to be anxious and afraid.