Advancements in technology and industry are generally designed to do one of two things: provide a higher quality or more pleasing product or improve efficiency. Dare I say that I am awfully tired and disorganized considering how much time I am supposed to be saving with the plethora of technological developments over the last 20 years?
This period of time dubbed "the pandemic", "2020", "these unprecedented times", etc..., has resulted in polar levels of activity. For many, we had to slow down and almost stop. Life was cancelled. But for others, there was much work to do in order to "beat the coronavirus" and create a "new normal".
For me, this life interruption has been frustrating and refreshing at the same time. I've gotten used to a slower pace and less commitments, so forgive me if I tell you that I am somewhat pretending that there really is no school. I figure if I can't do the fun stuff, I shouldn't have to deal with the chaos of the not-so-fun stuff. I obviously know better, but it has been a good coping mechanism thus far.
Being that my first-born came into this world before a new millenium, I actually have memories as a mother of a time that was much less complicated. I literally remember my husband pointing out an early version of a digital camera on the tram at Disney and thinking, "What?". I think Justin was about 3. We still had VHS (which of course were new to households when I was a child), high-speed internet was still up-and-coming, and the IPod was just starting to replace the Walkman. Life was so much more advanced than the previous 20 years, and so "ancient" compared to now.
This week, I (while still gladly embracing most of it) am ready to throw it all against the wall. I am so tired of a gazillion passwords and "not really single sign-on" portals. While I appreciate the communication, I feel inundated with the repeated texts, phone calls, and emails. I keep forgetting what the next lesson in my daughter's virtual class is about, and there's no book to pick up and flip through! Just click, password, click, etc... And do NOT even get me started on two-factor authentication! I appreciate the extra efforts at security, but what a pain in the neck......
And since I've gotten started.......let's talk social media and news. Like all technology, these tools can be real gifts. I never would be able to talk to all of you or find my high school friends or feel like my sister is just minutes away. But, as they say, you can have too much of a good thing. It's easy to get overwhelmed with constant input and new information. Talk about sensory overload!
Truly, as much as the internet has brought us closer together, it also has driven us further apart. "We" ignore each other, and "we" are MEAN and argumentative behind our keyboards. That part of it is really disturbing.
Technology serves us well much of the time, but like us, it is constantly evolving and changing. I guess that's what makes it so frustrating sometimes. There's been a lot to adapt to in the last few months, and my husband and I are constantly talking about it. We wonder what changes from this period in history will stick. Will there always be masks, standing spots, enhanced cleaning protocols, and lowered capacities? How long will it last?
I always answer this: in the long run, people will keep what adds value, what makes life easier or more efficient but doesn't add so much cost or aggravation that the feasability of it fizzles. Like most decisions, it comes down to risks vs. rewards. We will not be able to be idealistic about it; we will have to make choices. But, we will move forward. We may disagree about which direction to take or choices to make, but the reality is that every positive has a negative, and every negative has a positive. It's all in how you want to look at it.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
