A good part of what I do here and elsewhere on the web as a writer and in my teaching life is keep up. I enjoy learning new things, trying out new ideas, and sharing what I learn with others. I don’t mind investing my time and energy in keeping up. In fact, I love doing it. I’m happy that at this point in my life I can do what I love – that hasn’t always been the case.
I live in a world where I don’t belong. Most people who are fascinated with tech and web accessibility and social media are young people who are still working. I’m a freak (or a time traveler): an elder, retired, who loves learning the newest stuff. Most people my age are afraid of their computers and can’t figure out how to send a text message. I don’t know why but I’ve been crazy about technology since I first got my hands on an Apple IIe. I was not a young person when that occurred, and I haven’t grown any younger since. I sometimes feel I should apologize for being an elder who is interested in topics that everyone thinks belong to the young. What was I thinking?
But keeping up is a double edged sword, because keeping up with hardware and software changes is an expensive proposition. No amount of love and energy can pay for a new computer or new software. My computer is so old it is no longer upgradable. Nor will it accept the latest versions of several of the software programs I use. Even my browser is telling me daily that it won’t be upgraded any longer because my OS is too old for my browser. And don’t even ask me how often Safari hangs.
But, keeping up is where my mind goes, so keeping up is what I’m doing, whether I can afford it or not. To celebrate adding megabucks to my credit card balance, I am writing this, my first post on my new MacBook Pro. After three days of setting up, upgrading software, fiddling with settings, serial numbers, and and mail accounts the world is fast and efficient again.
Sent with great speed from the latest version of MacBook Pro.
I always feel that the intellectual cost of keeping up surpasses the economic. However, it is not a price that is easy to calculate.
So true.
Woohoo! And congratulations! I’m approaching a similar point of no return on my ancient laptop with the same kind of fiscal restraints. I’m hoping to put off a purchase until well into next year.
But I do surely remember the fun and thrill of speedy new equipment – even with all the setup hassle.
I’ve been putting it off forever because I can’t afford it. It finally got so bad I went ahead as an act of desperation. Everything is so fast. Web pages load instantly, apps wake up from being in the background instantly. It took time machine AN HOUR to transfer jillions of files to my backup disk (compared with about 8 hours on my old system) and the migration of everything from the old to the new Mac only took about 30 minutes. Unbelievable.
I know exactly how you feel. I’m over 50 and running a start-up, learned javascript this year – 35 years after I learned my first programming language (Fortran !) Every time I hear about how tech is for people under 30 I grind my teeth
AnnMaria, yes, we talk a lot about sexism in tech, but ageism is very real too.