S3W5 - The Digital Connection & Influence of Devices in our lives

I wonder if technology plays a big role in my life.
I will never own a fridge ordering my groceries, I rather live without one and Alexa isn't welcome.
I do not have three digital devices to discuss.

I no longer have a camera because I never liked the digital ones and you won't find a microwave in my house. If I eat I cook and bake myself in the old fashioned way (DIY). I don't like fast food restaurants already the fact they call themselves a "restaurant" I find annoying. These places are not the place to sit in an environment with a good vibe where dinner is served while you can enjoy good food in peace.

I remember the first phone and my grandfather had one in his office. Making phone calls in the open with others present (in public) was not done. At home, we were one of the first with a phone (landline) and also the 'answering machine' (you call it today voicemail) because of my mother's profession.

I grew up in a world of record players, followed by tape and cassette recorders and players. I still have them and the quality of the tapes is after all those years better than the average CD and DVD. In 1900+ it was the time people still talked and had time to visit each other.

I bought one of the first VHS video recording-players. It was a Blaupunkt and it survived lollipops and more. I paid 1900 hfl (Dutch gulden) for it since I've always been a story lover. I learned how to tape cartoons broadcasted on TV and indeed I still have these tapes and... a video - DVD player plus a backup video player bought brand-new for 2.50 euros only because no soul uses them (except within my family so we have 3).

I won't say I was one of the last with a mobile phone, before that I used a phone pager, but I was late if it came to the smartphone. I had no clue how to use it and my first one was way too expensive for what it offered me. Today I mainly use it for writing since I rarely make phone calls (not even twice a year) and my laptop is broken after many years of duty while travelling in my backpack.
My washing machine is old, it's fine and doesn't use too much technique which is even better since the electrical wiring in this place cannot handle high-tech equipment plus the power supply is unstable, which causes damage to the equipment.
I do not watch TV, I don't listen to the radio, I bought a small fridge last year but only use it if needed and the house is not cold enough. My stove uses gas and falls apart, which is kind of a burden but mainly because of the bad quality of the gas. Next to my smartphone, the other techniques used are the grass trimmer, water cooker and a type of 'oven'' I managed to bake bread with but cookies or cakes are impossible.

I have wifi in the middle of nowhere and a mobile router which fits in my pocket. Next to that, I have battery chargers and power banks which are mainly used by my children.

The 'mobile router' is a great invention and I'm happy with it. More than one person can use it and it doesn't drain the battery of the phone. I just put the router, the size of 2 small boxes of matches, in my pocket or bag and am good to go. If there's a blackout (again) and it's empty (it's good for at least 8 hours) I can use one of the portable powerbanks. Another plus is I can use it within Europe so no need to buy wifi for using my own secured WIFI abroad what providers try to force customers into buying overhere.

_{By now this device is close to 8 years old and it's slow if it comes to starting up but it works fine. No need to replace it. As you can see it uses a simcard, an old one. It's possible to switch it to 5G but pointless since my phone is old and overhere we are happy if we have 3G at all.}

Today my phone is all I need it replaces my computer, laptop, landline, answering machine, fax, photo camera and for the 70% the paper, pencils, envelopes and stamps I used. I do not use the agenda each year I buy one to make notes.

If it comes to technology: I do not consider electric bikes and scooters or the electric car a good substitute or good for the environment. They are far from that and only harm nature more with the useless production and all the batteries and chargers too quickly broken, exploding and no one will reuse. It's a big waste of energy, each form of energy one can think of.

My experience is that all the high tech, the gags, those power-consuming items a house can be cluttered with rarely are what we expect from it. Most of them are a burden, good for envy, to be stolen and if not it causes headaches and a fortune to replace it.
I am worried by an air filled with signals and 5G is not what I see as the fastest best network ever. It infects the brain, the soul's energy and so does being glued to a screen/phone. If I go to bed my phone is switched off and so is the internet. If I leave home it's usually without phone unless I travel for longer and I never carry my phone around with me which act makes me a burden to my son (trust me he rarely checks his phone).

We close down and shut off, pull plugs out of sockets if there's no need for something to operate.

The techniques I use in my daily life are:
Waterpump
Smartphone
Router
Washing machine
Water cooker
Boiler 30 litres (once a week)
Grasstrimmer (if needed)
Except for my phone no high technology devices.

If I compare my life back in 1900+ x today 2000+ I would say before 2000 all inventions were made and most of the devices were forced upon us by commercials and the government. Instead of powering up, I'm powering down. I do not see any benefit in having it all. It can be because I changed my lifestyle or I am simply getting older and know how to do things in the old fashioned way. I have plenty of skills so why not using them and waste time waiting for a device to do the 'trick'. There's not one device in my life that made my life better, easier or created more time. Each one of them is time-consuming, rarely does what I want, gets frozen, becomes slow while buttons get broken. I waste many hours a day waiting for a device to operate.

What might have improved my life is the access to the internet. I met people allover the world via games and chatrooms while I dialled in with the landline using a desktop. (mDialing in was expensive back then but still one of the fastest internet connections I had and this was 20 years ago. Because of internet I didn't need to travel to meet people and was even able to do so in the middle of the night, without leaving my children home alone. Those I met and talked with, we always ended up writing in the old fashioned way: pen and paper. I still find a letter way more precious than a SMS or message sent by WIFI.

It's good to have access if it comes to figuring out prices of groceries, food for the animals, and so on. During winter I might watch films online and use wifi for that too.
I never have been a FB, Instagram, YouTube or social media type and do not surf the web out of boredom. If I am online it it's mainly to figure out something or post an article.
I do not want to live my life on the internet a web that can only be entered with devices, if WIFI is available for which electricity and a stable (fast) connection is needed. I am happy to say I have hundreds of books, magazines and comics included. We can always read, write and drawn, play a game or talk.

So I am backing off, am powering down in 2000+ and shrug my shoulders if the latest device or gag is announced while others line up to be the number one. The first to have whatever it is that will consume even more of their time and make them stop interacting with people, which also shows on platforms like Steemit.

As strange as it might sound I always thought technique should make life easier, create time but instead, the average person has less than ever before. Modern man hardly engages, is isolated more than before and on top of it the lack of POB increases because we are connected and closer to digital devices influencing each minute of our lives.

contest hosted by @aaliarubab - I hope for a shorter title next time!

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20% - @null
15% - @worldsmile
6-4-2024
Photos: taken by me
Header: Canva
Link picture header created by me

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