I’m not going to write anything significant about my personal life here, so when I title a post ‘Relationships’ I’m referring to my relationship with technology, not my wife. If you want salacious gossip you’ll need to go elsewhere!
There’s not a day that goes by in my day job where I don’t exclaim ‘I hate computers!’ and express my desire to find alternative employment. There are days when I seem to do nothing but fight with technology.
And yet I haven’t yet gone off to live a technology free existence in the countryside somewhere. I am, on fact, typing this on an iPhone.
Why? Why don’t I give up on a field which clearly frustrates me half the time?
Because the other half of the time makes up for it. Getting to solve interesting technological puzzles can be such fun that the frustration you can experience on the way is worth it. As adults we’re given few opportunities to simply play, as we did as children. Our play needs to be dressed up as work (or perhaps sport) in order to be a socially acceptable way of spending our time and money. Play for it’s own sake – just to have fun and learn – is abnormal in mainstream culture. But ‘playing’ with technology can be that socially acceptable outlet for the desire to play.
As much as I hate technology for being imperfect, I also love it for giving me the opportunity to learn without first justifying training to my manager. It allows me to be self-training! It allows me to express both the creative urges and the desire to show technical skill.
We’re all utterly dependant on technology now, and that means that when it frustrated us it really frustrated us and when it improves things it really improves them. It also means that no matter how frustrating the process can be, we absolutely must master the technology that runs our lives. If we don’t then we’re destined to become slaves to it.
So I don’t head for the hills and abandon technology because it represents our greatest challenges, our most dangerous obstacles, and our most exciting opportunities. I just can’t pass that up.
Hopefully when I’m swearing at technology today I’ll remember why it’s worth persevering and not just throw the malfunctioning box out the nearest open window.
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