“In the Fifties, television destroyed radio, and many of those stars who themselves were survivors of the death of vaudeville persisted through radio and into film…Now the new technology has again upset the applecart. Streaming has forever disrupted the old means of distribution….” --David Mamet, Pulitzer Prize winner, playwright and filmmaker

“The human brain, as it turns out, reacts similarly to the ding of a text message or the wail of a siren as it would to the growl of a bear behind us in the woods—as a threat, demanding a constant state of alertness.” – Lyanda Lynn Haupt, Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit

The Digital Age of computers and other technologies is well underway. Like a runaway train, it thunders forward with a stunning momentum that seems unstoppable. As someone who endlessly seeks to understand the bigger picture, it’s been helpful to consider what that bigger technology picture might be, even if I can’t do anything about it.

For me, it began innocently enough with the ATM machine. I could get cash at my bank, and other places, too, just by entering my pin number. Then came word processors—so much better than a typewriter. Now I could write, erase, change, and save content quickly and easily. No more carbon copies, no more White Out! About the same time, cordless phones appeared, followed by Blackberrys and Skype, a forerunner of Zoom. Where would it end?

It wouldn’t end. In record time, the Internet, email, and cell phones took over my life and everybody else’s. Issues related to cyber security and data collection were yet to be fully recognized, let alone managed. So, the convenience and novelty seemed well worth whatever abstract, ill-defined dangers might be looming in the background. The perils (more sophisticated and dangerous weaponry, deep fake images) and possibilities (medical diagnosis, disaster management) of artificial intelligence (AI)? These were not even on the radar screen, at least not for the general public.

I know, I know… technology makes communication and management of everything from budgeting to travel super-efficient. Even so, when the technology doesn’t work as it should, it’s maddening. For example, I recently tried to download a program to my computer, which was the only way I could request that some medical images be sent from one hospital system to another. It took hours to figure out why the download wouldn’t work. When I finally succeeded and tried to sign in, the newly configured system I just installed did not recognize my email address—the same email address it used to invite me to consider this electronic option in the first place. My frustration with the entire process, combined with much anxiety about transferring the files in a timely manner, left me feeling agitated, exhausted, and inept. Ultimately, I had to settle for a written radiology report rather than an actual image. The compromise left me feeling as if I had been given a consolation prize for a contest I didn’t know I had entered.

That’s just one of numerous examples of the irritation and exhaustion that permeate so many interactions with technology in one form or another. Just yesterday, I waited on hold for almost an hour with a nationwide pharmacy chain. “Four people ahead of you,” the recording informed me.” Then, “three people ahead of you,” then, “two people ahead of you.” This information, I concede, was helpful. I could even press * to shut off the awful music played between updates. When my turn finally arrived, I explained to the pharmacist why I was calling. He said, “hold on a minute while I check.” Moments later, we were disconnected.

Different day, different facility, same insanity:

Press 1 to make an appointment

Press 2 for directions

Press 3 for hours of operation

Press 4 for billing

For all other calls, press 5

I press 5. The recorded response is: This is not a valid option. Press 6 to return to the main menu.

Situations like these leave me knowing without a doubt that I am fully capable of murder under the right circumstances.

Still, I wonder: are these experiences connected to a larger reality, a bigger picture? One that might also explain the more general state of disquiet that characterizes life today on so many fronts?

Perhaps I was just desperate for answers to such questions when I heard a radio interview with policy expert and political strategist Doug Sosnick. Doug explained that as the world transitions from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, there are winners and losers. The same was true when the world moved from the Agricultural Age to the Industrial Age. Back then, farmers were freed to pursue other livelihoods. However, some farmers, often older, floundered amidst the new, large scale, machine-driven efficiencies that led to the demise of many small family farms. Big cities sprung up overnight as rural citizens flocked to newly created factory jobs, leading to housing shortages and disease.

Hmmm…technology winners and losers. Who are they?

First, some losers--Kodak all but disappeared with the introduction of sophisticated digital cameras that did not require film. More recently, auto workers went on strike to ensure their financial futures in an industry barreling headlong from gas-powered to electric vehicles, which will require fewer human workers. And what about the affects of the Information Age on our bodies? “So many of us spend our days plugged into our devices…,” says tech journalist Manoush Zomorodi, host of a new Ted Radio Hour podcast called The Body Electric. “We have tech neck, achy backs, dry eyes…We feel agitated after spending our days on Zoom. And at night, we rest our butts down yet again, to stream and scroll some more…a vicious cycle of type, tap, collapse…In the last 20 years, the rate of young people with Type 2 diabetes has doubled. It’s predicted that by 2050, half the world’s population will be nearsighted.”

More losers: those who are low-income and can’t afford to participate in the digital revolution. Or some elderly and others who may be confused by a simple trip to the grocery store, which now involves fewer human cashiers and more electronic self check-out stations. Shopping anywhere often dictates downloading an app on a smartphone to avoid paying a higher price for one item or another. What if I don’t have a smartphone or don’t know how to download an app? Then too bad for me. I’ll have to pay more.

I recall standing in line at a drugstore at the height of the Covid pandemic, waiting to get a vaccine. An elderly man, clearly upset and confused, shuffled through the glass doors and asked where to get a shot. At the time, there were no walk-in options and getting an appointment online was difficult, even for those who knew how to do it. To his credit, the store employee used his own cell phone to help the man set up an appointment, then walked him over to the line where the rest of us stood waiting.

The employee’s kindness and professionalism reminded me of that cheery, but misleading notion that “We’re all in this together.” My favorite response goes something like, “No, we’re all in the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat.” Some of us are in yachts, ocean liners and the like, protected in ways big and small. Others are in speed boats and sailboats, navigating reasonably well so long as we don’t run out of gas or wind. But too many are on flimsy rafts, barely held together by spit and a prayer, our survival highly dependent on who, if anyone, comes along beside us to help.

So, who are the winners? Well, many businesses, big and small. “Overall, the digital age has been a huge benefit for businesses. It has allowed them to reach more customers and clients, start and grow with less overhead cost, and use a variety of online tools to manage their operations…it has created a more level playing field for entrepreneurs and innovators, with less barriers to entry, and more opportunities to reach a global audience….”

Not all, but many workers benefit too—remote work makes work-life balance easier for many to achieve. In an emergency, a patient’s health history can be transmitted anywhere in the world in seconds. Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media keep millions of us in close touch with former classmates, colleagues, family, and friends. Backup cameras in our cars save lives; GPS helps us navigate our way quickly and easily through highways, byways or even on foot, all over the world. Telehealth tools help bridge the healthcare gap, especially in rural areas. Squarespace makes this blog possible.

Yet according to Sosnick, we are now only midway through moving from a 20th century, top-down manufacturing industrial economy to a 21st century digital and global one. “So as a country,” he says, “we’re divided…with more people feeling the pain than getting benefits….”

Transitions of any kind can be unpredictable and overwhelming. Even smaller transitions, such as adolescence, changing jobs, having a baby, or retirement often include periods of uncertainty and stress until new patterns are established, new skills learned, and a new normal emerges. Like most people, I find the disruption unsettling. I want to move through the inherent disequilibrium as quickly as possible.

Be that as it may, placing the social, economic, and political tumult of our collective lives today in the context of a huge transition from the Industrial era to the Digital era is interesting, but inadequate. Surely, climate change, a worldwide pandemic, gun safety, and other big, scary issues contribute to the uneasiness many of us feel almost daily. We’re intuitively waiting for the other shoe to drop, and sensing that it’s just a matter of time. As author Bruce Feiler says in Life Is In The Transitions, “The smartest minds today…have come to understand that the world no longer adheres to predictable, linear mandates. Instead, life is filled with chaos and complexity, periods of order and disorder, linearity and nonlinearity. In place of steady lines, observers now see hoops, spirals, wobbles, fractals, twists, tangles, and turnabouts.”

Loving myself and others well during this time means unplugging from technology regularly. I can be more disciplined about using Auto-Reply, Do Not Disturb, Notifications, and Unsubscribe. These tools can help me better manage the avalanche of electronic communication that sucks so much time out of an average day and distracts me from more worthwhile pursuits. I can commit to being curious and open-minded, yet discerning about learning how new technologies work, daunting as that sometimes can be. I also can help those around me whose access to or understanding of technology is less than my own, limited as mine may be compared to some.

There will be less time for scrolling if I focus more on gathering with loved ones, eating mindfully, exercising regularly, and getting more sleep. An abundance of patience when technological “efficiencies” turn out to be anything but efficient also can make this transition time easier.

Perhaps most helpful is simply accepting the fact that the technology train has left the station. And like it or not, there is no going back.

Questions

1. How do you feel about the steady march of technology in and through your life? Would you stop it if you could?

2. What role, if any, does age play in our ability to adapt to change, especially big change, such as a global transition from one era to another?

3. Has technology helped or hindered your personal or professional relationships with others? How?