Ever have an idea handed to you? Seems like every day this week someone has made reference to not having to remember anything anymore. Need information? We instantly reach for our smartphone even if it’s something we should know.
So many times we ask for a customer’s phone number and they have to check their phone because “they don’t call themselves.” Why should we know our own phone numbers when we can just call someone and have it pop up on their caller ID? Technology is making us dumber.
Think about it, we pretty much use our phones and similar technology to log everything including birthdays, holidays, phone numbers and passwords. Ten years ago we would have been forced to commit this stuff to memory. Alternatively, we would keep books with all this information.
I used to think my not having to remember things was purely a bonus. I get a phone number and instantly it goes into my phone. I keep collecting phone numbers to the point I forget who the person actually is. “Is Kelly S. the one I met at the supermarket or the Kelly I met online?” To combat this I’ve created another system which further takes away from my having to remember.
Passwords are one of those things that shouldn’t be stored in any electronic device. For so many reasons top secret passwords to bank accounts, email and pretty much anything to do with money should never be stored electronically. These passwords are top secret and should be memorized. I consider it acceptable to write down (pen and paper) other passwords.
Years ago it was fun to be reminded about someone’s birthday. I’ve forgotten a few over the years, but luckily Facebook reminds me now so I don’t have to remember. Facebook takes it one step further and demands I send the person a message. I don’t even have to remember that sending a quick quip would be a nice gesture.
Some bills are easy to remember. Rent and mortgage payments are generally due on the first of the month. Another is due on the 10th and yet another is the 20th with others dispersed throughout the month. My phone’s calendar is a great resource so I don’t actually have to process dates. Every morning I wake up to a to do list.
Tuesday afternoon I teased one of my regular customers who didn’t remember her cell phone number. She’s one of those who relies on her phone for everything. I asked how she would find her phone if it were to become misplaced. “I’d call the number from my other phone.” Without hesitation she wrote her own number on one of my business cards and tucked it in her purse.
Where will we be in ten years when we don’t have to remember anything? If technology keeps moving fast someday we will have surgically implanted chips. Those little microchips will think for us and will automatically connect us to a computer in a cloud. There will never be an awkward moment trying to remember details about another person.
Years ago when computers were entering the mainstream we used them for performing complex tasks. Sometime in the past 20 years we’ve become overly reliant on technology. We no longer have to remember anything; all we have to do is push a button. Hopefully we won’t become so dumb we forget how to use the devices that are remembering all of our important information.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can call him at (978) 919-8059 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)