Techno-garbage

As I continue to muddle along through this technolocially amazing time I’m told we’re living in, I have to admit I’m totally overwhelmed and confused most of the time. I still can’t figure out how to do internet searches on my phone, I don’t know why it’s always full (I delete photos constantly), and I am pretty torn up about being a terrible parent who ignores their child because I have Facebook on my phone or being a terrible parent who bends to my child’s every whim because I don’t have Facebook on my phone. I wonder if there are “dumb” phones with excellent cameras? That might be what I need …

Anyways, my latest techno quandry is this: to purchase another computer or not? Two Christmases ago, I got a Sony Vaio as a gift. It was super-fancy but also finicky and delicate. It was broken almost immediatly and took ages to repair. I was extra vigalent about being careful with the computer, though I didn’t really like it much. It pinched my legs when I opened and closed it on my lap, and it had built-in shortcuts that I didn’t understand that would constantly change whatever I was looking at on the internet to football news. If you know me at all, you know I have no use for football news. But I just figured it was me and carried on. The following Christmas I was gifted an Apple laptop, which is what I always wanted! It’s head and shoulders above anything else I’ve ever had. I even took a class on how to use it more effectively … though I can’t say I took much away, actually. (!) I did try to sell the Viao but with no luck at all. Not even a nibble. So the Viao became the kids’ computer. It was used for the occasional Minecraft game, Youtube video, Google search, or Starfall session (the program I use to homeschool my preschooler). Now the stupid thing pretty much broke in half when my kid pulled it toward him to put in his lap (because the little rubber nubs held to the table top) and Sony wanted $1000 to fix it! It cracked the motherboard or whatever that thing is called. Then Sony cracked the screen when it was in their care. And now it mysteriously has no operating system??? It’s a very expensive paperweight. I feel like it would be unwise to put any more money into this thing, but I’m also aware that I do like my kids having a computer that is not mine to use for their purposes. Is it ridiculous to purchase a computer for an 8 and 4 year old?

I feel like it’s ridiculous.

But you know when the BEST time to do something on your own on your computer is? When your kid is busy on the computer. Additionally, the best time to practice your French learning app on the ipad is when your kid is practicing his math skills on the ipad. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind another ipad, as I’m always deleting my stuff to make room for theirs. But how many gadgets does one family need? There are people who don’t own computers at all, and we need several?

And do we really NEED to have kids on the computer at all? No, we absolutely don’t. But at our school, kids begin keyboarding lessons in grade 3 with daily homework. And that same kid has an interest in programming and there are great websites out there to help him learn those for free! And now we’re hearing that programming is like another language children must learn to be employable in the near future. We need to be masters of technology, rather than consumers alone! So won’t this mean they’ll need access?

And with every new technology, we have all this waste with the old technology. Where do all those “outdated” phones go? I have a laundry basket in a room of my house that is full of cords that I don’t know what they power up! There are programming disks I can’t identify. How am I to get a handle on this? I feel like I need Clean Sweep for my technology. And the kicker is that I’m not a techo-savvy person who rushes out to get anything new! I don’t follow any trends of technology or wait for something new to be released. My dad had an iphone before I did! What the hell is all this stuff? Is this going to be the next ecological disaster, right behind plastic bags and bottles and microbeads?

If the one computer would just do SOMETHING, then I could continue on with that and justify that I already had two. I don’t feel like I can, in good conscience, purchase my kids a computer. I will probably end up buying one secretly and then telling everyone it was a hand-me-down to help drown the guilt and embarassment. 😉 But I think before I make that purchase, I need to figure out why everything technological I touch turns to garbage. It’s maddening! I’ve been techno-cursed and I would absolutely surrender, if I only knew how!