Too Much Technology?

     My husband loves technology. He has a laptop computer, that is about 4 years old and a smartphone that he has had about 8 months now. He also has a GPS unit and has had hand held PDA’s that his phone has now replaced.

       I used to leave all things technological to him. That has changed in recent years. Matt has dragged me into his love computers and gadgets. I have become the happy recipient of his love of technology. I have more gadgets than he does now. It started with him buying me a laptop about 4 years ago. He also bought me an I-pod Nano. I was quite happy with these two gadgets. I love my i-Pod, I use it almost on a daily basis. I love my laptop as well.  I have learned to use it well. I have also grown used to having a computer all my own.  The next gadget he gave me was a smart phone. That is way too much fun. I call it my mini-computer, that just happens to make phone calls.  Then, because I love to read, he bought me a NookColor. That little gadget is quite fun. And for Christmas what did I get, a new laptop computer. This came about because I had a computer crash in November and while it was able to be fully restored, the expert we took it to said it was on its way out. Wow is the new computer fun. Fast, easy to use.

     I use my technology daily. I e-mail. I blog. I Facebook.  I download and listen to podcasts on i-Tunes. My kids do a lot of school on the computer. They play games. They watch Latin videos. They type papers and e-mail them to me.

     All this technology has come with a price though. No, not necessarily a monetary price, although that is a consideration. The price that I am thinking of is that I have been dragged into knowing quite a bit about technology now. I used to go to Matt whenever I had a computer problem. Now, he just tells me to figure it out. If I am having trouble with my i-pod, he says he is “i-pod illiterate” and I have to fix it myself. When I have computer problems, he only advises me now, not take it and fix it for me like he used to. And now with my new computer, I have had to get it set up completely on my own. I have had to install all the virus protection, cleaners, and programs all on my own. I had to figure out how to put on a program, and then pull the information off of a separate drive he has set up for back ups, so I don’t lose any data. It has been fun, but challenging. I am stretching my brain and learning new things and even been able to help others along the way. There are times I want to throw up my hands and say to Matt, “Please just do it for me!” But I persevere, soldier on and learn to do it myself.

     But, I still wonder at times. Do I have too much technology?