With my I-can’t-get-around-it advancing years, I wonder sometimes if I’m going to be able to stay current with technology. My years at Legacy.com (and now with WordPress) prepared me well in the tech realm, and I’ve been fairly confident working in it.

But nothing ever stays the same. Just last month, I grew frustrated with a Facebook Marketplace sale because the “new-to-me” layout seemed confusing. I succeeded, but it made me uncomfortable enough that I’m rethinking selling online anymore. I felt anxiety that skills had slipped.

Hey, in the 90s, I sold Beanie Babies on eBay (just for fun). Neighbors would knock on my door, trying to sell their Ty Wise Owls or Ty “Libearty” Beanie bears. I was happy to do it in my free time, interspersed with a few of my own.

The farthest place I ever shipped a Beanie Baby to was Japan. That was part of the fun: connecting with someone halfway around the world. In fact, that was one reason I loved working at Legacy so much. I once talked to a soldier stationed in Afghanistan who needed help to find the Guest Book for someone he loved. He wanted to write a note to express how sorry he was that he couldn’t attend the funeral. I LOVE amazing connections.

But back to tech. My mother saw the value of technology, but could not acclimate to either a computer’s software or hardware. Her brain had always moved in fluid, artistic ways instead.

She never owned a smartphone and could not master a simple device her dearest cousin Gwen mailed her so that they could send emails. (It plugged into a phone line.)

But in 2019, we had an experience with her, which highlighted the critical need for having even bare-bones computer skills.

She wanted to change banks and move her accounts. So my sister Heidi and her husband, Mom and myself and Dennis, all trooped into the “new” bank one day to be her “ears” and explain certain things during the process.

The personal banker brought us into her office. She answered our questions, and then she lined up the online documents to move the money. Mom was opening three accounts: savings, checking and a certificate of deposit. Plus, she needed a signature card for comparison, account agreement, Acknowledgment of Policy, Social Security Direct Deposit documentation, Power of Attorney form, etc.

A small screen was placed in front of her. All she had to do was move the cursor into a circle with the mouse marking an X for agreement.

Mom was not familiar with a computer mouse. She didn’t understand that there is a “feel” involved in how to move it. Trying, the cursor jerked to the right; then to the left. She would finally place the cursor in the correct circle, but then pressed it so hard that it scooted off the mark. This happened several times, and we had multiple documents to get through.

Naturally, Heidi and I both offered to do it, but the banker was adamant that Mom’s hand needed to electronically sign every page. She even said that there was a camera in the upper corner of her office; bosses might watch and she could lose her job.

Quietly, she lost her patience instead. After countless misses of checking the boxes, she allowed Heidi and me (taking turns) to place our hands on top of Mom’s and guide it to the appropriate spot. Our fingers also helped her click it. I will always remember that feeling.

My mother was of a generation who had the choice to embrace new technology; or not. That is no longer possible.

I know I can check the box on my own technical skills, but I understand something. Ten years from now, what I achieve on a computer today will be obsolete; in hardware, software and platforms. Maybe I’ll need to provide an eye recognition scan to docu-sign something or need to access a cloud node with no keyboard. I will be no different from Mom, trying hard to use a mouse. Technology will advance away from me; especially because age can play with confidence, and confidence is part of it. Heck, it already has with that online sale.

I’ll just have to take it as it comes. And I’m sure I will try because I cannot conceive of a world where I can no longer access information, communicate and write freely. It’s going to be weird, though, to use more voice control and little or none physical interaction with a keyboard.

And if we manage to get inside to the content (where AI will be waiting for us) we will all have a little ace up our sleeves. AI is going to need our human strengths more than ever. We have our emotional intelligence, hearts, and sensory memories. We will make connections between two facts that seem unlikely because we learn through real-life experiences. We will read between the lines and make decisions based on our “guts.” We feel stuff. Technology can’t do that.

And for those older generations where aging may become an issue, let’s hope we all have hands that can guide us there.

Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Pexels.com