Don’t write us off. You might learn something
14 May 2017
What ever happened to be nice to one another? Oh that’s right - we would rather stare at a screen. I am guilty of it. I have replaced my addiction for nicotine (and shall we say other harmful substances), with ‘likes’ on Facebook and smiley faces.
When Tim Bernard Lee first invented the internet he gave it away to the world. As the hacking attack proved on Friday last week it has become a monster as well as a wonderful tool which now connects us all together. My reason for doing it isn't by choice and I also make the effort to get out and see people.
I live next to the local train station and see on a daily basis hundreds of people staring at their screens, as they wait to herd onto over crowded trains. I live right on the corner and watch as motorists approach the junction, mobiles in hand, sending text messages. Kids with the latest ‘phones playing games as the traffic flies by, oblivious to the dangers around them.
We are all addicted if we choose to admit it or not. Or are we?
I started a little computer drop-in a couple of weeks ago and although there are a few of them there with phones, tablets and computers, the majority would rather make time for one another and have a cup of tea and a chat.
I have met some amazing people in my life but everyone one of you has as well. So make time to smile as you walk past anyone in the street. Be happy to be out in the sunshine and maybe say hello. The internet has a lot to answer for. People of a certain age have had to adapt to this new world or get left behind, as the NHS found out to its cost on Friday. As you know, if you keep up with technology, Windows stopped giving support to XP years ago. Because of Government cuts and the need to hire more managers than Doctors at extortionate salaries, computers around the country are so far out of date its untrue.
And it’s not just them its nearly every part of the system.
In an ever changing digital world technology gets faster and faster every month with millions of people around the globe sending pictures of what they had for dinner to everyone in their address book , who aren’t really interested in the hope of getting a like. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram... the list goes on.
I can remember going to Maplin back in the day and paying £80 for a 10 Gb hard drive. ‘Dial-up’ is something a lot of you haven't of heard of – you felt you ruled the world if you were lucky enough to get through. Faxes and floppy discs were the norm back then and it was a completely different world.
Let me try and explain to the younger audience who will think ‘it’s made up’ when they start reading this.
A long, long time ago in a tiny village surrounded by hills not so far away, weekends were for families. Saturday was shopping day and the highlight of the week, you would start the day with a massive lay in before dragging yourself down stairs to eat Weetabix (other breakfast cereals were available).
It was the start of two long days. You didn’t have a watch. Mobile phones where unheard of unless in some black and white space film from the 50s. It was Mum and Dad’s night's out and the kids were not invited. They sat in front of the telly watching Morecambe and Wise and Bruce, with the baby sitter in the armchair snoring, before being sent up to bed at 9 o’clock.
Sundays all the shops were shut and there was nothing on telly but farming programs and church services. The pubs would open at twelve and there would be a mad race by all the dads and granddads to get there and down as many beers as they could before last orders where called at two. If it wasn’t raining the mothers and kids would head for the beer garden with a bag of crisps and bottle of coke before heading home to finish the cooking and do a jigsaw with grandma.
At 2.30 pm the pubs would shut their doors and the landlords would go upstairs to be with their families, or put on check trousers and head for the golf course. The afternoons dragged on and you would be told to do your homework before you were allowed to eat tea (or have dinner as it’s called now), before bath time and early to bed. School in the morning. It was a different time for your parents and grandparents. You will hear this one day and it will make sense.
With age comes wisdom. I don’t think it really hit me until I got age, as I like to call it. You can learn a lot if you take time to listen and respect those older than you.
But at the same time as older people we can learn from the young. How many parents throw an iPad at their child on a daily basis? When I say throw I mean give them an iPad, tablet or mobile phone to play with while they eat cake and stare at their iPhone or watch soap operas. It starts with Peppa Pig and by the time their child gets to middle school they have a much better understanding of modern up to date computers and software.
I just wish we could turn off the internet and all the mobile phones at the weekend and talk face to face. Like the old days. I teach older people and show them how easy it is, and I am nowhere near an expert. But I only know certain things when it comes to Twitter, for instance. I don’t get it, and don’t use it. All the hashtag stuff is beyond me. As for Snapchat, I prefer to take pictures with my camera.
When they do eventually find the person responsible for the massive hacks over the weekend I'm betting it will be some bored twelve year old doing it to prove he can.
Sean Ryan
98 Brockley Grove London SE4 1EQ
07482 988 316
14 May 2017
What ever happened to be nice to one another? Oh that’s right - we would rather stare at a screen. I am guilty of it. I have replaced my addiction for nicotine (and shall we say other harmful substances), with ‘likes’ on Facebook and smiley faces.
When Tim Bernard Lee first invented the internet he gave it away to the world. As the hacking attack proved on Friday last week it has become a monster as well as a wonderful tool which now connects us all together. My reason for doing it isn't by choice and I also make the effort to get out and see people.
I live next to the local train station and see on a daily basis hundreds of people staring at their screens, as they wait to herd onto over crowded trains. I live right on the corner and watch as motorists approach the junction, mobiles in hand, sending text messages. Kids with the latest ‘phones playing games as the traffic flies by, oblivious to the dangers around them.
We are all addicted if we choose to admit it or not. Or are we?
I started a little computer drop-in a couple of weeks ago and although there are a few of them there with phones, tablets and computers, the majority would rather make time for one another and have a cup of tea and a chat.
I have met some amazing people in my life but everyone one of you has as well. So make time to smile as you walk past anyone in the street. Be happy to be out in the sunshine and maybe say hello. The internet has a lot to answer for. People of a certain age have had to adapt to this new world or get left behind, as the NHS found out to its cost on Friday. As you know, if you keep up with technology, Windows stopped giving support to XP years ago. Because of Government cuts and the need to hire more managers than Doctors at extortionate salaries, computers around the country are so far out of date its untrue.
And it’s not just them its nearly every part of the system.
In an ever changing digital world technology gets faster and faster every month with millions of people around the globe sending pictures of what they had for dinner to everyone in their address book , who aren’t really interested in the hope of getting a like. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram... the list goes on.
I can remember going to Maplin back in the day and paying £80 for a 10 Gb hard drive. ‘Dial-up’ is something a lot of you haven't of heard of – you felt you ruled the world if you were lucky enough to get through. Faxes and floppy discs were the norm back then and it was a completely different world.
Let me try and explain to the younger audience who will think ‘it’s made up’ when they start reading this.
A long, long time ago in a tiny village surrounded by hills not so far away, weekends were for families. Saturday was shopping day and the highlight of the week, you would start the day with a massive lay in before dragging yourself down stairs to eat Weetabix (other breakfast cereals were available).
It was the start of two long days. You didn’t have a watch. Mobile phones where unheard of unless in some black and white space film from the 50s. It was Mum and Dad’s night's out and the kids were not invited. They sat in front of the telly watching Morecambe and Wise and Bruce, with the baby sitter in the armchair snoring, before being sent up to bed at 9 o’clock.
Sundays all the shops were shut and there was nothing on telly but farming programs and church services. The pubs would open at twelve and there would be a mad race by all the dads and granddads to get there and down as many beers as they could before last orders where called at two. If it wasn’t raining the mothers and kids would head for the beer garden with a bag of crisps and bottle of coke before heading home to finish the cooking and do a jigsaw with grandma.
At 2.30 pm the pubs would shut their doors and the landlords would go upstairs to be with their families, or put on check trousers and head for the golf course. The afternoons dragged on and you would be told to do your homework before you were allowed to eat tea (or have dinner as it’s called now), before bath time and early to bed. School in the morning. It was a different time for your parents and grandparents. You will hear this one day and it will make sense.
With age comes wisdom. I don’t think it really hit me until I got age, as I like to call it. You can learn a lot if you take time to listen and respect those older than you.
But at the same time as older people we can learn from the young. How many parents throw an iPad at their child on a daily basis? When I say throw I mean give them an iPad, tablet or mobile phone to play with while they eat cake and stare at their iPhone or watch soap operas. It starts with Peppa Pig and by the time their child gets to middle school they have a much better understanding of modern up to date computers and software.
I just wish we could turn off the internet and all the mobile phones at the weekend and talk face to face. Like the old days. I teach older people and show them how easy it is, and I am nowhere near an expert. But I only know certain things when it comes to Twitter, for instance. I don’t get it, and don’t use it. All the hashtag stuff is beyond me. As for Snapchat, I prefer to take pictures with my camera.
When they do eventually find the person responsible for the massive hacks over the weekend I'm betting it will be some bored twelve year old doing it to prove he can.
Sean Ryan
98 Brockley Grove London SE4 1EQ
07482 988 316
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