Change is the one thing we can always count on, yet change is the one thing we try to prevent. Humans are odd creatures.
Perhaps the idea of change isn’t the problem as much as our desire to control what is changed. Let’s face it . . . most of us ‘regular’ citizens are led by the hand of government and big business. We are told what our rights are by lawmakers and we are told what to purchase by big corporations. Almost every aspect of society is controlled by someone else. It is no wonder we fight against change. . . how else can we feel empowered?
Take for example the two kingpins of social media, Facebook and Youtube. Their latest profile changes have sparked a multitude of user outcry against it. Could this be an example of empowerment by the ‘little’ guy or are the changes a digital evil creeping into the lives of social media users?
Facebook has made it easier to access older posts. . . before the change, you had to scroll down the page for hours if you wanted to read a post from 2008. . . after the change, you can choose the year from a convenient list in the sidebar and navigate directly to it. (this is also effective in deleting previous content you may not want floating around Facebook any longer)
Youtube has given its users the option to organize videos into convenient playlists that can be viewed in a scrolling list. . . each video can also be watched independently. (The old playlist was stuck on auto play) Plus, the new design allows for larger video thumbnails and puts emphases back onto the art of film making.
In truth these new designs are good, yet they constitute change and with that comes generalized discomfort. Perhaps change is not so much the enemy as our desire to comfortably exist within the status quo.
Today I accept change. Tomorrow, I might need to feel empowered. . .
—————————————————————————————by SG 2011
Change is an odd thing, the generations of the 20th century have had to adapt to change at ever increasing speed. They speak of the industrial revolution as if it has finished. We are still in it. Three hundred years ago change was a rare event for most; now it comes daily. That’s quite a load we have to shoulder as the pace seems to move even faster. I reckon that intellect alone has no capacity to keep up with the speed and that intuition will be the faculty most capable of adapting to change. Or may be not…it depends how I feel. Maybe it’s just by forty-eightness talking.
XXX to you and W.
Very well written and wholeheartedly agreed with. I resisted changing my mobile (cell) phone for years. It did everything I wanted it to, I said. However, the time came when my old phone started to have problems, and I begrudgingly switched to an HTC Android phone.
I love it!! I mean, I really do!
It has so many apps that I didn’t even know I needed or wanted, but now find indispensable. For instance, on my old phone, if I received a text, I would try to read it while doing something else, then have to reserve a few mins to answer. Now, I speak into my Android phone, starting with “Text Piers”, or whoever, and it converts the speech to text and sits there ready for me to hit the ‘send’ button. If I get a reply, a woman’s voice reads it out to me from my top pocket, so I don’t even have to touch it.
Technology is great. We just have to succumb to it.
Rob, I still don’t know how to send a text….(putting my head down in shame and walking quietly away)
I dont mind change perse, but when they way new and improved, i know….its usually NOT
getting something that is improved means, its better…easier to use…has great advantages….
but usually its more complicated, and has few advantages for ME the growing older each day consumer…
I remember when my mom and dad could set their clocks and had no problems with the time change…..then they came out with the digital clocks and they just couldnt figure out how to change the time so each spring, and fall we would go over and set their clocks…..
there was no way they were going to learn how to set their vcr
now…im a few years younger than they were when the digital stuff started coming out, and we have fones which change faster than I can keep up with, and tv, dvr, and what ever else has come along in the last even 10-15 years that changes to keep the consumer buying the best, newest, more “improved”
its always going to be this way, but……I have reached my limit on change….my pockets are empty….
love ya Steven & Wylde your posts keep me thinking…
….hey…where is Wylde anyway havent seen him for along while!!
Get this…my mother is 82 and last year she deprogrammed her television and called me in tears (we have the same model TV) and asked me to help her. I had no idea where to begin because I am a media device idiot. I dug out my manual and starting reading…the more I read, the more confused I became. About fifteen minutes later my mom called back…she managed to re-program the TV all on her own! Of course, she had no idea how she did it, but no matter how the outcome was obtained…she put my 48 year old mind to shame. (I still don’t understand that damn manual.)
Change is one of those things that is hard to do…but once the change is made we wonder what all the fuss was about….. sometimes it is necessary to relent control of our lives and just ride the wave and see where it take us…. for when we do that, for the most part we are pleasantly surprised and pleased… so ride your wave and feel the outcome…you may be pleasantly surprised and dumbfounded….both at the same time…….. and that may be the greatest thing to ever happen….. the future is an adventure to be enjoyed and treasured…….
Beautifully written, Janice.
My only complaint is that the changes appear to be rolling out at different speeds for phone and computer; so I adjust back and forth as I switch devices. My theory is that the learning curve will help keep my mind working. In the end, we will all adjust before mourning these formats when the next ones are implemented.
I am still living in the past with my devices. I use one computer for the internet and my cell phone is one step up from the old 1970 house phone setup. haha You are so right about mourning these formats when the next ones come out……which according to my calculations, will be a few days after we have finally mastered the current ones.