Things seem to get more complicated the older I get. These days, I find myself relying more and more on others—especially when it comes to technology. Just this morning, my son’s Apple Watch somehow unpaired from his phone. Resetting it meant trying to remember his Apple ID and password on top of my ever-growing list of usernames and logins. Then came the joy of re-pairing the watch, redoing the settings, and hoping it all works smoothly again.

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As I always say: We can put a man on the moon, but we still can’t keep a watch paired to a phone!

We’ve become so advanced as a society that we’re completely dependent on technology—and I’m just as guilty of it as anyone else. I may complain about it often, but I know deep down it's because I rely on it so much. When my calendar app stops working the way I’m used to, it throws off my whole day. As an older man, I’ve been “trained” to use certain apps in very specific ways. When something changes or breaks, it’s not just an inconvenience—it feels like disruption to my whole routine.

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Back in my Air Force days, we used to joke:
“You want to destroy the U.S. military? Change their password!”
It was funny, but also painfully true—we’re that reliant on digital systems.

 

Our entire world runs on technology now. Supercomputers regulate our electricity. Water flows through pumps controlled by computers. Trucks that deliver our food rely on fuel distribution systems—guess what powers those? You got it: computers.

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Let’s bring that down to the personal level. Your life-saving medication? It’s tracked, stored, ordered, and billed by computer systems. When you run out, you’re counting on those systems to restock it. Without them? You’re in trouble.

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Even staying connected with loved ones has gone digital. Texts, video chats, emails, social media—who still sends letters? It wasn’t until I moved to a small town in New Mexico that I saw a physical newspaper again. People in cities still read the paper version? Apparently yes—but it made me think.

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My entire life is tied to my phone now. It’s my alarm clock, calendar, GPS, grocery list, camera, music player, and health tracker. It helps me navigate school, appointments, haircuts—you name it.

And we’re addicted. The average person picks up their phone 58 times a day, spending over three hours on it (Radu & Radu, 2022). That kind of dependency brings side effects—mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, reduced concentration, and shrinking social skills.

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Still, I remind myself that not all technology is bad. Penicillin, for example, was a breakthrough in medical tech. Before it, a simple scratch could turn deadly. Dr. Alexander Fleming’s discovery changed that forever (ACS, 1999).

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But me? I’m still wrestling with the little things—like why my phone suddenly flips everything to landscape mode after I drop it. Or why Siri sets a 5:17 AM alarm when I clearly asked her not to—and then acts confused when I tell her to delete it.

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Such is the life of an older gentleman in a high-tech world. I remember America Online—those dings, dongs, and static sounds just to get online (heaven help you if someone picked up the phone during your session). I remember swapping out floppy disks because a program was too large to fit on one.

Back then, an 8 megabyte drive was massive. Today, you can buy a 122 terabyte drive (though it’ll set you back $16,000).

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The world has changed. A lot.
Sometimes I feel like I can’t keep up.

Do you?

 

Resources

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Alexander Fleming Discovery and development of penicillin - landmark. American Chemical Society. (n.d.). https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/flemingpenicillin.html#:~:text=Cite%20this%20Page-,Alexander%20Fleming’s%20Discovery%20of%20Penicillin,blob%20of%20mold%20was%20growing.

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Cristina Radu, & Radu, C. (2022, April 15). The impact of mobile technology in our lives. Mobiversal. https://blog.mobiversal.com/the-impact-of-mobile-technology-in-our-daily-life.html#:~:text=With%20only%20our%20mobile%20devices,them%20on%20us%20as%20well.