This is Technology Bytes, episode 21 for July 30th, 2023.
Technology Bytes is a microcast where I share my brief insights on an interesting technology.
My name is Joel.
Enjoy.
And here we go.
This week may be a little bit shorter podcast because the topic lends itself to being short, I guess.
But what I want to talk about this week is tech support.
It’s not really a technology that I’m using or trying to explain to someone, but this is more of who I am.
Because of my love of technology, I often become the technology support person of my family or friends and other relatives.
Because I am who I am, I enjoy helping people understand the technology that they use on a daily basis.
So we have a friend who dropped her phone or I’m not sure what happened to it, but it was run over and crushed, has become useless.
And it’s an Android phone, although that doesn’t really mean anything in this context, because I think this can happen with iPhone users as well.
Maybe a little less likely because Apple tries to help in this situation, but she has basically lost everything.
I don’t know about the picture, she didn’t go that far, but it can be very heartbreaking when that happens.
Because so much of our lives is on that little thing we carry in our pocket.
That device that we take so many pictures with, that we take so much information and we connect with people.
And so in our small group meeting, she was saying, hey, I don’t have numbers anymore, I’d like to get this.
Obviously much of that information was put back into the phone because her husband had it on his phone, but not everything.
And so it’s heartbreaking because it’s very simple really to keep that stuff, Apple and Google both.
It’s just a matter of a switch that says, I want to back this information up and then being able to do that.
And it makes it very simple when you get new phones to just log into your account, all your stuff loads onto your phone.
You’ve got all your apps, you’ve got all your contacts, you’ve got all your email.
All this stuff that comes right back because we took an opportunity to move a switch from off to on that backs up our phones.
It’s interesting to me that in today’s world, people tend not to do that.
And as a technology net, it just grabs me.
It makes me sad because I feel like I have put myself out there as someone who will help.
I feel like people who know me would not hesitate to ask me a question about their technology and yet they do.
They think they’re bothering, they think you don’t need to take time for them, whatever the thought process is.
And no matter how much I put myself out there, that thought process remains.
And then we run into, well, now this doesn’t work entirely, I’ve lost this information, I can’t get to this, whatever the case may be.
And it’s like, why did you not ask?
And they said, well, I don’t want to bother you, I know you’re busy, you’ve got your own life to live.
But that’s some of the challenge with technology that we live with on a daily basis.
Over and over again, people, the creators of the technology, have made it easier and easier to use.
Less friction to get done the things we want to get done.
And you see that when younger and younger children will pick up a phone and seemingly know how to use it.
It’s like ingrained and that’s the way technology makers want it to be.
App developers want their app to have grip, they want it to have gravity so that someone continues to use it.
And one way they do that is to make it indispensable and easy to use.
But then when something goes haywire and you’re not willing to ask, then there are issues that happen that make you either hate technology or wish it would not carry as much weight as it does in your world.
And some people do tech support way better, not just people like me who offer help, but companies.
Tech support through Apple is pretty good in comparison to other major companies.
Because they want their customers to stay customers and others are just on to the next thing.
And if you have trouble, I’m sorry, go to the place that you bought it, whatever the case may be.
But I guess my point in all of this is, if you use technology on a regular basis.
And if you live on the face of the planet today, I think that’s probably true for 90 plus percent of us.
You should have somebody that can help you through sticky situations.
That can help you through technology problems that you can’t seem to grasp on your own.
Or just to give you some guidance on the basics of what you should be doing with your technology.
Whether it’s maintenance, whether it’s cleaning, whether it’s backing up, whether it’s use and those kind of things.
It’s not that we want to make you be like us, but we do want you to enjoy the technology that has been provided.
We do want you to not have a love-hate relationship with the technology in your life.
It’s like, I use it because I have to, not because I want to.
But to see it as a tool that is useful and when bent to your will, becomes something that is almost indispensable in letting you get things done in a timely manner, letting you keep information at hand very easily.
And not because it’s the technology that’s driving you, but vice versa.
And technology support people like myself and others that you know can help you down that road.
So if you need help and you know a technology type person in your life, do not hesitate to reach out to them.
They will be more than willing to show you how to use the tech that you use on a daily basis.
You have been listening to the Technology Bytes Microcast.
Until next time, continue enjoying your technology.
