Do you ever feel like you’re barely keeping up with modern technology? Maybe it’s a recent phone update that leaves you disoriented. Or you want customer service from a human but you’re forced to text with an AI. Perhaps you get decision fatigue scrolling through endless streaming options on TV, not sure what to take a chance on next. You’re not alone in experiencing feelings of weariness, frustration, and even grief about daily life in the digital age. But while your peers can certainly relate and provide some relief, you may have overlooked a potent source of wisdom about technology from an unlikely place—your elders.
I recently experienced this with my friend Dorothy. I just got word that she passed away at 91, but I was blessed to know her for the last few years of her life. In 2021, Dorothy and I connected on the subject of technology in an unlikely place: the comments section of a news website. Dorothy shared her experience as a telephone company switchboard operator from 1949 to 1952. In her initial comments, she recalled a nugget of wisdom she’d once heard from someone: change is not always progress.
