I picked up the tail end of "The Digital Human Control" this evening (R4) and by one of those coincidences Yahoo favoured my mail box with a list of ways to control digital stress. Both tended to persuade me that my increasing fear of the world of IT taking over is definitely NOT paranoia!


I restrict my use of technologial innoventials to the minimum essential (BBC radio being the exception) both by choice and financial constraint and I am retired and live in an underdeveloped country so it is probably less a part of my life than many people, but I still feel that things that should be making my life easier are in fact increasing my stress levels.

What do other posters think? Do you worry about loss of privacy and do you find it stressful, and what do you do to overcome or at least mitigate these?

I know I spend less time online now than when I started. I'd be up until four in the morning "chatting" to friends on IM after starting being online at 6pm. These days I just seem to be online longer (if you look at my online log), but most of that is my computer getting radio shows. I am only checking emails and reading news for 4 hours a day

I did make a firm decision not to do online banking nor any bill paying online. I have a debit card I change numbers on every few months which I use for online purchases. At the bank today they told me about a prepaid card I can use instead of my debit card for online purchases. So when that comes online in a month or so, I'll be doing that instead and not worry about my bank account being exposed online.'

I think I have successfully avoided modern technology taking over my life and have allowed things to settle to a reasonably priced medium for stuff I might be ready to take on now. I just priced a prepaid mobile online "hot spot" card today. No contracts, I just have to check if they charge a huge fee to reactivate the hotspot card if I skip paying a month. If I had gone into this a few years ago, the prices would probably have been double of what I see now...there are advantages to waiting. The only thing you get when you buy technology no one else has is bragging rights.

The only thing you get when you buy technology no one else has is bragging rights.

That's not necessarily true for everybody, is it mars?

How much of this stuff is really necessary? Even Pres Obama leaves his Blackberry home once in a while. I thank god for all those who buy stuff for the bragging rights because the products get cheaper when more people buy them. I've long learned the lesson being first to have something isn't worth the money you pay for it...

I wouldn't say that the digital technology I own has taken over my life. I still spend a fairly high percentage of my time doing things that have no need of digital equipment. When the weather permits I am spending hours at a time in either my garden or my allotment, and at other times my wife and I are out and about walking the footpaths and bridleways that criss-cross every which way around our home - although in this we are lucky in where we live; others are not so fortunate.

Thinking over those items of kit that I own, all but one has been purchased because I saw in them a practical use - the exception being my digital camera which replaced my ancient 35mm SLR some 5 years ago. I suppose you could class it as an unnecessary luxury.

My mobile phone is as bog standard as they come. I can make and take calls and send and recieve text messages and thats it. My wife keeps another mobile in the car for no other reason than for calling on breakdown assistance or the emergency services should the need arise.

I have a Kindle. I can therefore go travelling wherever I will and carry with me as many books as I want without having to have a seperate suitcase just for my books. Not only that but I can (should the mood take me) log on and download newspapers from all over the world.

I also have a digital radio (well, two actually) which I use a lot, but I wouldn't say that I listen to any more radio than I did before - its just given me a lot more choice. It also means that I can record - to SD card - any programme I would have otherwise missed for later listening.

My laptop means that I can keep in touch via email or "Skype" with my children and friends without having to rely on the vagaries of the postal system. Wanting to use "Skype" meant I also had to invest in a broadband router - using it on a dial-up connection is all but impossible. I can also spend a bit of otherwise dead time exchanging pleasantries on this and other forums. I have - very easily - resisted the call to Facebook and Twitter. The laptop is also useful for storing all the hundreds of pictures taken with the aforementioned digital camera.

Last on the list is a purchase that was forced upon me. This time last year our analogue TV signal was switched off, resulting in the need to go out and buy a Freesat decoder. Had it been down to me I would have said "Sod it" and not bothered. I doubt I watch more that two hours of telly a week and would not really have missed it. Her indoors however puts in at least two hours per evening, so (the alternative being us having to talk to each other) I bit the bullet and stumped up.

So, all in all I have a fair amount of modern technology around me, but I'm not a slave to it.

I'm NOT paranoid......thats just what THEY want you to think!!!

Do you worry about loss of privacy and do you find it stressful, and what do you do to overcome or at least mitigate these?

I don't have a lot of techno-gizzies. I have televisions, radios and computers, none of them anything to write home about (when they're working! ). Anyone who knows me knows I hate cellphones.

I don't worry about privacy, in that I know that going on the internet is the equivalent of stepping out my front door and take similar reasonable precautions.

I wouldn't leave my keys in my car/I don't give out my passwords and protect them as best I can.
I lock my door when I leave/I have decent security on computer.
I don't leave my important documents on my lawn/I put them on my computer.


Your only as secure as you think you are. If someone wants in....they will get in.

I have limited mobility and severe asthma so I can't go out much, especially in Summer, so the internet is a sanity-saver for me. If I didn't have it I'd be veggin' in front of the tube. Even with it I get cabin-fever and like the animals at the zoo I need an "enrichment day" every so often.

Husband took me for breakfast in the park last week, which was really nice. And my kids roll me out a couple of times a month.

I'm more of a mental case anyway (shock!) and enjoy keeping my mind busy and I'm always finding something interesting online.

I swore I'd never to the MyTwitFace thing, but my kids have dragged me into Facebook and Twitter (to a lesser degree). I don't get to see my nieces and nephews much so it's a good way to keep in touch with them, although I do have to take a break from it now and again. I haven't been on in over a week so I'll probably log on today to see what's shakin'.

All in all, technology has helped me more than hurt me.....when it's functioning that is.

I'm not much into gadgets, or social networking, or chatting of any kind (except the limited spasmodic kind I indulge in here), and I have avoided Facebook like the plague, but I was very impressed by Twitter when I tried it last year. (Can't use it now because they upgraded their site and I didn't upgrade my computer, or more accurately my OS and browser.) Awfully time-consuming, though. I followed 122 accounts, and could barely keep up. Stephen Fry, the last time I checked, appeared to be following 52,593. Whadda guy!

Just because you follow doesn't mean you read, necessarily. I know I don't anyway. I only read what I want when I want. Some people post the weirdest things. Who cares what you're eating every five minutes? It does seem to be useful for current topics and business. I followed Amazon's Free for Kindle thingy and got some great books for nuthin'.

But then again, I was helping my niece with her book and wound up with the vampires following me.....so yeah....that happened.

Ah, so that explains your absence! Do you now look very pale and interesting?

I sparkle. v v

I'm grave.

(After that, staking's too good for me. I'll get me cloak.)

Your batty.

I suck.

But not on garlic ?

I'm NOT paranoid......thats just what THEY want you to think!!!

No - and I don't like decoffinated coffee, either.

Although, on reflection......................

I'm NOT paranoid......thats just what THEY want you to think!!!

.... you wouldn't count on it?

Excuse me, I must fly.

Well, fangs for all that, folks. I'd stake a pot that there are still some puns left.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

Cross your fingers.

... and hope to DIE!

And rise at sunset!

I don't do Facebook or Twitter and neither do I have my own blog. I can't think for a minute that anyone would be remotely interested in what I do or what I think, and I'm not in the least interested in anyone who thinks that they're so important that they must tell the world where they are and what they're doing and thinking in their own facebook or twitter or blog.

I have a youtube account; the one I have at the moment is as discreet as I can make it. Anytime anyone subscribes to it I promptly remove them, and if necessary, block them from my channel. The youtube people for purposes of their own, removed the option to have 'Friends' on youtube a few months ago and when they did that I thought that it was just as well that I closed the previous youtube channel that I'd had, about a year ago when I noticed how successful it had got: - : around 10,000 views and some 327 'friends' on youtube.

You must know, btw, that I've never uploaded any videos at all onto youtube. I get all of the attention because of the comments I leave on other people's videos; positive, uplifting, and in proper English, too! If I can't say anything nice, I say nothing at all, about a video, but if I like it, I'm as complimentary as anyone could be, more so perhaps.

Twitter is great, even (especially?) for an almost total recluse with no life, like me. It's almost an education in itself. I really miss it. I only got to use it for a few months last year, before my outdated OS and browsers made it impossible for me to go on using it (for purely technical reasons).

You don't have to use it to broadcast your every trivial thought and deed. Indeed, it discourages you from doing so, because if you are a nobody like me, you won't have many 'followers' to bore the pants off. Instead, you can (and should) use it to learn from the thoughts of the most non-trivial (and/or amusing) people you can find to follow. It's a privilege.

140 characters isn't a lot, but it's plenty to post a reference to a thoughtful or entertaining article. People who don't use Twitter seem to miss this fundamental point.

It can be VERY time-consuming, though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 1946 Jun 08 2012 by Matamore!.

I enjoy talking with my family and seeing how they're doing and Facebook is the easiest way to do that. I've also discovered some pretty funny folks on there. George Takei (Sulu from Star Trek) actually has hilarious things he does or fans send him that he posts

I've done some of the Twitter thing to help my niece, but that ones harder for a loudmouth. 140 Characters? Seriously?

I am not sure that I am getting the answers here than I wanted or expected - which is no doubt because I asked the wrong questions!!!! And of course you are all far too intelligent and sensible to proivde a fair cross section.

What I was really wanting to find out was whether people felt that technology wasgenerally doing more harm or good both to the human race generally andto themselves as individuals and whether, like me, they felt in some areas it was forcing them to live thier lives in ways they would not chose either through outside pressures or their own weakness.

. Difficult to explain but as an example I have two banks (1) a UK bank because my pension provider will not pay to my country of residence and (2) two local bank in local currency. I also have a UK Credit card and a local one. Dealings with the UK bank and credit card provider are a nightmare - some of course is because of distance and having to use the internet or telehone but I suspect most would be the same if I were in the UK. Despite having been with the same bank for over 30 years I am just an impersonal number, signing up for internet banking does not save me from having to post numerous certificate documents and fill in forms (by lengthy post) if I want to carry out more than a very limited number of transactions or go over fairly small figure - I cant order -a new cheque book - I have to a mail a "personal" banker who is never the same person two days running. By contrast my local banks (been with them l0 and 2 years) are five minutes drive away. Visiting them is as much as a pleasure as any financial transaction can be - I am greeted, often by name, by familiar faces who recognise me and if the problem cannot be solved by the cashier the Manager goes out of her office to sort it! It is not that that they are old fashioned or inefficient - all the transactions are in fact dealt with my computer but dealing with complex issues face to face is not only pleasanter but in the long run qucker and more efficient than "talking to" a computer that is only programmed to a limited of number of circumstances. And of course it is the ultimate in security because if someone else tried to impersonate me they would know immediately and would also be aware if I started acting out of character. Small town mentality perhaps - do you still get it in the UK?

Reverting to the answers: Jan is of course an example of the benefits of the Internet - no doubt it can be a boone to those with mobility problems. Also to enable people to stay in touch with friends and families at a distance.

Teepee as always is very sensible. His use of tehchnology echos what I try to make mine, purely practical. His "unnecessary luxury" is a sensible one: he is using technology to enhance his life (an pre existing interesting, intelligent and constructive hobby) rather than let it take over. He does however give one example of people being forced to pay for expensive technology they do not necessarily want.

Matamore worries me. Forgive me Mat, I know nothing of you circumstances and I am not in the least being judgement or critical. It is because I recognise something of myself for a too am becoming something of a recluse and find myself becoming fascinated by being able to access the thoughts of people I dont know and would probably never get to chance to meet (though I dont do it through either Facebook or Twitter) and sometimes get an insight into those whom I hope I never will.! I can be very valuable, but is there not also a danger that us introverts will give in to thetemptation to retreat into a virtual world and avoid all interaction with real people. Teepee again is sensible - he still takes physical excercise - but that i another risk of computers - it is incidious and all too easy to let ones fingers do the walking. Too often I find myself coming in from the garden for a sit down, thinking "I ll just email so anso, check what is happening on the Forum etc. etc." and that is another hour gone and the garden left half unweeded or worse , the dogs unwalked. Which reminds me - time to put them out , night all

Lady Penelope Wrote:
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> Matamore worries me.

You are not alone.

Every (technological) advance is neutral. Not good, not evil. It is the application of the advance that matters. How does one use it?

Be so engrossed on a computer that one doesn't get enough excercise and fresh air? The last generations that had the same problem were those who then had access to cheap literature, Paperbacks came into the mass market in the late 60s. Then there was the temptation to sit around at home and just read. And read and read and read some more. I could give lots more examples - technology is neutral. Believe me. It's what we do with it that counts, and for the individual it's their willpower that's the important thing.

You can have a wonderful orchestra - or your favourite rock band - playing in your living room. Thanks to your hi fi unit. How great is that? Really, how great is that? But do you sit around all day and listen to them or do you go out and water the flowers and pick up junior when afternoon school has finished?

My own bete noire is the food industry. Despite the fact that with canned goods - meat, fruit, vegetables, etc - and dehydrated food in packeted form that can readily be reconstituted by just adding water, and so we have good food that would have been manna from heaven to the majority of the generations before us going right back to cavemen, we despise it. Convenience foods are despised. There's a huge industry built up around selling us quantities of cook books, promoting celebrity chefs as gods, there's even several cable channels devoted to food. Mainstream TV has hours of cooking programmes.. IT'S ALL SO BL**DY UNNECESSARY!!

I freely embrace convenience foods, and tinned and packet foods. They, alongside fresh fruit (nature's own 'convenience' foods) are really all that we need. The problem is, the Powers That Be make a lot of money from the food industry by making us forget What We Need, in favour of us believing them when they tell us What We Want.

I really am tempted to put together my own (anti-) cookbook. "Can't Cook? Won't Cook! Where's The Tin-Opener?"



sorry. end of rant...

Lady Penelope Wrote:
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> Matamore worries me.


Matamore Wrote:
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> You are not alone.







I agree with Superman. It does depend on how you use it. And it's really not all together fair to lump the newer generations all together. My kids and all my nieces and nephews have grown-up with computers and cellphones and they exercise more and are much more social than we (my husband and I/my sister and brothers) ever were.

It seems to be that they get on Facebook or Twitter and wind up setting up dinner dates, concerts, bike rides, etc... with each other. So I'm not so concerned with all of that.

The one thing you do mention, Pen, that does worry me, is the computer only option that's becoming more and more prevalent. There should always be a way to do business the "old fashioned" way. I think it's hard for folks who are totally plugged-in to fathom that there are many folks in the world who are not.

The other big thing that concerns me is that if folks forget how to do things by hand and the grid goes down that it will take them forever to figure out how to perform basic functions and get basic services to people.

And all it takes is one doozy of a CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) to send a mother of an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) straight toward the Earth to knock everything out for a very very long time. This isn't science-fiction...it's inevitable. Seems extremely foolish not to consider it and have a back-up plan in place. We have them for other natural disasters. Why not that one?

As for the cooking thing....I embrace convenience foods as well as homemade fare. All things edible are cool with me.

By the by, speaking of Facebook....I got to see a picture of my new great-niece, Avery, tonight. Born on Sunday evening. Wouldn't have been able to see her for awhile without it.