Computer Dependency

Andy woke me up this morning with words that no one wants to hear anytime, much less first thing in the morning - "Mom, the computer isn't working right!"

My first thought on hearing the Dell was down was, "Oh no! No e-mail!" Forget the fact that we still have a house telephone and 3 cell phones. I'm still just a phone call away but the thought of missing an important e-mail was enough to send me into a panic! It's only been a couple of months since a virus attacked the laptop and visions of several days without the new computer threatened to upset my secure little world.

Now, here's the part that really makes no sense to me. There are no longer manuals with new computers! All help and troubleshooting is either in the computer or on-line. Well, what if you can't get your computer to a point to get to that info! That's where I was this morning and my first avenue of computer support (my dad) was enjoying breakfast out with friends! So, before Facebook withdrawl set in for Andy, I made myself somewhat presentable and headed to the library - on my day off - to search the internet for answers. As evidenced by this blog posting, I found the answers I needed and somehow managed to follow the instructions to restore health to the Dell.

But, it started me thinking. Is it just me or does it make anyone else nervous to think about how dependent we have become on computers - both our personal ones at home and the ones that store all the information necessary to run our society.

Think of all the things we do on our home computers - visit with friends, pay bills, keep various kinds of records, surf the internet, listen to music, read daily devotions and inspiring quotes, shop, type research papers for school - the list is endless. Expand that to all the businesses and services that depend on computers - the banks, our family doctors, the library, the pharmacy, our police and fire departments, - again, an endless list. If we start to hyperventilate when we can't check our email because of a simple little computer glitch, what would happen to us if we couldn't get our money out of the bank due to a malicious "terrorist" attack on the world's computer network?

Computers have definitely made vast improvements in our lives. Shucks, who doesn't like being able to come home from a trip, download the pictures from the camera, upload them to Snapfish and share them instantly! Catching up via Facebook and alumni sites with schoolmates that you haven't seen in 30 years is a blast! Finding that rare book that you've been looking for and having it shipped from a little used bookstore in Oregon - now that's a thrill!

But, as with everything we get used to, when they don't work as they should, fouled-up computers can be amazingly disruptive to our lives.

I'm not a computer expert. I can create all kinds of computer problems but fixing them is usually beyond me. These are just the ravings of a technologically-challenged child of the '70s. But, I'm feeling a little vulnerable in Shari's world...