Comments on: Can you prevent technology from ruining your life?

By: Three ways to be more productive - Work It, Mom! Blog - Work It, Mom!

Three ways to be more productive - Work It, Mom! Blog - Work It, Mom! — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:08:01 +0000

[...] check new messages as soon as they come in, replying to many that don’t need an ASAP reply. I’ve tried simply limiting the number of times I check email and just closing my email programs, but that didn’t go far enough. So this week I am turning [...]

By: Rosa

Rosa — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:26:04 +0000

Actually, I find emails frustrating at times because sometimes things are mis construed or it is written out too fast and there are alot of holes. Or sometimes you write someone and they only answer only one of your questions. Although I feel it is a great tool to keep in touch because it seems it hard to get of hold of someone on the phone including myself. Sometimes it’s just nice to talk to someone over the phone. Like the other day I was dealing with customer service with Norton and they would charge me $9.95 to talk to someone over the phone. Instead I had to chat IM with someone over the phone when you’re dealing with technology I think it would be better to have some over the phone walking you through things and holding your hand. And the same goes with work sometimes IM just doesn’t cut it because my job is technical.

I’m obsessed with the internet too and I it’s good to go away on vacation when I don’t bring any of it with me although I go through withdrawal.

I rarely let the kids do stuff on the computer. Right now, I want their creativity to expand and I think too much computers will stifle it. Although, I’m worried that all the other kids are plugged in that there will be no one to interact with!

My 2 cents.

Rosa

By: Ellen

Ellen — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:32:17 +0000

Another phone-phobe checking in. I am SO glad we have caller ID because then I can let some calls go to voice mail and then email saying, “I’m sorry I missed your call, but yes, we would like to have dinner on Friday.”

As far as technology - my husband and I have one daughter so far and we are eager for more children. We are also both very certain that we don’t want “us” time to disappear because we have children - a marriage ending in divorce won’t help our kids at all. So since we got married, we have not owned a tv. None. We have one computer and both make a point to put it down for conversation instead of typing and talking. And although I’m on mat leave now, even when I was working in a tech job and carried a BlackBerry and laptop we ate dinner together in the evenings and there was no technology involved. And people always comment on our closenes and how well we know each other - I think all the talking has a lot to do with it!

So that’s a LONG comment, sorry! But to me, there isn’t anything on this earth more important than strong marital and parent-child relationships and I think each of us needs to find our own ways to prioritze them… in whatever way works for our own families.

By: Nataly

Nataly — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:00:20 +0000

OMG, I am so excited about fellow phone phobes. A post coming on this, I promise. This whole time I thought I was alone!

By: Amy S.

Amy S. — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:43:12 +0000

Hi, I’m Amy and I’m a phone-phobe too!

I’m so glad you posted about this because technology is definitely overwhelming our family. Not only do I have to worry about TV time with my kids, but now we’ve got computer, Wii and Game Boy time to contend with (and we have girls!). I’m pretty sure my fingers have become permanently fused to my laptop. My new mantra around my house is “NO MORE STARING AT SCREENS!!!” I’ve been cooking up some definitive limits to all of this technology so that we interact with each other instead of zoning out in front of a screen.

By: Jules

Jules — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:59:19 +0000

Truth be told, I would be happy to go back to the pre-computer days, if I could also run a company doing things I love. Ironic, given that my professional life completely centers on the bleeding edge of the consumer internet. I just don’t like looking at screens, unless they are keeping out mosquitos.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:26:52 +0000

ha! i think we may have to have a support group soon with all of us who avoid the phone! i often think if it weren’t for email, i would no longer be in touch with a few of my very best friends who do not live near me! oh who am i kidding? even those that DO live near me! i pretty much try to limit all of my contact to email/IM/in person - avoid the phone!

that said - i love technology and i can’t get enough of it! the only real rule we have is to try not to be on the laptops when the boy is up and around as that is ‘family time’ since we both work outside the home. This means weekends are relatively technology (computer) free! though i am guilty of checking my phone (windows mobile!) for email

By: Diane

Diane — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 02:06:14 +0000

You’ve made some great observations here, Nataly. I’m not to the point that I worry about all the technology yet. Mainly that’s because we’re not big cell phone/regular phone talkers and we (gasp!) don’t even have a TV. I do have a few concerns though. They are:
1: The quantity of email received is indeed becoming excessive. I have cut way back on the time I spend on emails. Eg. Amusing emails from friends are mostly deleted without being opened these days.
2: I feel I can’t keep up with the latest technology. Starting to wish I had a teenager in the house who could be bribed to explain it all to me and fix anything that goes on the blink.
3: My husband and I are (like you guys and your husbands) spending less and less quality time together in the evenings as now we have a child we tend to spend evenings catching up on work on our computers in our separate work spaces.

I do love, love, love the Internet. I’m forever in love with Web and email because they enable me to work from home. I’m similarly in love with my laptop. It really is my right hand, because (not having a TV) I use it to watch dvds as well. It’s getting pretty old though, so I’m starting to have evil fantasies about it dying so I am forced to get a new one!

By: Daisy

Daisy — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 02:03:51 +0000

I have a phone phobia, too, but it’s because of my hearing impairment. I use phones that are hearing aid accessible, but if the phone on the other end is bad, the whole conversation is difficult. Add to that the fact that emails give me a written record of a conversation (useful in my job), and I’ll take email over phone whenever I get the chance.

By: Mandy

Mandy — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 01:47:01 +0000

The only thing allowed in our bedroom is the stereo. No TV, no phone, nuttin’.

I also have a phone phobia. HATE phone meetings. I’ve never liked chatting with anyone on the phone. I’m lucky in that my job rarely requires me to talk to people. I just don’t like the phone.

My email is always open. I’m afraid to miss out on a job. People probably freak (or think I’m a freak) b/c I tend to answer email ASAP unless it is somewhat frivolous. Or I’m so busy answering other emails that I forget to get back to that one. I run 2 computers myself every day, sometimes 3 and when DH works from home there are usually 4 going. We do this to maximize our time and efficiency.

And my hubby joked the other day that he was going to join and online board I check in with (it’s Celtics related) just so we could have a conversation through our computers while sitting next to each other on the couch.

I could go on and on here…my world revolves around technology. I couldn’t do my work without it, whether from home or a studio elsewhere. It’s crucial, essential, and thankfully a write off!! Seriously, there are times I want to cut back but…my name is Mandy and I’m addicted to my internet connection.