BEYOND THE LIVING ROOM IN SECONDS
A Message To The Elderly
By Eleni Fakotakis, Director of HSSQ
Is it difficult to keep up with the modern world? Do you feel that the world is strange and too fast-paced? Yes, it is true, people are capable of doing a lot more than they did 30 years ago or during the time you were growing up. Business is conducted on-line, marketing is done on-line, people socialise on-line, they purchase on-line, they watch their favourite movies and listen to their favourite music on-line, they read books on-line without even setting foot in a library, they store their photos and personal information on-line and do not use photo albums, they basically have any and all information on their finger tips without looking at an encyclopedia or even leaving their living room. Most people around you are always connected to social media sites and communicating often with many people at once and not only one person at a time anymore. They find out what their friends are doing without picking up the phone.
You may remember people arguing with you, they used to say, ‘’We will do things much faster, accomplish more, thereby reducing the work-week to four days instead of five! We will be able to spend more quality time with our families!’’ Everyone today knows that this is not what actually happened. In fact quite the opposite became true. People are expected to produce more, communicate more to stay on top of things. They end up working all the time (if they wish to) because they no longer are confined to an office, your children seem to be much busier than you were, they can work almost as effectively at home, in a plane, in a café, etc. Or they socialise all the time (if they do not fight the temptation). You have no doubt seen your grand-children clicking away at their iphone, when they come to visit you. Let’s face it, this seems crazy, right? Computers, the internet, it seems to be an addiction!
Although it may be an addiction and/or a love-hate relationship, some people have realised that they cannot do without it, that the pluses far out-way the negative and is now an important part of life, as long as it is controlled to one’s benefit, to the extent where quality of life is still considered important and are focusing on what matters most and do not allow technology to control or distract them. As long as one figures out what this ideal balance is, so that they live in their techno-crazy-world and still reserve quality time with their significant other, family and close friends and for themselves and their well-being. It is after all up to the adults to teach children the proper usage of technology. You at least would agree, that this could be alright, if this technological craziness was used with some sort of measure.
Life isn’t what it used to be. As one ages, physical abilities, autonomy and energy decrease. When it is snowy and slippery outside, you do not feel like leaving your house but you still need your groceries or to go to the bank….