No one buys a microwave oven because they care deeply about the expert preparation of food. No culinary student would cook a roast in a microwave. You can. But you shouldn’t.
We use microwave ovens as the shortcuts they are.
Sometimes, we are too busy to care about the finer things that take a lot of work, like that fussy coffee mechanism that requires a 30-minute ritual before you can enjoy that jammin’ java jive.
The Microwave is a quick and dirty solution that produces popcorn that is good enough for the moment. Don’t bother reading the manual and making the thing more complicated than it is.
Turn the knob or press the button, heat, and enjoy. Once you have mastered that, throw away the manual lest you be tempted to try a roast.
We unhappy hipsters often take ourselves and our tech too seriously. It can be a problem for a lot of aspects of our lives. It can even harm our relationships.
Far too many of us have far too few meaningful relationships to let something unimportant get in the way. Your technology doesn’t have to take center stage all the time.
Here are some ways to keep your tech in check:
1. Use Your Tech to Connect with a Human
Your computer is not your friend. It is a conduit to your friends. But it is not the part of the relationship that is important. It is easy to lose sight of that and start using technology as a proxy to working with people.
That can be a real disadvantage when you go to purchase something like insurance. Your inclination is to utilize the capabilities of your tech to the fullest and do everything yourself without the intervention of humans.
It is perfectly okay to use your smartphone to help you find a competitive life insurance premium. But once you have narrowed it down, you need to use that same phone to talk or text with a professional who can answer not only the question you have but the questions you didn’t know you had.
It could be that the great rates your technology helped you find were not so great when all the factors were considered. If you are not an insurance professional, you don’t even know what all the factors are.
The best tech cannot replace a human professional. But it can make the connection to one a lot easier.
2. DI-WHY?
Sometimes, DIY becomes DI-WHY? Why on earth did you think you could rewire the house when you can barely screw in a lightbulb?
Why did you think you could replace that laptop motherboard when you don’t even know what it does? More to the point, why did you not just take it to a repair shop and let someone else do the work?
Use your new Dremel to make a DIY key holder. Nobody gets hurt and no big investment is lost. But the fact that you have the 72-piece screwdriver set is not a good reason to use every one of them on a smartphone with a repair rating of zero.
Your tech is great for surfacing videos that can teach you how to do a lot of useful things. But it will also surface the horror stories of those who have attempted what no one should.
Don’t be that person who complicates repairs by trying to do things yourself that probably require an electrical and comp-sci degree. Use the tech to point you in the right direction. And let someone else do the work.
3. Crazy-Making Customization
It is a straight fact that Android is the best platform for customization. However, if you are not careful, that customization will drive you bananas. It starts by setting up a different wallpaper.
Then, you are taking photos and editing them to create your own wallpaper for each screen you use. Then, you are modding the firmware to allow those ROMs of questionable origin and legality.
The next thing you know, you’re in jail for downloading that song. Hey, Weird Al tried to warn you. The point is that instead of using your life to enhance your tech, why not try it the other way round and use your tech to enhance your life.
Tech is a tool: a mere means to an end. Don’t let it come between you and real people, tempt you into repairs you shouldn’t try to make, or entice you to service your tech rather than letting your tech be a service to you.
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