I belong to the year of the Ox, and this is my sixth cycle. Again, I ponder.
I belong to the year of the Ox, and this is my sixth cycle. Again, I ponder.
I am old school. But I am fortunate to witness the great leaps in digital technology. I benefit from it.
I renewed my love for photography with digital cameras, and made a thousand new friends in social media.
ANALOG ME
I still keep my old Brother manual typewriter somewhere but had not touched it in decades, after being acquainted with a word app in a hand-me down Apple II in the 90s.
I also identify myself as a graphic designer, but I do not work with any of the design or drawing apps; I put my concepts, layouts or roughs on paper for a tech savvy to vectorize or finalize them.
Up to now, I color my cartoons manually.
On the other hand, (pardon the pun), I exercise my handwriting with calligraphic pens on my Starbucks planner which doubles as a diary.
I also do that on greeting cards that I still send through the snail mail.
HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
I certainly do not wish my handwriting going into atrophy, reduced to mere scribbling on checks to pay utility bills - even though that task can be done online or with electronic kiosks.
I relish the memory of the so-called exclusive girls’ schools where nuns gave their students handwriting drills.
As a result, the students developed their own distinctive cursive styles which they carry through their lifetimes.
PERSONALITIES ARE EVIDENT
Before, one could tell if a girl was from Assumption (lot of emphatic loops), St. Theresa’s (dense and pointy) or St. Paul’s (round and petite) just by looking at her handwriting.
I still keep a boxful of letters of girl friends (mind you, not girlfriends) and it is a fascination to look at their penmanship. Sad, humans are losing that skill.
I also have in my possession tampo letters to me from my Dad (with his elegant cursive cum block letters handwriting), and from a bosom buddy in college who wrote with a red Pentel felt pen.
I cannot imagine them all in boring Arial.
ACCESSING MUSIC AND MOVIES
I grieved when I realized that the days of my 1,000 music CDs and my 1,200 movie DVDS, collected with patience and even pain through years, were numbered.
Three Christmases ago, I gave myself an “Alexa” that empowered me to play music with just the command of my voice.
Almost at the same time, my children included me in their subscription of Netflix, thereby rendering my collection of DVDs redundant.
The digital revolution continues to devour its children, with the elder ones on the wayside.
I still have my CDs and DVDs in shelves and cabinets, though. I still maintain their players and I go into retro trip from time to time. Hitting the drums, occasionally.
THE OMINPRESENCE OF TECHNOLOGY
But with everything else, like with my paintings, I am supposed to be on my analog own.
Some pursuits are best solitary. But like with a monk on retreat with his cellphone carefully tucked somewhere, the pull of digital is extremely strong.
The very soul of the digital revolution is connectivity where data is stored, retrieved, collated, transmuted, transmitted and exchanged.
Sums author Don Tapscott, author of The Digital Economy, the digital revolution is the “power to empower.”
DIGITAL REVOLUTION TO SPUR DEVELOPMENT?
Thus, unto its onus, development of nations is placed.
Digital Revolution is called the third revolution, after Agricultural and Industrial revolutions that mostly depended on brawns.
The Digital Economy, even at the onset, was predicted to change the way we communicate, do business, and the way we live.
We Baby Boomers, even those who were resistant and passive, have been caught in the whirlpool of change.
In the way we buy things, in configuring the workforce where more people work from home, in managing our finances, in acquiring our dose of entertainment, and so forth.
INTRUDERS IN OUR HOMES
But even early on, authors like Tapscott warned us about the loss of our privacy.
We are in a crux, where virtual sales people, military intelligence, and dopes in government are inside our homes uninvited.
We are digging in for the next battle, where sinister forces are spewing fake news and creating “our” realities for us. A frightening thought.
I am now at the point in my life when I can say, let it be, I am just here for the ride. But that cannot be. Gambatei!