(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Kitchen Table Kibitzing: 4/29/23 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-29 One of the ways my mother has coped with her grief is by planning to take an Alaskan cruise, the very one she took with my dad for their 50th anniversary. It was an ordeal to get her a new passport, which delayed her trip by 1 year. But this turned out to be worth the wait. In the interim, my daughter, sister, niece and I decided to join her. At this point, our cruise is booked and paid for. This left the daunting task of customizing our trip. Enter the Princess Medallion App. Just thinking about this now, as I write this on a relaxing Saturday morning, my heart is speeding up, breathing is a bit more shallow, and I’m repetitively shaking my head. What should be an exciting task elicited such irritability and frustration that I snapped at my mother, Venus flytrap style. Backstory here is that I will avoid, as long as I am able to, any use of my phone other than what phones are intended for but not to exclude photographs, texts and Words with Friends. This translates into a broad lack of understanding of that which apparently is intuitive to most, including 7 year olds. I do not download anything without calling for my daughter, and bringing out my long list of user names and passwords that consist mostly of expletives. While I appreciate that many or most tasks are now paperless, including my own private practice, I wish for simple paper and pen to check things off or write notes, or a click of a button on a website — that I am quite happy with. But, using a phone to customize a 10 day trip with meals, excursions and what not on a small rectangular devise with tiny letters and ambiguous language is ridiculous, especially when every one else seems to understand. Purchasing is the worst. I will inevitably make an error and then the red note comes up telling me that I failed and could not purchase the item, over and over again. I will add to this that some restaurants need your phone number for their wait list, And, some scanning capability thing to access their menu. So what do people do who either cannot afford these gadgets or who, like my mother, don’t have a smart phone? (Ok, she has one now — I found it through AARP with limited capability). Or who like me, probably won’t hear it ring? But, it’s really the nonchalant lack of inclusivity that bothers me. GTP recently replaced my long out of date and barely chargeable first edition Apple SE with a new edition SE. These phones are quite a bit smaller than most. According to my daughter, it’s lacking important features. Pre COVID, I would set my phone on the table next to me, ringer off, but accessible to adjust the volumes on my hearing aids. Yes, an app was downloaded. I did not do it. I pretty much keep the volume in a set place now anyway. But the phone was commented on a number of times, including by an Apple Exec, stating that in their opinion, the SE is the best of the Apple phones. So there. We have quite a bit more to plan out. But first my daughter and niece need to download the app and link up their information with their booking, which I hope to gawd is somehow linked up w/ mine, which is attached to my sisters. The window of time is closing in which to purchase the excursions we have had our hearts set on. Yesterday, I purchased the Sled Dog Discovery and Musher’s camp for my daughter, mother and myself. This purchase took more than several tries and some loud kibitzing at my table. My daughter and I are also planning on taking the Adventure Cart expedition, while my mother and sister have planned a Wilderness Expedition cruise and crab feast. I am running out of ways to explain to my mother that the dog sled activity is not safe for an 84 yo, but that is a different rant. On a more serious note, the extent to which and the manner in which electronics are used today are very clearly linked with emotional and behavioral disorders. It is no longer shocking to hear from a parent that their kiddo went off the rails, aggressively, because they had taken their kid’s phone away, or their kid doesn’t want to do anything else but scroll through TicTok. I am deeply saddened and viscerally repelled by these devises... a story for another day. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/29/2166602/-Kitchen-Table-Kibitzing-4-29-23 Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/