I hate modern life

I love tech….don’t always understand it. but so glad I can pay bills and bank from my mobile phone. The alternative of standing in queues …usually when I was on my 30 min lunch break, was frustrating!
My husband refuses all tech ( except of course wall to wall footie on Sky)……
refuses to even learn to send a text!
My husband also thought that my lunch break should be spent shopping/ picking up his dry cleaning/ banking/ and any other damn thing that didn’t affect him.
I saw my friend …in an extremely soggy ..long queue outside her bank during first Covid lockdown. I told her to get herself sorted with mobile banking…. she went home and did it!! She never fails to thank me. She now pays all bills by mobile , while drinking a cuppa coffee!

Latest headlines say expect power cuts this winter. What a treat! what happens with all our tech then?

You've been very unlucky with so many things going wrong and then having to deal with poor customer service. It is frustrating to find it's us having to sit in a virtual line so companies can reduce costs by employing too few well trained staff. However, they usually record conversations so if you really have cause to complain they can look at what went wrong. I try and stay focused and polite and back it up with a formal complaint, usually about the system rather than to person I spoke to who is probably poorly trained, badly paid etc and doing their best in what must be a very thankless job. While I doubt you'll get much joy from the gp surgery as they are desperately under resourced at the moment, private companies like utilities do offer compensation and I ask for financial recognition of poor service and the time and effort I have had to put in. I have sent in a bill for my time before now, and if you ask to escalate a complaint through their complaints procedures you can at least ensure they are aware. I think the most recent compensation I've had was about £70. Politely get even for poor service where it hurts them, don't bother looking for an apology - go for a goodwill payment, reduction on your bill or some compensation for your phone bill and time spent sorting it out. As a last resort there's probably an ombudsman to go to.

BTW I mostly like how easy modern life is compared with before the satnav, mobile phone and Internet banking.

I agree with you in many ways. I find looking at young parents with small children in pushchairs really worrying. Most are glued to their phone while the tot sits or lies there crying out for the communication with its parent which is so vital for language development and just being a sociable human being.

The new trend to drive a few inches from the car in front at high speed is a real worry. I have moved to a city from a more rural area and often find myself observing the speed limit with a moron so close we could almost be......well, you know.

But I have to say that some aspects of modern life are great. Dentistry, for example. I still have teeth that are my own after a lifelong struggle to get enough courage together to go to see the dentist. Even this scaredy cat can relax a little now as things are very much less frightening and painful.

I do bank online. I was once scammed but got my money back by 5pm the same day as Santander worked miracles for me. It didn't scare me off, it just made me very much more cautious.

nadateturbe

I too long for the old days.
I love being able to shop online and having WhatsApp etc.
But I miss so much of the older simpler days.
I get fed up pressing buttons to get through to an actual person.
I worry about being hacked.
I get fed up having to change password/security details and updating my lists.
Zoom calls are not a good substitute for actual visits. Note to children.
I preferred fewer channels with better programmes. Sometimes I flick through 70+channels and nothing worth watching.
I miss being able to sit in the car when there's a gale blowing while someone else fills my petrol tank and takes my money.
Nothing to do with technology but I miss lovely peaceful Sundays.
I miss the anticipation of getting my film developed to see the photos I took on holiday.

I echo this.

... especially I preferred fewer channels with better programmes. Sometimes I flick through 70+channels and nothing worth watching Quality over quantity.

The problem with technology is not the technology itself - but the way it's used.

Early TV programmes ("Tomorrow's World", etc) assured us we'd all be spending less time at work, with numerous gadgets making our lives much easier at home, freeing us up for leisure.

Did no-one foresee that modern technology would be used by commerce and industry to replace humans thereby cutting costs - to the point where, now, businesses have to compete with each other by cutting even more costs... with the end result that a minimum level of staff are coping with an over-load of work. Which is why we're always being told (by a recorded voice) that "your call is important to us and will be answered as soon as an operator is free". Companies can't afford to employ more staff (to make our and their lives easier) because they have to be competitive.

But, at least we can rely on our slow-cookers and washing machines, dishwashers (and a computer to whizz off an email or text message when we're too tired to make physical contact)... etc, to do some of the daily grind for us while we spend hours at work. Because the working-day has got a lot longer than it was back in the 50s / 60s!

I love technology, but it has increased the 'pace' of life and left little time to "stand and stare". We'd have to change our whole culture (and political ideology) to make it really work for us.

I’m fine with technology for the most part, but it’s not only technology that is so different from my childhood. I didn’t live in a house with a bathroom or telephone until I was in my twenties, so standards and expectations have greatly improved. My parents never learned to drive. Between myself and twenty six first cousins, I was the second to go to university ( with a full grant ), and only followed by one other cousin - three out of twenty seven. I suspect that would be different nowadays. The downside of technology is, of course, the loss of banks, shops and businesses, making our town/city centres feel dismal and anti social. I do many things online, usually successfully, but my great bug bear is COOKIES. Totally fed up of them. After using a company only once, they are pretty good at retaining information about us, so you’d think they mightn’t have to ask about cookies again.

There was no golden age in the past. Just think of all those children working in factories and mills or as chimney boys.

I don't think the problem is just technology.
In the words of my elderly mother- in- law, nobody seems to know what they're doing anymore.
Forever having to chase people up and more or less have to do their jobs for them. It's sooo frustrating!
We're in a rat race. No one has time for anybody else.
No I don't like modern life. Take me back to pre 1980 when life was calmer and happier then in my opinion. After that something went wrong.

For those of us who were not brought up in the mainly digital age it is so frustrating. I don't have a mobile phone because I can't see the small print on it. I am okay with my tablet but it would need a much larger handbag to carry it around in. I am fortunate that my daughter lives near me and helps me out before I dissolve into tears. It is very frustrating because I am very independent and hate having to be asking for help with what should be a simple thing made more difficult because of people who can't do their job efficiently.
E

For those with internet access, smartphones etc then technology can be a good thing. However, my Aunt is 97 and is becoming increasingly frustrated as everywhere she phones tells her to go on-line or download the app. She finds it so difficult to speak to an actual person rather than 'press 1 for ....'. It does feel as though some elderly folk are being punished for not being computer literate. My Aunt is brilliant on her typewriter though!!

It’s not necessarily the tech, it’s the speed of the change and the expectation that everyone can cope. I have struggled to get through to a government department having made a big mistake with an online form and have finally resorted to a hand written letter. Still waiting for a reply.

Casdon. Yes tried chat lines. Thismorning was using one for 1 hour 20 mins to try to check if my request to close an online account held by my husband who died 3 weeks ago had gone through. I did this last week knowing his subscription was due in a week's time. 3 different operators useless basically telling me out of date info from 2008! 4th operator had one sentence - will pass to bereavement team, upscale urgently, take 24 hours. Technology is good but only if services can deal with human beings not just robotic messages.

I too hate technology and only use older and pretested ways of using it. I think that customer service is a thing of the past, no-one gives a sh*t anymore. It takes forever to try and get anything sorted out because they just don't care. I could die on the end of the phone waiting for something effective to be done....

Technology on line, (banking, shopping etc.) don’t cut costs for the customers but cause ghost town centres, that is if you don’t count coffee and telephone shops.

I think there are aspects of modern life which are terribly frustrating if you can't keep up to date with all the changes or technology doesn't do what it should do. However, I no longer get cut off from my suppliers because paying is so easy...they never seemed to understand that when I put a check in an envelope, it disappeared into my handbag, never to be thought of again whilst I was in front of a postbox. I love e-cards for the same reason. I was hopeless at non-digital life but I can survive in modern life.

When we were caught up in Storm Arwen, awful as it was, I sat on the sofa reading a book by torchlight and felt really relaxed knowing that I couldn’t be doing anything else anyway.

I liked it in "the olden days".
Wages paid weekly in a brown envelope.
Not spending the first 10 minute of a call listening to a recording telling me they're experiencing a high volume of callers, and I should log onto www./ blah blah blah...

You are not alone Be Emerald. I hate it too!!!

I totally agree. I'm on holiday at a well known site in the Lakes starting with CP .
Went to a family quiz with my son and 2 little GD.
First we had to use a QR code to sign in , we needed a fully charged phone and we need " tune" to go with our team name.
The whole thing was done on the phone. There were ever increasing bonus points for who ever's correct answer registered first.
Our 8 y GD has autism. She started getting upset every time someone elses name appeared for getting in first.
At the end of that first round we were leading, despite this but things went badly wrong when Grandma and Grandad didn't know any music answers.
Every wrong answer led to more tears and we saw a massive meltdown coming . We tried to leave but it was too late.
So sad. We won't try again.
We are really good at quizzes but modern technology has now ruined all that and spoiled an otherwise pleasant time.
What was wrong with paper and pen ?

Totally agree. But...here we are, online, chatting away to total strangers. So there are some pluses too!!

Do most of I’ll paying online but cannot do mobile banking for what’s reason .App works to start with then stops but very poor mobile phone signal here in a rural part of Somerset .Get asked all the time about internet banking not everyone lives in a place with a good signal .!

There is an over reliance on technology. I had a problem with Yodel last week. They said a parcel had been delivered when it hadn’t. Tried web chat and didn’t get anywhere. Rang the customer services and automated message told me parcel had been delivered. Waited until Monday morning to ring the helpline. Received the same automated response and when I tried to stay on the line to speak to someone I was informed the helpline was closed and the opening hours were 8.00 - 17.00. It was 8.30!! I had to contact the retailer and complain to them and they sorted it out with them.

Modern living is all well and good but some things need to be dealt with by a person not a computerised system. Too much “computer says no”.

I don't like it much, either. Tried to phone a bank the other day - 2 hour wait to speak to someone! I have no problem with modern living, or IT. It took me over 12 months to get back £4,500 from the Treasury, because the bank made an account dormant.

I enjoy today’s technology it makes life so much easier in so many ways . I have mobility problems so almost all my shopping is done online , so easy to sit at home and fill the shopping basket at Tesco for home delivery, also if I need something like say rechargeable batteries can just order on eBay , with free delivery, also usually much cheaper & saves hunting around the stores looking for them .
Online banking is great , you can check your account with just a few taps on screen .
You can make phone / video calls on messenger & WhatsApp free of charge and also without the worry of going over the hour on your landline phone .
If you want to find anything out then Goggle is just great , the whole world is at your fingertips. I find my live screen Alexa is just amazing, with all sorts things popping up throughout the day , like news headlines, recipes, the weather, I ask it to play ‘ 60s’ music when I’m pottering about , Alexa is handy for so many things , I couldn’t imagine life without it .
And to snuggle down in bed on a dark cold night and watch films ect ect on my iPad is just great . Thank goodness for modern technology I say .