Unconventional

There are words for people like me. Luddite comes to mind, which in its broadest sense means someone who is opposed to technological change. In the eyes of the majority I’m a deviant and I’m betting many who are reading this are also.

As part of my being “old school” is the fact that I have a smartphone where I am connected to the Internet at every moment. It’s handier than a thesaurus or dictionary for on-the-spot reference. For me it is also a farm tool. When my farmers need to get a hold of me for a ride, to pick up parts, bring them NetWrap, or coffee, they can phone me. With farm fields somewhat spread out, it’s a big help when they need something.

Advertisers of all sorts assume everyone has a smartphone, which of course I contend is a big mistake. It’s fine for them to give out information for such users, yet they need to continue to support those who aren’t in that realm. In a recent farm magazine an article stated that it is necessary to be Internet connected at all times while in the tractor. The contention was it is imperative for weather information and to keep up-to-the-minute on commodities fluctuations, as if being in a tractor somehow equals being out of touch or on another planet. With cabbed tractors come radios, even weather radios if you choose. Internet is not the end-all for information.

Toward the end of COVID, restaurants were asking patrons to read their menus by using a QR code. I wonder if the servers were surprised at the number who didn’t have the means nor desire to do so and asked for paper menus.

We don’t use an ATM. We do use credit cards but pay off any balances each month. When I use them to buy groceries locally I get the feeling the clerk is thinking how sad it is that I have to charge my supplies. In truth, I do it for convenience. My husband inputs information into a computer program and individual expenditures had to be entered. When I wrote checks, each one was an entry. By using a credit card, he can add up amounts paid to the grocery store for the month and enter them as a lump sum. It saves him time.

We still use checks in the offering plate at church. We like the paper trail. Our church allows for automatic withdrawal from a checking account. Touted as a convenience for those who travel, it is used by some so they don’t have the need to write a check. Personally I don’t like any entity having permission to withdraw funds from an account nor having access like that. I have heard too many consumer shows, such as Tom Martino, to make me cautious. According to him unless both parties agree to cease automatic withdrawals, the bank cannot stop transferring the funds.

If the latest “necessity” would be useful to you, learn what you can so you don’t drown, then jump in.

Sanders’ Internet latchstring is always out through peggy@peggysanders.com.