Resistance against new age tech continues to hold sway

No matter what household gadget you talk about, there will always be the ‘older was better or newer is better’ banter and argument.

One of the most commonly raging arguments is about whether vinyl records are better sounding or CDs and streaming music. Even CDs seem to have fallen out of favour with a lot of folk for the sheer trouble of having to get up each time, load one and then play it. Whereas, with streaming apps, you have millions of songs at your fingertips and ready to be played instantly. Convenience, they say is more important than absolute sound quality these days.

With vinyl records, one had to be even more careful and handle them like they were your own child. That is even more trouble. But even in the days of streaming, there is a bunch of music enthusiasts who swear by vinyls and CDs who want to enjoy the ‘process’ of listening to music. They won’t budge.

Or for that matter, there is a big bunch of people who still believe that a smartphone is not required at all. There is much resistance to even the feature phone. Call it fear of technology or just the notion that one does not need it, there is aversion. In some cases, it has so happened that the family coerces the person into getting a smartphone and only then does he or she realise there is some use in it.

It is the same with a lot of folk who still believe that the best way of paying bills is through cash, whether it is the electricity bill, water or the telephone bill. There is a very common misconception that any form of online payment leads to fraud.

Things like net banking have changed the way we go about our transactions. The convenience of sitting at home and finishing most of your banking activities is a breeze. But again, some swear by a visit to the bank.

There is no denying that in this digital age, frauds are still taking place and hackers are always on the prowl. But the point is it also depends on how careful we are with our accounts, changing passwords frequently and not revealing anything to third parties.

Yes, in today’s technological age, some of the elderly might find it a bit tough to get used to the likes of net banking or Google Pay. But there is no harm in trying. Some things are, after all, convenient and can be safe if we choose to be careful.