5 Tips for Transitioning to Tech

There has been a gap between those who consider themselves technically savvy and those who don’t. Those who do are probably going to think this article is too basic for them. If it is, I am sure they know a few people who will need this printed out for them.

1. A sense of humor – try to laugh at everything you can. This alone can help you navigate the unknown and give you a reason to stay engaged. For the extroverts of the world, have someone record you as you talk it through (super funny) and worth revisiting the video as you progress and get more comfortable with things.

2. Password management – this may be the hardest part of the whole remote process. Setting up an account, the error message reminding you to use a capital letter. Then telling you to use a number. Then a special character. But not THAT special character. Then telling you it is not long enough. When you finally get a password that is acceptable, you move on to the SECRET answers. The next time you go in, you forget which of the 10 passwords was actually accepted and go through your secret answers only to realize that you don’t remember if you gave your favorite childhood TV show from when you were 5 or when you were 10. You are likely to get locked out and then realize you misspelled your email address so you cannot even recover it from there. This means you have to do the whole process over again to set up a new account. This is a good time for me to point out that EVERYONE is going through this right now – it’s not personal and it does not reflect on your personal intellect. This is a good time to go back to tip number one – LAUGH.

3. Social media management – it is critical at this time in history to understand how to find and use the “hide,” “unfollow,” and “block” options on all social media platforms you use. This will allow you to hide a post or tweet that has a disturbing image or unfollow and block those who constantly rant and rave. We have plenty of our own negative thoughts to deal with, we don’t need an eyeful of other people’s lack of self-control. Using these built in social media tools will allow you to connect online in a positive and encouraging way.

4. Asking your kids for help – this is a tough one, especially if you have been anti-screen time in your past life. The bottom line here is the kids have embraced technology and learned A LOT about connecting with the world around them during all of their online play time. They can help you set up a conference, get your microphone working, and even help with social media. Now is the time to connect with your kids and let them show you what they know. If they get too cocky about it, remind them that you taught them how to use a spoon. You can also ask for their help finding funny and uplifting videos (AKA cat videos) and online games that connect the whole family.

5. Blame the computer – when all else fails, you can always blame the computer for not working. Unlike other skills, everyone knows that even the most technically savvy of us have trouble getting their computer to cooperate at all times. While you can’t blame an egg for not cooking itself correctly, you CAN blame a computer for not working and no one will think twice about it.

Technology is ever-changing and expecting things to take longer than expected is part the trick to being comfortable with it. The transition to tech can be challenging, but these tips should help you transform trepidation into excitement. #21stCenturyUtility #BCTech #friendsWithTech