Technology has really slowed things down

Technology is a wonderful thing. It has improved conditions, living standards, transport (perhaps debatable in some locations), medical life saving and imaging machines and so much more.

Yet, it is amazing how this technology that was supposed to improve communications and our lives has slowed things down so much people spend most of their time waiting.

Of course, government services such as Centrelink spring to mind immediately. Who hasn’t waited for their phone call to be answered by a customer service representative at Centrelink?

But , it’s not just that. Almost all communication has been slowed as a result of increased technology.

My biggest beef is supermarket queues.

I get quicker service from grocery stores, my local butcher, the bakery, and so on and so forth.

Back in the day, my mother walked everywhere. She did the complete weekly shop in two hours, including walking to the market and back.

The thing that amazes me is how young people today don’t seem to think all this waiting is a problem, but they are among the first to complain if they don’t have enough family time, or ‘me’ tim.

I spend more time in the supermarket queues waiting for my ‘self serve’ shopping to be scanned, calculated and paid for. Heaven forbid if something does not scan. It’s another long wait for a one of the staff members to collect the item, take it back to where it is shelved, get the price, and return to override the system and add it to the list.

If I could afford to buy from the corner store it would mean I would not set foot in a supermarket again.

How do you use technology? Has it made your life more efficient or caused you no end of frustration?

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