Never mind your smartphones, I’m keeping my pen
As a card-carrying technophobe, I have spent the past few days muttering ‘I told you so’ as the world recovers from what has been described as the worst IT crisis in history.
Due to the fact that I had a wallet full of cash and didn’t need to fly out of the country, I wasn’t directly impacted by last Friday’s digital meltdown, which grounded thousands of flights, caused yet more frustration for rail passengers and also meant millions of people couldn’t use their plastic or devices to pay for their goods.
Perhaps of most concern was that some GP surgeries across the country were badly affected, with doctors and receptionists having to turn to pen and paper once NHS systems went down.
At the weekend we were told that the fallout could continue into the week, which is especially grim news for anyone who was already struggling to see their doctor.
Although the outage was far from universal – only a tiny percentage of the world’s devices were impacted – the damage done has been significant to say the least, with some predicting it has cost the global economy billions of pounds.
I know as much about IT as I do about nuclear physics but the reason given for the digital carnage – a botched software update – sounds almost pathetic and reminds us of just how precarious our digital lives really are.
Unless you are 103 or live in a crofter’s hut in the Outer Hebrides, we are all reliant on technology to get us through the day.
Forgetting where you left your phone is no longer a minor inconvenience but is now a borderline crisis, given how much sensitive personal information these devices contain.
Despite the initial shock, last week’s global IT crash wasn’t a surprise to many of us and vindication for people like me who still use pens in meetings because we just don’t know when the technology will let us down.
Whenever I hear actual grown-ups come over all giddy about the latest smartphone, I just want to shout: “That’s fine….until it breaks!”
I have probably heard more than my fair share of heavy sighs from IT types over the years, but the tech catastrophes I have suffered haven’t always been my fault and, as a result, I’ve become almost militant in my distrust of all things digital.
While technology has enhanced our lives in so many ways, the events of the past few days serve as a reminder that it can sometimes go horribly wrong, which is why I won’t be ditching my ballpoint any time soon.