Sweet Spot
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Let me start by saying I love technology. I am not a tech nerd, but I do try to stay away from being a digital dinosaur. I use it in my life with little thought and every convenience. However, I think technology, like most things in life, has a curve.
It would start with having no technology, think stone age type of situation. And I am not sure exactly where it ends yet, but think robots take over the world type of stuff. And again, as with most things in life, I believe there is a sweet spot right in the middle. The true sense of balance as offered by most eastern philosophies and many a cliché. But I think we have already passed the point. I find myself reminiscing for a touch of the good old days when things were a little less digital, but conversely more connected in a different way. It is hard to put a date to the elusive sweet spot, but I would like to offer a frame of reference for where I think it was.
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Before 27 different choices in video streaming services, but after the remote control.
Before there were things to watch and read while driving, but after seat belts.
Before never being able to recall a phone number by memory, but after the demise of rotary dial.
Before fake news, but after the internet.
Before people taking pictures of their meals, but after the microwave.
Before self-driving cars, but after cruise control.
Before the proliferation of selfies, but after the polaroid.
Before million-dollar homes, but after straw huts.
Before the existence of spam, but after the invention of email. No matter how small that sweet spot may have been.
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It is an elusive period in our past where we were less digitally connected but knew the people in our lives in greater depth. In our rush to convenience, we have whittled away the labor in our lives, reducing keeping in touch to the click of a heart on a screen. We are so far in bed with technology that we have forgotten how to get up and walk around. What was meant to bring us together is now where we hide, eschewing moments and people in our very present and presence.
So, yes, give me the convenience of a clock that resets itself for daylight savings time, but let me keep my ability to list my friends by name rather than worry about some number on a web page.
I hope you will join in for the search of this rarified moment in our past, this sweet spot, by leaving your own comments as to when this period was.
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commonsensiblyspeaking 
I could not agree more, other than being the polar opposite of tech savvy
Thanks, Beth! Though I think your blog following would argue that you are certainly savvy enough.
well, I piece it together and muddle through and that works well enough ).
I totally agree with you , Brad. A very well written post looking at every little detail.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post. Thank you dear man.
Thank you, Yasmin! You are so appreciated!
Very welcome dear Brad.
Sweet spot…Brad, this hit my heart hard. Weekly, a friend of mine and I have conversations such as this. I’m saving this post. I’m an old soul. Without technology, I wouldn’t “know” you, or Beth, or your sister. In reality, I’d love to sit with all my blogging friends over a cup of coffee and just observe and listen. Through blogging, I’ve found such authentic people (I doubt highly you’re a bot, lol)!
I remember as a young girl how people, from my church or community, would VISIT others in the hospital or at their homes. We talked face to face, supported each other arm in arm. 6 ft in the last 3 years have become “no entry” to some. I think my own sweet spot is in the 70’s , early 80’s. “Before reality TV, but after Little House on the Prairie!” Some others for me might be, “Before smart phones, but after rotary ones.” “Before the Civil War, but after the Revolutionary War.” (History buff here often thinking I wanted to live in many other times of life!).
Thank you for offering your gifts of writing to us!
Thank you for your enlightening comment, Karla! You picked some rather sweet spots in history. I appreciate all your kind support!
You’re welcome, Brad! Your writing always spurs awesome thoughts! It’s a pleasure to support as I support you as well! Take care, my friend!
My friend you said it perfectly! I agree 100%! It just seems to me that we really do not need that much information at our fingertips! I am a child of the 70’s and I remember well the days in High School when I dreamt of a mobile phone (of course I did not know such devises would ever exist, but I sure would have loved one back then! 😁).
Thank you, Francisco! Back in the old days, we did not have all this technology, but somehow, we survived. Better days maybe. Be well, my friend!
We certainly survived and thrived! All the best to you!
I love this, Brad! I am not sure where my sweet spot is. I am pretty tech savvy, but my generation had to adapt quickly. I grew up with one of the first monster computers in elementary school, and by the time I graduated, the laptop was invented. I am grateful for the internet, because without it, I might not have met you.
As an old soul, I also miss certain connections that are either rare or gone – hand-written letters, post-cards in the mail, communicating with friends without a cell phone in sight. Still, I am grateful for emailed notes, comment sections, seeing photographs of adventures online, and the ability to talk and see friends through technology because they all live far away. I agree that sweet spot lies somewhere in the middle, but it is hard to say exactly where.
I enjoyed this post because it got my inquisitive mind gears rotating. I love it when you make me think!
I would agree the benefits of technology outweigh the drawbacks. Especially when it comes to meeting and conversing with people who are distant to us. I am glad this got the brain juices flowing!
Agree with many of your points, but hope for a brighter future… provided we don’t use that tech to kill ourselves first eventhough it’s not looking promising at the moment…
Thank you, Liam! We may have already enslaved ourselves to the convenience technology offers.
The sweet spot is always somewhere in the middle in most areas of life. Hopefully, our politicians can learn this lesson too.
You are right about that, Pete! Just not sure the politicians are onboard. Take care, my friend!
An absolutely brilliant idea for a post, Brad. My own sweet spot is before my death but after my birth!
Thank you, Geoff! I hope you stay in that sweet spot for many years to come.
Fully agree to all of this. I remember being in college and spending hours upon hours sitting and talking through stuff in the journalism room. We’d stay up all night sometimes working through the problems of our lives and the world. I miss those kinds of connections and being able to talk in person to a group of like-minded folks. I had the same thing when my kids were babies. I found a group of mothers and we’d meet at the park two days a week and stay about 7 hours, talking while the kids played. It was the best days of my life, really.
Since 2020 and my kids graduating from their K-8 school, I’ve found my sphere of connections has shrunk considerably. I need to find that sweet spot again.
It is out there Bridgette and I hope you find it too. Thank you for all your kind words and tremendous support.