“Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master.” — Christian Lous Lange
Anyone who knows me will tell you I am a screen addict. There are no two ways about it. I love scrolling on my phone, dithering around on my iPad or Mac with multiple tabs open, and switching my attention from phone to laptop to whatever else is around.
It’s especially important to me when I travel. In planes, thanks to a balance disorder, I am often dizzy and a little foggy, so having a screen to look at sort of centers my head, gives me something to look at, and calms a little of the dizziness. On a recent flight, the plane didn’t have screens. It had WiFi, and some kind of folding contraption on the seat in front of you that would, in theory, hold your phone or tablet. There were no headphones or jacks for headphones; you’d need your own device, capable of connecting to WiFi, and your own headphones to connect to your device.
I travel with a tech bag that rivals a Radio Shack inventory room. I don’t own AirPods because they don’t fit me correctly, and my devices are newer, so they don’t have that old-style transister radio connection for wired headphones, which have gone the way of the buggy whip and the Sony Walkman. At home, I have big over-the-ear headphones that are Bluetooth, but I don’t travel with them, never having needed them before this trip.
So, I sit in my seat and open my magic bag. USB power cord? Check. Power “brick” to connect it to? Check. An old pair of off-brand Bluetooth earbuds I forgot I had and only use at the dentist? Check. Then I tried securing my phone to this spring-loaded plastic trap embedded in the seatback. It’s useless. It sets the phone at an angle where only a giraffe sitting five rows behind me could see it. I then channel my inner “Mrs. MacGuyver” and rig up the phone so it’s leaning against a rolled-up barf bag and secured with a hair tie.
The flight was uneventful, but I looked up the stats. According to recent research, 97% of people between 18 and 49 own a smartphone. In the age group 50-64, it drops to 89% and over that, it drops to 76%. So most people on the flight had the right gear or brought a book. Remember books? I’m getting some next time, and not on my Kindle, since there was a whole separate tech process for that on the plane.
For once, I was not my usual smug, tech-savvy self. I kept thinking how overcomplicated it was. You needed a phone with WiFi capabilities (not all phones do, even “smart” phones), cables to connect to the included flight WiFi, and wireless headphones. Also, any tech, no matter how advanced, can be flummoxed by a smirking flight attendant, who, as they walked by, took their hand and flipped up the setup I had rigged, because we were taking off.
Because I had folded down the phone holder, I could not see the little sticker that said it had to be stowed during takeoff and landing. OK, fair enough; that’s on me. I didn’t know, but honestly, someone can’t say, “Ma’am, this just has to be up while we take off, OK? Thanks!”
The flight attendant didn’t even bother to use her words. She just walked by, flicked her thumb and finger at the tray, and off went everything into my lap, all because I’d had the audacity to be unaware of the process. Sometimes, it’s a harsh world, but I’ve seen enough YouTube videos to know not to argue with the flight crew. Also, maybe this was just a little message from the universe: “Hey, Brenda. Dig your head out of the screens for once, will you?”
Point taken. Will I still carry all those cords, bricks, plugs, and other gear? Absolutely—on previous trips, they saved my bacon when flights were delayed, lines were long, and rebooking and alternate plans had to be made quickly and efficiently, sometimes on the side of the road, or an about-to-close empty train station. I will, however, stop assuming that everyone has a phone, a charger, internet access, and all the rest. Sometimes you don’t have that, or you get flicked off, a battery is dead, or some other obstacle crops up. Best to be ready to tame the tech overlords of FOMO that being disconnected can trigger, and have a book as backup.
Brenda Kelley Kim has lived in Marblehead for 50 years and is an author, freelance writer, and mother of three. Her column appears weekly.
