feeling reliant towards technology, a generational thing

In this episode of Taylor Talks A Lot, Taylor discusses the relationship with technology in different generations. They interview David Myers, a Generation X individual, who shares his reliance on his phone and the changes in technology over the years. They discuss screen time, the desire to lower it, and the impact of technology on face-to-face interactions. David expresses a longing for a simpler time without constant connectivity. They also touch on the benefits and drawbacks of technology in the workplace. Taylor concludes by reflecting on the similarities in the relationships with technology across generations. Hello listeners, and welcome back to Taylor Talks A Lot. I'm Taylor, and I'm going to be talking a lot about feelings around technology in the modern age. As a young adult, I've been virtually raised in the growing technology, and I've personally felt a reliance towards these technologies, but especially my phone. But what about other generations? How do they feel towards technology? Do they feel the same? They didn't grow up in it, but they did grow with it. I can't answer this as I'm not a person of the older generation. So today we have a very special guest, David Myers, to answer some questions and to really talk about his feelings and experience. I'm Dave Myers. Yay! Okay. I'm a principal at a high school. I'm 55 years old. And what generation would that make you a part of? I would be a generation X. Okay, let's get into it. My first inquiry for you is what piece of tech would you say you use most on a daily basis? I use my computer a lot at work, but I mostly use my phone. And then how long would you say that you've owned your phone, or like an advanced technological phone? I think the first phone I got was in 2000, I think. It was a flip phone at that time, yes. Yes. Have you seen those grow more, you know, like with the things it can do? Yeah, because the flip phone was really just really a phone, not a cool computer that you could put the Internet and do everything else on. It was just really a phone. Yes. Yes. So if you could just flip phone, what would it be? One word to describe the relationship with the phone? You were just cutting out the... Yeah. I'd probably say rough. Yeah, I would agree with that for myself. What is your average screen time on your phone? I got right here, six hours and 41 minutes. Well, it's still lower than mine. Do you wish you could lower this, your screen time? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'd love to lower my screen time on my phone. Me too. I don't know how, though. We grew up without one, but it's now just always there. I was reading this article from CNBC while doing my research paper, and it's about simple ways to lower your screen time. I think one way that stood out to me and could be most beneficial for you would be to take the distracting apps off your phone. And according to your home screen on your phone and the amount of time you spend on these wasteful apps, if you were to eliminate them all together, it seems it would lower the time you spend on your phone and ultimately lower your average screen time. Yeah, that's a good suggestion because a lot of my screen time is doing mindless stuff on there, like games or things like that. Yeah. I would say my next question would be, if you could give up your phone for good to give up all these apps and go back to before your life was entangled with your phone and technology, would you? Yeah, I definitely would do that, I think. I wish I could do that. Why do you think this is? Well, before that, life was simpler. People couldn't get a hold of you all the time. There's more face-to-face interaction, not a lot of wasted time playing games on the phone. I do remember... It wasn't so easy to get to. You'd have to turn on a gaming system and do all that stuff before. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, I just remember being a kid, playing outside and stuff. You never see that anymore, especially with the pandemic. Kids have been handed phones and technology at a much younger age. So speaking of before, do you remember a time after you've gotten this technology that you've been completely disconnected from that? Yeah. I mean, I go on a football trip with some friends and a buddy of mine and a lot of times my phone will die or we won't take it to the game or something like that. Yeah. Just being with other people and having a good time and not worry about somebody texting you or what's going on somewhere else. Or in the downtime, you have to talk, not just get on your phone and play a stupid game. Yeah. Or like maybe it's like freeing almost. Yeah. Yeah. I would say like, I mean, I know for me personally, I've always had my phone and it's always been very hard to not like freak out when it's not around. Do you ever feel like that? Oh, yeah. Even though I didn't grow up with it, now that I have one, if I would leave the house and didn't have my phone, I'd come back and get it. It feels like you're supposed to have it. I mean, I know I'm supposed to have one for my job, have it and be able to be contacted, but I don't just use it for that. I mean, I feel almost like I don't like not wearing a belt. It'd be like not having a belt when you go out. Well, this is another question, but do you think like your job as a principal would be easier before if you were born earlier, like before having technology? Yeah. It was much easier. Teachers and staff and parents and students couldn't get a hold of you at all times? Well, yeah. And there's less like Zoom meetings, you had to actually go to a meeting and get your dates up. They can't say, oh, we can do a Zoom right now because you're there and you can turn on your computer and all that. Planned out more, almost. Going into this, would you say even though you are from a different generation than mine, do you still feel like a certain reliance on your phone or the technology you use? Yeah, most definitely. Like we just talked about before, I use it all the time and have it with me all the time. It's like an extension of your arm. Yeah, most definitely. Yeah. And even like I know like watching TV and movies are so different now, too. They stream and you still have your phone to over-stimulate your brain even more by not only watching TV, but also feeling like you have to occupy it with something else. You bet. Most definitely. Yeah. Well, thank you for talking to me about your experiences and your relationship. After being able to talk and hear about this, I've learned more things about other generations' relationships with technology, which seems to not be so different from someone like me, who's been from Generation Z and was born into this technology world. I hope you listeners learned a new perspective and come back next time to talk a lot more about more exciting things. With that, I'm Taylor saying bye.