‘Tis the season to be jolly! Or is it? It’s Christmas time and if you’re expectant of a gift this season from Santa, then you have to be sure if you’ve been naughty or nice, right? Of course, tech-wise. *goofy*
Technology in itself wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Its usage however is the topic for the never-ending debate. Just so you don’t get rolled over by the system you believe, you devise a means to beat it and enjoy its use to keep your sanity. Other times, you’re just being that mischievous person your parents fear you’re becoming with your use of technology.
On this episode of “Tech As We Know It”, you’re guilty until proven innocent as we blow some of your covers on these bad tech habits you know you do.
The word ‘bad’ in this article is used loosely to refer to mischievous, crafty, naughty as well as inappropriate tech habits or acts in the context in which they appear without necessarily being condemnable or judgemental. The tone isn’t so serious.
Here’s a list Santa’s going to be checking with!
1. The conscious listener
Listening to music with the volume set to max or at least loud enough to shut out happenings around you with no one around you. Then you remove one of the earbuds intermittently, looking suspiciously when you hear some noise.
This one you can’t argue. You know it’s unsafe but you’re in your world at that moment.
Just play it safe with lower volume levels.
2. “MyFi” syndrome
Whenever you’re around devices, the aim is to get the password, connect, browse endlessly and download.
Absolutely no regard for the person paying.
At least get the conditions of use from the owner.
3. The selfie-ish nature…
Looking out for yourself as a criterion to uploading pictures. This is the criterion list:
- Pictures where you look really good even when others don’t will be uploaded.
- You will also not post pictures of people who don’t look as nice sometimes just so in contrast, you look really good.
4. Too much clutter
You like the art of files being arranged into folders on your desktop but just like the clothes in your wardrobe you haven’t just been able to maintain that habit. One week, you decide to give your desktop some sanity and another, you realise you have to do that again.
Like when do I really drop all these files unto the desktop? Okay, you know you do but the plan is to put them into folders…. soon.
5. Too lazy to try new software or update until you’re forced to
This is a real spirit you have to come against. The spirit of reluctance and procrastination.
You continually skip popup updates (especially on your PC) regardless of the time frame it’ll take to be updated; setting reminders you just keep postponing and leaving it till when you’re trapped.
For new softwares, you really can’t understand why you’re being disturbed to try out something new every other time.
Sound like something not just related to system updates? Online courses?
6. The missing link
Just because it is “exhausting” clicking the links to read full stories on features or articles, you deduce your story from screaming headlines, excerpts and other peoples comments. You’re also willing to jump into the comment section to troll, give your savage responses or just be a killjoy.
7. The VVIP Treatment
Comments from people on social media seem to go unnoticed as you perfunctorily hit the “like” button but when someone you fancy drops a very basic comment, you reply with a disproportionate comment.
We that we dropped comment before nko, we’re not special?
8. Tick or nah?
Turning off your blue tick and last seen on WhatsApp so you can conveniently read and respond to messages to reduce pressure of expected immediate response is understandable as sanity is key. However, this isn’t you. Your objective most of the time is to leave messages hanging after reading with the intent of not replying so as to give an excuse for you not reading it yet whenever the person gets through to you through another means.
9. Forward ever never
- Those beloved aunties and uncles or friends that still send “forward to ten special people you know and to me if I’m one of them”;
- people who just make it a point of duty to forward (unverified) messages to people in their contact list;
- people who make being part of a WhatsApp group extremely unbearable with their indiscriminate forwarding/posting of messages.
10. The unstoppable force.…. when tech meets nature
Taking your phone into the loo is “The bad tech habit of the decade”.Everything just seems right from chatting to surfing the net, reading articles and listening to music. You find yourself walking a tightrope in ensuring your device doesn’t get dropped into the loo or get water splashed unto your device.
11. Setting up a password just for the sake of it and forgetting
You know those tricky accounts you set up that can be a bit stressful where they indicate that you also include a symbol and number into your password? You include those things basically to get passed that phase not to remember.
12. Guilty as “charged”
You know how you leave your phone charging expecting it to have charged to a reasonable extent and then you return to find it disconnected and at a very unsatisfactory battery level? This is for people who are always checking battery levels of other people’s phones to disconnect and connect theirs usually with an excuse.
You don’t know the plans I have for my battery. Goan get your own charger.
Answering a call or listening to music via headset while your phone is plugged in and charging. While it’s okay to do this, it isn’t advisable when the phone heats up when charging.
Another will be sleeping off with your ears plugged listening to music.
If you aren’t guilty of any or all of the above and your use of tech has been geared toward: innovation; ingenuity; growing a business; empowerment; spreading positivity, love, laughter and enriching lives; supporting a genuine cause or just being nice and sweed? Then you should expect a gift from Santa this season!
Christmas bonus: Literal meaning of laptops gone wrong
For the guys demmmm. Those Broadcast messages and researches [from mothers] just won’t do on the dangers of placing your laptops directly on your laps in order to ‘preserve your future generation’. Like where else are you supposed to have it placed? Well, experts have the same issue with the name and have highlighted the need for the machine to be renamed.
Research advises that electromagnetic radiation EMR and the heat from the vent of laptops can potentially have a harmful effect on the body as heat in extreme amounts can damage the testes and decline semen quality. A recent study by Fertility and Sterility found that the heat created from laptops can affect sperm motility and cause DNA damage.
Note: This is not directly linked to have a clear impact on infertility but likely to be bad for sperm production.
Using pillows aren’t proven to cushion the effect either but laptop pads and coolers can to some extent.
Other issues associated with the use of laptop include skin and itch burn and neck and back pain.
It has also been discovered that cell phone emissions can cause sperm damage and it is therefore advisable to keep phones in the back pocket.
We’re excited about how tech can be used to get tech out of the way
Astro Teller
We definitely couldn’t have exhausted it all. Have more bad tech habits to share (even as a front it’s someone else’s *goofy*)? We’d love to read from you in the comment section.
Tip: It is not safe to have your ears plugged and shut out to happenings around you listening to high volume levels while on a busy road or at home.
It is not advisable to disconnect your phone or any other device from the charger before switching off from the socket on the wall first. Switching off from the socket on the wall first before disconnecting from charger is the proper way.
