The women guild members sat to celebrate life achievement
It was awesome for the beautiful women
They counted themselves lucky to be alive courtesy of God
They discussed their life milestones
They discussed about their children
They discussed about their loving husbands
They discussed technology
What was pleasant was how technology had ‘aged’-to them
The youthful bliss had withered
With laughter they read out their mobile phones contact list Mama- Ochieng, Bra- Mtindwa, plumber- Mtinda, mechanic-Karugu Technology has really ‘aged’ from sweetie- Nduku, darling husband, Carol -msupa
But their faces had the youthful glow
They were smarter than their smart phones
They never send ‘please call, me thank you’
The most important buttons were the red and green ones
Apps were like aliens on earth
For technology had aged
Aged enough to do mobile banking
Old enough to discipline a grand child remotely
Old enough to monitor shenanigans
Old enough to remotely manage a husband
Old enough for only youthful photos storage
Old enough to baby sit a child
Old enough for online shopping
Analysis: This poem provides a perspective on aging with technology and how overwhelming it can be to be old amongst new technology and ways of carrying out day-to-day activities. While aging and not recognizing oneself, it makes it even harder when one also doesn’t recognize the new technology, services and products surrounding them. This poem emphasizes how wisdom can be just as smart and necessary as technology. Older adults have so much experience dealing with the “real world” and despite the many changes the world sees, some things never change. For instance, being kind and personable, loving others, learning, and completing tasks may look different today, but the underlying structure of these concepts has not changed. Family still matters, taking care of oneself still matters, and social interaction still matters. It makes me question if there are ways to make new technologies less daunting to older adults. It also pushes me to continue to seek input and insights from older adults about banking, because their wisdom can often be more meaningful than many of the most powerful technologies.
Citation:
The aging technology – the aging technology. PoemHunter.com. (2016, September 1). https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-aging-technology/
