I didn't find Mom in her old smartphone, now I'm wondering what my tech will say about me by philipberne
, I relieved her of it. After she passed away, I rummaged through it, hoping to unearth a trove of memories. Sadly, as I’ll explain, there was little to see. Her old phone opened fresh wounds. I’ve finally been able to find value in the haunted old device, but it also started me thinking about what will happen to my smartphone when I’m gone.
My messages tell the story of my relationships with everyone I know. My photos describe the places I’ve been, the things I’ve experienced. I’ve kept track of the most interesting food I’ve eaten, the live shows I’ve seen, and every amazing city I’ve visited. That’s a diary, whether I intend it or not.
I’m a tech geek. I want to solve my problems with technology. I wanted to solve her problems with tech, and early on in her disease, I hoped that her smartphone might actually make life easier for her. She knew how to use it by instinct to take photos, answer the phone, and read messages. I thought that having a phone would help. I was mistaken.
Also, her clock now showed two different times. Notifications overlapped in strange ways. Worst of all, though, was that she wasn’t even tapping the apps on her home screen. She had opened her photo gallery and was looking at the screenshot, thinking it was her home screen. She was tapping on an image. Of course, nothing worked.
I’m not sure phones are ready for users who suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia, and who may not understand what has gone wrong, or how to fix it. I truly fear for future generations of smartphone users who will have to manage modern smartphones with decreasing mental capabilities caused by aging, COVID, and other issues. I took Mom’s phone from her, and she was relieved. The phone set high expectations of her.
Her photo gallery made me sad. There was nothing interesting, no photos I hadn’t seen that I would want to share with the family. They were photos of Mom struggling. There were so many selfies with confused looks, like she didn’t want the camera to be on, and she pressed the button to take a photo instead of the button to shut it off.
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