Technology Derangement Syndrome Affecting Everyone

Technology Derangement Syndrome Affecting Everyone

Technology Derangement Syndrome Affecting Everyone | Ken Walker WriterOur controversial president has created a new term in American lexicon—even used it himself on occasion—Trump Derangement Syndrome.

It seems almost everyone loves to voice their opinions pro or con about Trump. Yet, I think a far more relevant kind of TDS in most of our lives is Technology Derangement Syndrome.

It affects nearly all of us on a weekly (if not daily) basis and can send sufferers into fits of madness.

Changing Technology

One of our sons-in-law is a computer programmer. For years, one of his leading complaints has concerned his inability to keep up with all the changes in technology.

Which often has prompted the question in my mind: If he does this for a living and can’t keep up, what chance do the rest of us have?

I wrote recently about the headaches I experienced after an ill-fated with would-be scammers who supposedly discovered intrusions on my in-home network.

I knew they were fakes when their fix to the problem started at $300 for two years of protection, or higher for longer periods of time.

My favorite computer shop wiped my hard drive clean to delete any spyware or other unwanted junk inflicted by these folks.

However, I then had trouble getting Skype to work on the laptop I use most often

for work. So, I took the path of least resistance by upgrading the version on my desktop.

Since I hadn’t used Skype for at least two years, it made more sense to make sure it was working on one computer than trying to resolve the issue.

Trolling for Help

TDS Meltdown | Ken Walker WriterThat’s the kind of world we live in now. Try to find someone, anyone, who can assist you with technology headaches. While it may be an easily-resolved issue, it isn’t for those of us who have other things to do with our time

While the Skype matter didn’t upset me, the strange goings-on about the same time on my laptop have. Namely, the mysterious freeze-ups that temporarily afflicted Word, Xcel, and my web browser.

My wife had the same complaint about her system, commenting, “It all started after the latest Windows 10 update.”

Ah, yes. Windows 10. That supposedly advanced, technologically-astute, upgraded operating system. I love it so much I would give my eyeteeth to be able to work on Windows 7 again.

Since Microsoft doesn’t support the latter any longer, though, trying to venture out on Windows 7 would be akin to using XP.

A week after Microsoft stopped supporting it, and before she could see about getting Windows 7 installed on her computer, my wife got so many viruses it crashed her computer.

So, who do you call when you’re not even sure why your computer is acting up? And if you reached someone, what guarantee would there be they would even understand your problem?

TDS Meltdown

Recently, a friend had a problem with her phone after it got wet. A couple days later she posted a Facebook note in which she detailed:

  • Trying for three days to get documentation for her insurance. That included 25 submissions online and two faxes. None brought email confirmation.
  • She talked to eight different reps on the phone and five via online chat, but no one could explain what was wrong.
  • One suggested visiting a store. No good. It closed at 7 p.m. even though their website said they were open until 9. Another store said they could fax it—except their fax was down.

“I honestly feel utterly defeated and I could break down any minute,” she concluded.

All I could think was: “I feel your pain. TDS to the max.”

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