Social media, web browsing, and electronic connectivity are considered necessities to everyday life in countries which permit such freedoms and have access. Like any science and effort in life, the more you learn and immerse yourself in it, the more you realize that it is complex, subject to change, and subject to interpretation depending upon the observer and user.

So it is with using the software portion of electronic technology. You may have the most advanced hardware in the world, but that does not prevent the occasional glitch, hack, or freeze.  The marketing of software and hardware is designed to convince you that you need to have the latest version because purchasing the product or upgrading it may solve some problem or desire that you may or not know you have or convince you that you need to stay current, etc.  In many cases, planned obsolescence may force an upgrade, because a vendor may refuse to continue to support a useful version – such as in the case of Windows XP or Google Desktop. Size or color options or improved viewing or picture-taking can also be part of the myriad of reasons for purchase or upgrades.

However, through all these improvements runs a constant thread—a constant implied promise that your newest purchase or free download will be simple and easy to use. After a short introductory time, you may have a comfort level with the product, but that does not mean that will be indefinite.

If anything, change is always hovering about waiting to interject itself into the daily course of business.  Even using a simple thing such as a browser may have complexities. You may have used a web browser such as Internet Explorer only to find that certain web sites require Flash and then, subsequently do not recognize its installation even after you downloaded it. You may have used Google Chrome and then learned that it had a vulnerability which permitted audio to be recorded without permission. You may have used Firefox and then realized that on some systems, warning messages occur which have no validity when you first open the browser.

Nothing in the electronic media world is truly simple except to those who have a complete understanding of something that is stagnate.  Using technology and software and apps is a constant, adaptive experience. There is no way to avoid it once you choose to dabble in anything to do with the internet.

The time of expecting things online and technology to be simple is no longer realistic. A willingness to accept that this is now a science in the sense of constant evolution and change is one way to not be discouraged when things do not work as promised or when stumbling blocks or glitches occur. If you have an expectation of simplicity you are sharing the same vision as the engineers and designers who strive to give you something “simple.”

What is your buzz about?