REFLECTIONS : Locked Out !
by TERESITA BACANI-OROPILLA , MD
It was an exciting day . With great anticipation , a dear friend from Melbourne , Australia was coming to visit . Plans for where she would stay , how to get to the assisted living facility where I now live , what new tourist spots to see and minute details were discussed through the inevitable cell phone .
The day before her arrival , a mistake in putting in the right passcode resulted in disaster . “ Locked out ” stared every time the home button was pushed .
Frantic attempts to resuscitate the dead phone without the proper pass code meant losing all data : precious pictures of trips , social events , weddings of grandchildren , antics of the first great grandchild . She could not see the phone numbers of family members , banks , insurance companies , the GLMS or friends new and old – all were supposedly lost in the clouds forever . Why ? Because they were not “ saved .”
A technically ignorant nonagenarian is asked to give up her recorded past .
What would you have done ?
This makes me ponder : have I relinquished my independence to the little machine in my hand ? Do I have to be educated in its ways and not vice versa ? Is it worth it ? Do I have a choice ?
And do you ?
Much as the ever-patient savvy generation had rescued me from electronic mishaps in the past , this one they could not resolve .
Armed with the past four years of planners ( calendars ) where passwords of the internet , i . e . ADT to guard the house , “ messenger ” to connect to overseas relatives , “ my chart ” to monitor doctor ’ s visits etc ., etc . were randomly recorded as they were given , the busy young administrator herself brought me to the original Apple Store .
After finally consenting to the alternative i . e ., “ say sad goodbye to recorded memories ” and possibly buying a new phone … EUREKA ! Brilliant administrators , flipping through the back page of the oldest planner found THE CODE !!
Several mysterious clicks and I had my old world back ! Do you remember your CODE ? DO NOT LOCK YOURSELF OUT !!
Dr . Bacani-Oropilla is a retired pediatrician and psychiatrist .
October 2023 27