Coming late to new technology

Technology has made everyday tasks easier and simpler. But some of the old ways of doing things were fine too. 

Right now I’m thinking about toothbrushes. I was late coming to electric toothbrushes, as with most technology. I wasn’t purposely holding out, but I found manual toothbrushes fine and had a large collection of them from the dentist. Hygienists never told me I was doing a bad job of brushing.

I decided to give an electric toothbrush a try after asking the dentist for suggestions for spending an insurance benefit. 

It’s taking me a while to master the technique. Letting the device do the work doesn’t come naturally after a lifetime of moving a toothbrush up and down. I don’t know whether the brush is getting close enough or too close to the gums. Brushing in back with the brush held perpendicular to the teeth as instructed is awkward. 

All this fuss about a device that’s recommended for toddlers because it’s so easy to use!

I’ve been behind the times with other technology too.

I got a smart TV only last fall. I don’t talk to Google Assistant. I read books in print rather than on a tablet. I wake to a nondigital clock when I need to set an alarm. I got a Fitbit only because my insurance paid for it and use it only to count steps. I know only a fraction of what my phone can do. Not having owned a car in 15 years, I hope any rental car has a manual should I need to, say, turn on the bright lights. 

It sounds like I’m boasting about being a Luddite, but not really. I just don’t take the time to find out how new technologies could improve my life. I wait for a need to assert itself rather than look for it. I bought a smart TV, for instance, when I got tired of streaming PBS Passport on my laptop. 

On the table next to my reading chair is a 2023 article headlined “My phone can do that?” Maybe I’ll get around to reading it eventually and choose to adopt this or that function. 

I’m not alone in being a technological laggard. According to Statista, only four in ten Americans as of 2022 used electric toothbrushes, which have been around since the 1960s. The majority aren’t neglecting their teeth; the American Dental Association says that both electric and manual toothbrushes are effective as long as you brush properly. 

At my first dental appointment since getting the electric toothbrush, the hygienist was surprised to hear I don’t love it. She encouraged me to stick with it. “It does a much better job,” she said before finding a couple of places the brush (not me, of course) could do better. Interesting that I was never told I’d missed spots with a manual brush.