In my old lives, I was an early adopter of technology related to my work, otherwise, I preferred basic things; efficient, but high quality, as in 'buy once, cry once'. I spent a lot of money buying technology that was going to be obsolete in a short time, but I rolled with it, because by being first to know how it worked, I was able to bill at a VERY high rate. Much of what I used to do professionally can now be approximated by an app that a 10 year old can operate, lol..
When I began my journey to authenticity, I finally dove into the social media world, and it was an amazing way to explore and role-play and experiment and communicate and educate myself. I was living as a full-time woman online faaar before my body and voice and life and wardrobe empowered me to do so in real life. This was a fantastic opportunity, and I took full advantage of it. By the time I was ready to date men, for instance, I had already learned how to discard male syntax from my communications (yes, I am using it here now, lol, cuz I can!) and not red-flag myself while making out in a car with a big ol' cave man and thus endanger my life. Hmm, wow, those were some crazy days, lol...ok, I am digressing, lol...
But, eventually I passed everywhere, and lost interest in those make-believe exercises, and I swore them off, and began living in real life exclusively. I stopped using trans forums even before I went full-time, and I stayed off them until I registered here a few weeks ago. Life without training wheels was hard, at first, but without a place to retreat to, I was forced to face my new reality head-on. I am glad I did, and I went 'deep stealth' much sooner as a result of this strategy.
I did keep in touch with my family and close friends on Facebook, though, and that was a great way for them to get to know the new me, as well as for me to get a window into their lives. I had lived my past lives far away from my birth area, and I basically had no contact with them since high school. So, again, at that point, Facebook served a purpose.
Buuut, the law of diminishing returns raises her head eventually, and after a year or so, I began to feel the downside to Facebook. There came a time when I realized I was being triggered constantly by the ignorant posts and memes that my kin were sharing, and one by one, I un-followed all but a few nieces. I began disabling my account every time I was offended by something somebody said, and before long, I was off for months at a time. I now only log in when I need a bit of info from somebody, and then I disable my account again immediately. I have only been on Facebook for about an hour, total, in the last two months, and guess what? Even that felt like I was overstaying my welcome, lol...
Now, about smart phones. I used a flip phone until last summer, when my $12 Walmart Verizon deal died a sudden death. I was going to get another like it, when by chance, I saw a flyer from a local provider that offered a free new smart phone and a service plan that was LESS than the flip phone deal. I walked up to the phone store, and walked out with a new smart phone, a new phone case, and a better plan, with more coverage, and more data, and unlimited text and calls, for LESS than my prehistoric flip phone. Wow. I thought was pretty cool. Did I mention the phone and case were FREE? Ha!
But I was still unwilling to do anything with it other than call or text. Until I got lost in a strange city, and I remembered seeing a little thingy called 'navigation' on my new-fangkled phone, lol. Fifteen minutes later, my phone was telling me where to go and saved me a whole wasted day, and a light came on in my head...
Now I use it all the time. All my banking is on it, I can keep track of my debt, lol, and I can buy and sell and participate in all manner of things that used to require a car trip or an email or something complicated, but now, I can do it all from anywhere, anytime, and remain carefree. I ask Google every question that pops into my head, all day, every day. I have found it to be an amazing device, and I feel like a moron for having avoided using one for so long, since it saves me time, money, effort, and needless mistakes EVERY day. No, I don't play games on it, nor do I do social media on it, nor do I take a billion selfies a day on it, I don't take any at all, actually, I just use it to communicate with people I actually know, and to learn things I would otherwise put off researching...
There are pros and cons to all progress. I am glad to have the options that 21st century tech and communication systems allow, but I know that I am the one that makes the choices, and I take ownership of all of them..
Missy
