Why I never adjust my clock to daylight saving

A plethora of technology has flooded everyday life. And no, it isn’t always intuitive. Sometimes it’s silly.

Bernard Salt doesn’t prioritise his car clock.

The clock in my car is set to daylight saving time all throughout the year. Outside the daylight saving months I adjust the time in my head; it’s an hour earlier. It’s no big deal. I am never confused as to whether it is 9am or 10am.

It’s one of the many workarounds that I, and other technologically disinclined people, have developed in order to simply get on with life. I realise that questioning the omnipotence, the munificence, of technology is tantamount to blasphemy in this tech-centric world, but someone has to say it: we don’t all have to understand how to operate all forms of technology every day, let alone once every six months. Indeed, I regard technology as being like a smorgasbord; we should be free to pick and choose the bits that suit our appetite and interests. Geeks gorge but the technologicallydisinclined, like me, prefer to graze.

I also don’t know how to access Netflix on the home TV. To be fair, if I really wanted to access Netflix I’m pretty sure I could. But I’m not interested. If I have free time, I will find other things to do: reading, checking emails, taking out the rubbish. (I like taking out the rubbish; it feels cleansing.)

I figure I have limited storage capacity in my brain and I don’t want it clogged with unnecessary technology. My brain needs freeing up to store, for example, the names, the location and the approximate population of Australia’s 537 local government areas.

I learn whatever I need to learn in order to live the lifestyle I prefer. For instance, I love Apple Pay. No need for cash or a credit card;
I just use my phone – some people use their Apple watch – and the transaction is done. I’m not sure I could access cash from an ATM these days. I haven’t used this facility for years; plus, why would I need cash?

But sometimes, technology is neither simple nor liberating. For example, why does it now take two remotes to turn on a television at home? Will the home TV require three remotes by 2030, and four by 2040?

Another thing: I have been in hotel rooms where I haven’t been able to turn on the TV, turn off lights, work out how to call reception using the in-room phone, or adjust the heating/cooling because the tech was too complicated. I’m tired. I’ve had a long day. I don’t want to learn how to turn off a light.

And do not get me started on complicated plumbing. Hot water. Cold water. Spout. I do not want a high-tech plumbing experience in the bathroom. Keep it simple!

And therein lies the reason for finding workarounds. A plethora of technology has flooded everyday life. And no, it isn’t always intuitive. Sometimes it’s silly. A digital fan control on a car that requires hand-eye coordination is less safe than an old-fashioned dial. I say it’s time for the technologically disinclined to band together to share the many ways we use workarounds to deal with the relentless march of everyday technology.

We could create an app to share our experiences. There’s an irony in setting up an app to promote ways of working around technology, of course. But it’s all about having the freedom to select the technology that we are willing to learn how to use. And for me, car clocks are at the bottom of that list.