Why do we find it so hard to organise our tech?

Once upon a time, we thought technology was cool. Something to use for doing mundane tasks quickly, for playing games and with the advent of the internet, communicating and watching cats do funny things. Innovative products arrived – the iPod replaced the Walkman.  The iPhone replaced the iPod and Android phones joined in the mobile phone market fun. iPads, Tablets, Kindles, PCs, Macs, Laptops and Macbooks flooded the market offering us novel ways of watching, reading, listening and creating.   Social media arrived so we carry our tech with us everywhere and our voice devices means we can automate almost anything we want. There is no denying the Tech Revolution is in full flow and growing rapidly by the day with AI fast becoming immersed in our lives.  It feels and, I would argue, is overwhelming. And with this has brought the opportunity for criminals to scam, steal and infiltrate our personal lives and steal our information. We inadvertently share our personal data across different companies and platforms without knowing the implications (who reads small print really?) and as a result leave the management of this information vulnerable to being shared on the dark web.

The big Tech companies provide little if minimal support which is frustrating and, in many ways, disingenuous.  This brings about a culture of fear (which in my mind is counterproductive) and for some people stops them even contemplating using any tech or online systems.  This in turn isolates them from society and limits their ability to run their own lives. It is a mistake though to think this only affects the older generation. I have worked with people in their 20s and 30s who have a lack of understanding of how our tech equipment and data works together.  It makes us all vulnerable to attacks leaving us struggling with how to manage it or correct it. However, if we work to take charge of our tech then you can create a different picture.  The responsibility lies with us.  Once we understand what we have, what data we have and how it all talks to one another we are closer from being able to spot and manage when things go wrong. If you start thinking of your tech like a home which holds precious information and you protect from burglars it helps to bring some context.  For instance: Closing and locking all the windows and doors translates to making sure all your hardware is up to date with security patches Keeping precious things in a safe is like keeping our precious data (photos, personal information etc) stored and backed up safely. Our burglar alarm code represents all the codes and passwords we have to remember. At the moment many of us inadvertently have our doors and windows wide open with all of our precious possessions out on show and the burglar alarm code stuck on the front door! By doing a tech inventory we begin to understand what we have and so when things go wrong we have a better chance of getting things back up and running quickly with all of our information intact. Click here to take the tech plan quiz, which will give you an idea of the things you need to be thinking about. With a good knowledge and understanding you can feel more confident in moving forward in the tech revolution and stay one step ahead of the unexpected.