system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: Being technologically non-savvy in 2022 is not excusable for most people, nor should it be a badge of pride.

Here's the background story that sparked this:
I have a planned meeting today with a future employer. For the last 5 or 6 days, the mutual understanding was that this meeting was to be held virtually, presumably over Zoom or some similar software. I called the assistant today a few hours prior to the meeting to confirm all details and the assistant asked
- "Do you have an iPhone?"
- "Nope, I have a Windows PC and an Android phone."
- "Oh. Is it possible for you to get your hands on the iPhone?"
- "That's not possible."
- "Oh, okay. Do you think you can come in to the office in person then? [Employer] is not really quick with technology, basically I just set it up so I Facetime him and he answers."
- "So we can't just do a Zoom call?"
- "No, you're going to have to come in person to meet with him if you can't Facetime".

This post isn't about me being mad about an in-person meeting; I'm honestly fine with coming in, and the office is located pretty close to where I live. It's only a minor inconvenience. And they have a right to change the location of the meeting. This really isn't a rant about what just happened to me, that just the background info for what sparks this rant.

All little more background about me, so you know my perspective. I'm a mid-to-late Millennial born in 1993. I remember a time before we had a modem in the house, but I had Internet access for most of my childhood. I have owned a smartphone since I was a teenager and I believe I registered a Facebook account in 2008 or 2009.

Now you might argue that this employer deserves some credit for at least owning an iPhone, and knowing how to swipe to answer a call, but that is, I would argue, lower than the bare minimum that can reasonably be expected in 2022, for someone being paid to work in an office. This employer can't be older than 55. It was clear from the assistant's explanation that the assistant has to go out of his way to set up virtual meetings so that the employer just has to answer the phone with a swipe of his finger, otherwise it's not possible.

My opinion is that this is absolutely unacceptable in the modern age, for those who live with regular access to technology. If you argue that "Well, this company obviously doesn't require this employer to embrace technology, so he's off the hook", I'd say that you're missing the point of my opinion.

This line of reasoning brought me to the second part of my title, thinking about those people who express pride in not being proficient in the use of ubiquitous technologies.

By this statement, I don't mean people that dislike/distrust social media or other tech trends (TikTok, etc.) and are proud of it. I myself no longer use Facebook and have even been recently cutting myself off from Reddit, the only real "social media" site that I use. I think there are so many good arguments against the regular use of social media and I don't blame anyone who avoids it.

I'm talking about people like my law school professor, who is in his early 40's and "doesn't bother with email, I don't understand it and I'm proud of it." Meanwhile, the course I took from him last semester was very unpleasant, because contacting him was nearly impossible, and required a combination of a phone call to his office number (he owns but almost never uses a cellphone) and very good timing. My classmates and I were up in arms about this lack of communication, but he was set in his ways, as a middle aged man, and refused to glance at his email. There is absolutely no excuse for this. This man is an instructor. I think many of you probably know someone like this. I would say the same of, say, a schoolteacher who still doesn't know how to use Zoom and just laughs it off and says it's "no big deal", even though learning how to use Zoom is now arguably a crucial part of every schoolteacher's job.

Now there are exceptions, obviously. Your 103-year-old great grandmother doesn't have the same expectations as most other people. Although I would warn you that my grandparents, in their mid-80's, are extremely proficient with technology and use their smartphones regularly to play games, video chat with their relatives, etc. So you might have a hard time convincing me that automatically, boomers and older generations = technological incompetency, and that's just a fact of life.

Another possible exception may be someone who lives a genuinely secluded life and doesn't have daily interactions with people might have no reason to own a cellphone, because they are not immersed in modern technology. I'm not trying to claim that this rule is for everyone, just mostly for the people who live a normal life and interact with others at work, among friends, etc. but remain ignorant of basic technology use.

You might change my mind by re-contextualizing about the actual scope of this issue. Perhaps these type of people are so rare that it's a silly point to bring up. Or, you may redefine "proud" or "technologically incompetent" in a way that changes how I view the issue. Anyway, that's my opinion. Thanks for reading!

TL;DR People who interact with others on a daily basis and live an otherwise normal life, but who remain obstinately and proudly ignorant in the use of ubiquitous, essential technologies like email or Zoom (though not social media).
gpt
People take pride in difficult accomplishments. As technology becomes more and more a part of life, being able to function without gets harder and harder. Therefore, continuing to function without technology becomes a difficult accomplishment. 

The issue with pride is that the accomplishment doesn't have to be useful. Defeating a video game with a silly handicap can be a source of pride. All that's needed is difficulty.