If you’re a person of a certain age, you no doubt remember a time before the Internet, before cell phones and social networking connected the entire planet around the clock. Perhaps you’ve resisted technology’s irrepressible pull for years now, but as time goes on, technology becomes more integrated into our daily lives.
Technology has now become too big to ignore, and you’ve decided this is the year you want to start learning about it. If you’re new to technology, don’t sweat it — everyone was a beginner at one time or another! This article will offer you a range of suggestions and tips aimed at getting the beginner more familiar with the ins and outs of the technological world. Besides helping you understand how technology might benefit you, this article also offers up technology resources that are helpful for beginners.
Establish an End Goal
Technology experts recommend that fresh-faced tech users think of how they want to use technology to improve their quality of life before diving in. For example, lots of people utilize social media and Internet technology to connect with their friends and family.
If you haven’t used technology before, thinking about how you can use technology to make your life easier is likely the best way to start your relationship with the technological world.
Here are some great ways you can use technology to improve your life:
-Use an eReader, like Amazon’s Kindle, to carry an entire library of books with you that you can hold in the palm of your hand. A Kindle is much lighter in your vacation day pack than a handful of books is!
-Use a personal finance app or Microsoft Excel to track your personal finances. There are some incredible personal finance apps on the market — like Mint.com’s mobile app — that tracks a budget down to the penny while giving you access to a range of charts, tables, and other visuals that make financial planning simple and easy process.
Where to Find Technology Resources
Now that you’ve established how you can use technology to improve your life, you’re likely asking, “Where can I go to learn about technology resources?” The best technical resource available to tech novices is the public library.
Libraries often teach computer skills and beginner technology classes. Whether you take a class on learning how to type on a keyboard or you take a more advanced class that will teach you how to set up your very own e-mail account, public libraries are an amazing technology resource for newcomers to the tech space.