I'd Rather Do It Myself

What do I think about my computer and smart phone? I think they're out to get me. Occasionally they work well and are very useful, but so often they don't work well,` even though I'm sure I'm doing everything I've been told I'm supposed to do and they just don't work. Or won't. I've never thought of computers as life-like or things that will soon replace human beings. But I suspect that my devices have started to think of themselves that way. A while ago, when I began an email and filled out the "To" space with the one or three or eight people I wanted to contact, my devices started second-guessing me. "Would you like to add Sally or Jimmy?" it would prompt. Truthfully, my first reaction was, "No, I don't want to talk to them. I want to talk about them." Which shows you how upset I was, because I don't do gossip. As time went on, I learned to ignore the prompts, the same way I learned to ignore all the fascinating ads that pop up. Does anyone read those things? I'd never get anything done. Now my phone is really pushing my buttons. The keyboard that I use suggests three words that I might want to use as I'm typing out a message. I actually find this helpful, especially since I don't have the limber thumbs that I see younger people using to type. I often hit a wrong letter and I'm grateful when the phone guesses what I'm aiming for and offers it as one of the choices. Saves me a lot of backing up and retyping. But now it's trying to finish my sentences for me. The first time it happened I was totally confused. I was breezing along at top speed (which explains many of the typos), so it took me a second to realize that the words I was seeing but hadn't typed were gray, not black. Then my old-fashioned brain took another couple of seconds wondering where they came from. If I ignored them and kept going they disappeared, but that's not the point. This is beyond annoying. It's one thing to have my husband or a good friend finish a sentence when I seem to be stuck for a word. It's a whole other thing to have a machine do it. I like to think that I'm not that predictable. So far, none of the phrases offered have been ones that I wanted to use. I also like to think that my individuality comes through when I write and can't be replicated by a machine. So, thank you very much, but I'd rather do it myself.