Waiting With Click-Baited Breath

Of all the things my mom had to worry about in her lifetime, click-bait wasn't one of them.

And I believe that I can safely say she'd be the first to admit she was totally okay with that.

There are many things Boomers have to deal with that our parents never did. Contrary to what the youngsters may tell you, we're a whole lot more savvy than we've been given credit for. Sure, I'll admit to having my son help me resolve issues with my phone. And it did take me a bit to get up to speed on downloading apps and such.

Still, Boomers have lived through an accelerated technological era, so I think we should be forgiven if it takes us a few tries to catch up.

For example, I learned to type on a manual typewriter. My first real job was typesetting on a then-state-of-the-art computer that electronically imprinted my copy onto film one line at a time. When I got to J.B. Robinson Jewelers, I was among the first to use the Wang word processor, which predated Excel and required you to type in code to set up the columns to print a spreadsheet. At Sterling, I learned Quark, which was a program the designers used to do layouts for signs and catalogs. A few years after that, the internet came along, and I was working on websites, then emails. Today I write articles and content for various websites using the tools and tricks of SEO (search engine optimization). 

All-in-all, I'd say that's quite a ride. So when youngsters get all high and mighty about the current generation being so much more tech savvy than their elders, I just roll my eyes.

I will admit there are some stereotypes that stick to me like peanut butter on the roof of your mouth. Yes, I do Facebook. And I am susceptible to click-bait. I don't believe the random ads like the one that said SAS Shoes was closing and everything was 90% off (lies, lies and more lies). But I simply can't resist certain articles, most of which come from sites "suggested for me." 

For example, this week a FB site called Cinema Shorthand Society had an article about Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and many other cartoon characters. Blanc had a car accident that nearly took his life. He was in a coma for 21 days, and only came out of it when his doctor whispered in his ear, "How are you feeling today, Bugs Bunny?" To which Blanc replied, "Just fine, doc, how are you?" I verified the article on the MeTV website. 

Thanks to a site called Classic Retrovision Milestones, I learned that yesterday was rock-'n-roller Suzi Quatro's 72nd birthday. Quatro, who had a recurring role in Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero, has racked up more than 50 million album sales during her bass-playing career.

Of course, I know I'm not the only one who takes the bait. There are plenty of friends' re-posts that take me off the beaten track. For example, I got sucked into an article from Psychology Today about why some people have such a bad sense of direction. That one hit awfully close to home, but it also provided me with some valuable insights as to why Mr. and I are always at odds when it comes to mapping out new routes. If you're similarly destination-challenged, you can read the article here. 

Well, enough rambling for today, I need to move along with my busy day. 

Oh, wait, look at how stinkin' cute those otters are. I'll just watch this one video...