Norman Knight: Still trying to adapt to Brave New World

<p>It’s only the first week of January, and I just saw my third TV news story showing people sweating in gyms while a reporter explains they are working on their resolutions to get into shape and/or loose weight.</p><p>New Year; New You.</p><p>Statistics show most people won’t maintain this momentum for long, and a majority of resolutions will be abandoned within a month. A study conducted by Strava, a social network for athletes, was precise enough to pinpoint January 12 as the day most of us will give up on our resolutions.</p><p>Like most people I see the beginning of a new year as an opportunity to make some changes in my life. My 2020 plan for a lifestyle improvement has nothing to do with sweating in a gym. It has to do with a part of life about which I have always had a real love/hate relationship: Technology.</p><p>Although I don’t like it, I grudgingly accept that I can’t function in this modern world without it. Therefore, this year I resolve to organize and simplify my collection of screen names and passwords.</p><p>Over the years, I have tried to adapt to the Brave New World of computers. As time has gone on, I have notice how the need to verify who I am becomes more and more pervasive.</p><p>Let’s call it “I.D. Creep.” I have learned I cannot make phone calls, set up appointments, belong to organizations, own and insure vehicles, deal with financial institutions, pay bills or operate the myriad devices in my life (printers, cameras, musical equipment, watches, TVs, etc.) without a username and password.</p><p>Back when I first started getting prompts to make a new username and password, I would grab a scrap of paper and jot down something I was sure I would be able to remember.</p><p>That worked for a very short time. I was able to remember about three passwords. As time went on, when I needed to contact someone whose number was not in my head, I would shuffle through the paper scraps hoping I had written down the correct information.</p><p>Eventually I got the idea to combine all the little scraps of paper onto a 5X7 green file card. The websites and attendant numbers on that little green card grew and overflowed to the other side and before too awfully long filled it.</p><p>Then I found another card, also green, and added new information as needed. I have operated with this hodgepodge method for a few years now. Also, I still use the scrap paper method on occasion. These are very important documents.</p><p>The problem with my method has always been the disorder of the collected data. The information was written down in the order of when I developed a new relationship with a website. Now when I need to contact a site, I have to read through the lists on both sides of both green cards and scraps until I locate the numbers I need. Sometimes I discover I have written the same information twice. I knew I needed to fix this, but like so many of life’s problems, I found it easier to ignore rather than do something about it.</p><p>But recently, Becky reminded me of her method of keeping names and numbers organized. She keeps birthdays, addresses, and, yes, usernames and passwords in an old address book she has had for a couple of decades. Such a simple and efficient solution to my problem. I decided to look for such a book at the bookstore while I was Christmas shopping. Not only did I find one, I found one specifically marketed as an “Internet Password Logbook.”</p><p>Perfect.</p><p>Today is a chilly, cloudy day. A good day to start filling in my new I.D. Creep book. I know I shouldn’t delay. After all, January 12 is almost here.</p><p><em>Norman Knight, a retired Clark-Pleasant Middle School teacher, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</em></p>