Ancestry Magazine

Change is good.

It’s trite, it’s overused, but sometimes that simple phrase makes a point and summarizes a reality. Like in the world of computer technology purchases.

Change comes frequently today when we attempt to keep pace with technology and a busy world, and choices come at us more rapidly than they ever did for our ancestors. If you own a computer, you face choices for change nearly every day. Even our spell checkers ask if we want to “change” a word or ignore it. Now, if only our other decisions were as simple as clicking the right (or left) button.

Think of the choices you make because you use a computer. You get e-mail notifications for software upgrades that you then choose to install (or not); you read about a new program, but choose not to buy it until you upgrade your computer; you’d like to choose a cool new laptop to take with you to the archives, but your wallet tells you otherwise.

In his book Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert, professor of Psychology at Harvard, sums up how our actions to find happiness today differ from what our ancestors faced.

Says Gilbert, social and physical structures of the past determined how and where our ancestors lived and “left most folks with little to decide for themselves.” Today, however, the technological revolution, among others, he says, “has created a bewildering array of options, alternatives, choices, and decisions that our ancestors never faced. For the first time, our happiness is in our hands.”

When was the last time you held that chance at happiness in your hands, particularly in the form of new computer purchase or software upgrade? Recently, I bet. But, in nearly every instance, after you recognize that change is imminent, the thrill of acquiring new technology is usually offset by the angst of making a bad decision—buyer’s remorse. Why? Because so many people find technology baffling. But that’s only because we are given such a wide range of choices in everything from hardware and gadgets to operating systems and software.

Change is good—when it’s your decision to make the change. Yet computer manufacturers and software developers bombard us with tempting improvements and upgrades that most of us just can’t resist. Do you really need to make every change?

Typically if your computer system and budget can handle it, software upgrades are worth it. Genealogy applications, for example, are relatively affordable and major upgrades are infrequent. Just make sure your current computer system can handle all the upgraded bells and whistles by reading the System Requirements first.

And when you’re agonizing over the purchase of a new computer? Most of us are still content with a computer we’ve had for two, three, even four years, so indulging in upgrade happiness is a little more complicated. Still, change is often good, and in many instances, it’s essential. Remember, our ancestors don’t change, but the tools we use to document them do. And will continue to. So if you think an angst-ridden computer purchase will allow you to find happiness, then what you’re preparing to do is all too human. And you’ll probably be okay—maybe even happy—with your decision.

Laura G. Prescott is a professional researcher, writer, and speaker. She can be reached at www.lauraprescott.com.