Today’s world, our world, is more connected than ever before. I really don’t need to list the ways we are, but basically written words still survive (should survive) among the many electronic devices and ways to contact family, friends, associates, writers, businesses, deliveries, entertainment, leisure time, sport, gaming, education, medical, self-help, the list is endless and it’s sink or swim.

Here is my Weekly Whinge and Whine about the World:

I like the internet, but it’s not like picking up a newspaper or opening a letter. With new online contacts and sites popping up every day, readers need to be discerning and check validity. Every website clicked will track you, send you emails, log your details for future reference, etc. Personally I dislike this insidious spreading of my personal details but often there is no way around it to make a website entry function correctly. Then I have to unsubscribe.

Not all connections work, e.g. mobile phone confirmation where you are required to tap the square Y or N and hope for the best. No personal contact, no confirmation personal or otherwise, in fact according to my work ethic no human has had a hand in my recent online booking even when it will involve many of my hard-earned dollars. Impersonal website contact and auto-generated emails make me nervous. Especially when there is no human follow up to my enquiries.

Is this accepted business practice now? Total reliance on electronics? How secure is the safety for my personal data? And that coup de grâce (death blow) of total silence bothers me. That ‘no response’ attitude is weak in this internet connected world. Should I try again, follow it up again, give this supposedly reputable company my money? If not, that means here I go again, wasting time searching, searching, for a company with good human office staff (e.g. brain cells) and a credible work ethic. Ditch the Y and N. It’s impolite.

💗 © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2026