Pallet Jacks vs. Video Gaming.

I’m a senior citizen, and as such, haven’t reached any substantial level in popular video games. I’m quite computer illiterate. It’s okay; I have younger people I may rely upon to help me navigate those things. The problem is, I own a business and have little time away from more reality based, hands on, money making endeavors. I must pay my bills.

A while back, I hired a young man (let’s call him Stanley) to work in my warehouse. The job was basic and didn’t require much training (or so I thought). The young man’s life, to the point of coming to work for me , had revolved around video gaming and had ambitions to become a “coder”.

I spent about 30 minutes attempting to instruct this fellow in the use of a pallet jack (a pallet jack is a manually propelled, wheeled device, which steers from the rear [like a shopping cart held backwards]; and is used to move about wooden pallets loaded with products.) My instructions in the use of this most basic machine were a complete waste of time. A quick ride in the jump seat of our box truck (an old FedEx truck) was enough reality to cause him sufficient anxiety to seek medical help. This day had been an extreme overdose of reality for someone so used to focusing on a screen. Upon his arrival the following morning, he abruptly quit. Does his dependence upon the screen present in the symptoms of ergophobia? It certainly appeared so.

“Stanley” isn’t alone in the world of misfits. I hired another coder (let’s call him Melvin). Melvin was instructed to sort items and place like items in appropriate locations. Not difficult. Having given him about twenty minutes, I returned to find him with his eyes glued to his phone and little sorting done. Melvin didn’t need to quit, if you know what I mean.

Coding seems to be the wave of the future. Schools have popped up everywhere to teach the subject. Creating apps and games can be very lucrative and is a necessity in today’s world. All you have to do is look at those luminaries who’ve become filthy rich in the field to know there’s money in it. The problem arises when a high ratio of young people focus their hopes and ambitions in this arena, while fields of tradespeople are left wanting.

Older folks, like myself, might think a resume’, primarily listing a history of coding or  video gaming, has little chance of helping to win employment, but that’s not true. Who do you think flies our military drones? It’s basically a video game with live ordnance. The products of coders are needed in countless industries. But what good are they when you need to replace your backyard fence? And what will that replacement cost when there are so few tradespeople competing for your money? What will the drone pilot do when his military service ends and he finds himself competing for employment wit a glut of other gamers? Maybe he’ll go to school to learn how to build a fence, (something he would have known how to do simply growing up in an earlier, more socially interactive generation).

How prevalent are the problems of ergophobia (or related issues) among those so divorced from social and physical interactions with the real world?

 

24 thoughts on “Pallet Jacks vs. Video Gaming.

  1. What i do not understood is actually how you are not really much more well-liked than you might be now. You are so intelligent. You realize therefore considerably relating to this subject, produced me personally consider it from a lot of varied angles. Its like women and men aren’t fascinated unless it is one thing to accomplish with Lady gaga! Your own stuffs nice. Always maintain it up!

  2. My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on numerous websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard fantastic things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!

  3. An excellent read that will keep readers – particularly me – coming back for more! Also, I’d genuinely appreciate if you check my website Webemail24 about Private Investigators Agencies. Thank you and best of luck!

  4. Ahaa, its fastidious conversation regarding this piece of writing at this
    place at this blog, I have read all that, so now me also commenting at this place.

  5. As someone still navigating this field, I find your posts really helpful. My site is ArticleHome and I’d be happy to have some experts about Esports like you check it and provide some feedback.

  6. Hey there, I appreciate you posting great content covering that topic with full attention to details and providing updated data. I believe it is my turn to give back, check out my website Autoprofi for additional resources about Accident Car Purchase.

  7. You absolutely know how to keep your readers interest with your witty thoughts on that topic. I was looking for additional resources, and I am glad I came across your site. Feel free to check my website Articleworld about Social Media Marketing.

  8. Hey there just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same results.

  9. hell there and thannk you for your info – I’ve definbitely picked
    upp ssomething new from right here. I did howeverr expertise
    several technical points usingg this website, as I eperienced tto repoad thee
    website logs of times previous to I could get it tto lod correctly.
    I hadd bewn wobdering if your hoisting iss OK? Not thqt I’m complaining, butt skow
    lpading nstances times will ssometimes affect yourr placement inn google aand culd damzge
    yokur quality scxore if advertiusing and marketing wioth Adwords.
    Weell I’m adding this RSS tto my e-mail andd could look ouut foor a lott mmore
    of your respective excxiting content. Enshre tht youu update this
    again very soon.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *