I realised that I would never be able to keep up with the world in early 2020.

I was prepping to sit my Leaving Cert, and just before my pre’s, my Irish teacher taught us a hastily prepared definition of the coronavirus as Gaeilge. There was a chance in our orals that we’d be asked something topical, and with the speed the virus was spreading, she was sure it would be a contender.

Needless to say, as covid impacted all our lives, I never sat my Irish oral - and that is one of the very few blessings to come out of that year.

The onset of the pandemic in 2020 was the catalyst for rapid-fire change in the way we connect as colleagues, friends, partners, and human beings.

But the very technology that had been created to connect us is now in danger of dividing us, six years on.

Now, I’m all for using a card - but it was always going to be easier for my generation to adapt to a so-called contactless banking system.

I had grown up with a family computer in the house. I inherited my mom’s old iPhone 4 when I was 13, and grew accustomed to trouble-shooting problems I had with it by myself. But for most people born in the generations before me - they have automatically been placed at a disadvantage.

Younger generations have the problems of not knowing how to live life without a screen........

© Evening Echo