After my retirement, the only activity I found personally useful was reading, which, ironically, the family did not see as "useful" enough. They were more desperate to see me revive my reading habit than I was. Perhaps they feared that an old man with too much free time could meddle in everything with boundless demands.

This mutual need for me to find a constructive pursuit led to the acquisition of a "tablet." A sleek electronic device that, in their eyes, was a panacea for an otherwise troublesome idle soul.

When the tablet first landed on my lap, it wasn’t a bitter pill to swallow at all. It and I became fast friends. A new chapter of my life unfolded. Reading, which had been challenging, became considerably easier. My restless eyes were fed with content at the tap of a screen.

However, it soon became apparent that the touch-sensitive features of this new device could easily lead to indulgence. I found myself endlessly clicking on Kindle books, curating a library filled with my favorite genres, especially those with high ratings. I must admit, I even bought the same book thrice, and a couple of others twice. With such a feast for my eyes and the tablet’s accessibility features, my reading appetite expanded beyond my usual genres, drawing me towards history, historical fiction, and even the occasional biography.

The ease of buying with just a touch of the screen was a delight, but it also required a bit of caution—especially when it came to managing my finances.

In some ways, I was already somewhat familiar with touch-sensitive screens, thanks to an earlier introduction to a palm-top device, gifted by my elder son. It came with a stylus, and my son, knowing my poor memory for storing phone numbers, thought this would be the perfect tool for me. Alas, my mind still had better capacity than any gadget for storing numbers. I returned it to him with what I now consider one of the greatest lines of my life: "This is a cheap useful device for you, and for me, it’s an expensive toy."

So, what were the side effects of this tablet indulgence? Did this touch-sensitive relationship lead to any new discoveries or dilemmas?

Continued in 209. Touch-me-not - Part 2