Can I just sit this one out?

Despite all the pressure to stay up to date, to download TikTok, to embrace a brat summer, to monitor your blood sugar, to eat tubs of sauerkraut and to pay vast amounts for Oasis tickets, it’s perfectly fine if you just decide not to. In fact, it can be very satisfying to think of yourself as a strong, independently-minded person able to rise above fleeting trends, to be a standard bearer for lasting quality and classic style. Would the late Queen have embraced a brat summer? No, she would not. The problem is knowing when your refusal to get swept up in the latest trends becomes sheer stubbornness and you find that you’re being left behind completely, a quaint relic of a bygone age.

I am thinking of my parents-in-law, who never had a computer in the house and by the time it seemed that the internet was here to stay and could be very useful – especially in those dark lockdown days – it was too late. Things had moved on too far and too quickly for those who had never engaged with technology to be able grasp the whole idea. Then there was my mother, who was very good on a computer, but disdained mobile phones. I can remember her saying “But why do people have their phones on all the time?” while we were all wondering why you’d turn it off. She never did get to grips with sending texts and taking photos. She’d just left it too late.

So, what can we safely ignore and what should we pay attention to? I have never downloaded the TikTok app and I’m not convinced that I’m missing anything crucial. It’s also a Chinese-owned company, which raises its own questions. But I do have a sinking feeling that I should know more about AI – or even anything at all on the subject – because it’s massive and it’s here to stay. But where would you start?

Maybe I should learn Excel? But maybe not. I can’t imagine a time when being able to create a pivot table will be the key to leading a full and rewarding life. And if it is, I’m not sure that it’s a life I’d want to live. What about keeping up with popular music? I’ve tried, but I don’t understand the excitement around Taylor Swift. She seems very nice and a force for good, but all her music sounds the same to me. I do enjoy Harry Styles’ music, though, and his fabulous wardrobe and floppy hair have nothing at all to do with it. My son told me the other day that he never listens to new music any more and he’s not even 30, so I’m feeling positively trendy.

I refused to take part in the Game of Thrones hysteria and I think my life’s probably better for it. Especially since Ian McShane, who played Brother Ray in the series, described it as “tits and dragons”. In fact, I don’t pay for any streaming services at all. It’s partly because I’m cheap and partly because I can’t cope with any more choice. It does mean that I can’t watch the TV adaptation of Rivals, Jilly Cooper’s 1980s novel, which everyone’s talking about, but it also gives me time to explore the BBC’s online platform and watch a whole load of fascinating Australian TV that I wouldn’t otherwise know about. Colin from Accounts, Five Bedrooms and The Newsreader are all great.

So, what’s the answer? Inevitably, each generation has a different world view and we all think ours is the right one. Perhaps we just need to adopt a Pick’n’Mix approach – choose what you want and leave the rest. And try and figure out what AI is all about.