I used to be the guy that set up all the tech for most of my family. Now I have a beer and give the device to a nephew or niece. They have the job done in the time it takes to have the beer.Jools wrote:+1.racoll wrote:But have you ever stopped to think that they are perhaps more sophisticated in communicating than we are? The degree of multitasking, adapting and understanding complex and highly dynamic language actually impresses me a lot.
I notice this in the corporate world, despite being over 40, I'm fairly OK (according to Geoff, I'm 20) but I see guys I guess even 10 years younger than me being made to look useless by their inability or unwillingness to do this kind of stuff.
This is a great point Jools.Jools wrote: It was a young crowd, masses of technology present, nobody sitting in a corner staring at a screen. Kids dancing, interacting, all good. However, loads of coverage on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram and so on - some nice content (no more or less shallow than a family album) going on. What I don't notice is any kind of dependency when the technology goes off. I realise I am biased. My kids are too young for me to understand how this will pan out but my hunch is the constant availability of tech will mean they are well equipped to understand when to use it and when not. But I'd much rather they picked up a device and interacted with it than sat in front of the TV. My four year old son is a likely to pick up his iPad and draw something as he is to watch TV (on it), play a recreational or educational game. However if there is something more interesting happening (like jumping on his Uncle) then that's what happens.
Personally I think that us older "kids"
perhaps don't see the bigger picture that you have just described, we only see a part of it, as we observe briefly a single situation.I do not have children, so fear I will not experience the bigger picture as you described, thanks for that.
Interesting, in my business (banking) we are at the point where mobile technology is primarily for consuming information, rather than creating, which is obviously affecting my point of view. Additionally there is the security and privacy aspect, which makes it difficult to accept some things.Jools wrote:
As to the technophobe thing, it's interesting. I see FaceBook (and mobile computing generally) as an enabler. People who don't use computers much can pick up a touch device and be doing things with it very quickly. Another reason why facebook is popular - it's bridged a generational gap.
I am starting to get where you are going Jools.......
I do like the university example that was raised earlier.
I even have another mini story, which has actually helped me to see where Jools is going.
When I was younger, perhaps this was 1999, I was on call as a tech support guy for a company in Australia, even though I was living in NZ.
I took my Grandfather, who was about 80, to the bank as he needed to get some money out. My Cell phone rang, I took the call, started with the techno babble, took about 5 minutes to sort it out for them.
My Grandfather was quite amazed when I explained that it was a guy in Australia and they had an issue with their computer system, which I had just fixed.
I am still sure that until the day he died, he had thought that he had woken up on a different planet that morning.
Cell phones and international support desks and stuff like that is just "normal" to us now!
Actually it may already be old school.
I guess where Jools is coming from is that PC needs to be "enabled" for the next generation of "us"
So how do we do that?
Very much enjoying this topic.
Cheers
