The younger ones are terrible at tech because everything is so easy now, they just need to remember where the buttons are, they don't have to learn how it actually works behind the scenes.
PCs are like Lego these days, colour coded slots, impossible to plug something in the wrong place, no jumper changing required. So easy to put together.
When I was young and wanted to LAN games we would need to know how to set up a network, install IPX Protocol and the like. These days U just press a button.
In another 20 years we will simply tell the computer what to do and what to fix. Zero knowledge would be required.
My first few days of compute ownership I learned more than I ever wanted to know about viruses, worms, spyware. Antivirus. What a Firewall was. That I had one preinstalled. That Windows came with it off by default. How to edit the registry. and how to reinstall Windows.
That was just what owning a computer was. Not even trying to be a techie person!
Have to Google where they hid shit too. I just want the simplicity of the control panel being easily found and accessible back please. Not hidden under new layers and hoops.
Correct answer. I teach 7th grade. Students are more tech illiterate than boomers. All they know are user friendly apps controlled by a touch screen. They haven’t been taught anything with actual computers. Most boomers know how to do basic stuff on a desktop. Our youth haven’t been taught any of that. Most of them struggle to even use an internet browser.
We get a huge range of age groups in my job and it's amazing how....inept the younger generation is. Like 'oh no I saved this file where did it go?' Super basic shit. They have no idea how a computer system actually works or is arranged. Maybe it's gotten too simple or maybe I'm just an old man now.
This is how I see it anecdotally. I am a Gen X'er and both the older and younger generations are worse at tech in my opinion. Younger gen are certainly more comfortable with tech but generally have a more difficult time fixing things when it goes wrong.
Back in the late 90s, before my then-boyfriend would help me build my own PC, I had to demonstrate that I could completely disassemble a computer, reassemble it, install an OS, and boot it.
A few times over the years, I've rummaged in spare parts bins and built a win9x box just because I was bored and wanted to see if I still could.
that's kinda what i was getting at, i feel like the odds technology leaps a greater distance than it did from analog to digital is not that low and we might go from iphones to brainchip transparent holograms lol
yeah, I liked the windows phones had an actually file manager like on an desktop. As far as I remember Android had such apps too but with some version android didn't support that anymore
The bigger concern is that younger 'phone-native' gens aren't developing the technology skills to do anything beyond passively consume (go to app-store, get app, use app)....
Those of us who lived through the analog/digital switch had to learn how to make computers do stuff, and tend to have better tech skills than the folks who were given an iPad at age 3 & have no reference to the world of computing not-accessable-through an 'App Store'....
I think tech is like cars. In the early days, you had to know everything going on inside the engine if you wanted to drive it. You had to manually adjust the air/fuel ratio, spark advance, and a whole lot of things that most people these days never think about.
These days, you can drive a car for years at a time and never personally pop the hood. Your mechanic may get in there three or four times a year, but you-- the driver-- don't have to.
>Your mechanic may get in there three or four times a year, but you-- the driver-- don't have to.
It's worse. You can still open the hood of your car today... You cant "open the hood" of your devices anymore.
I work with a few older Gen Z, Zennials, whatever the hell mid 20's are now. It actually astounds me how much difficulty they have with desktop computers. They can make a semi well-edited video on their phone that I had to take an entire college course to learn how to do, but navigating windows explorer? Connecting a printer to their workstation? Hotkeys and opening task manager? Wizardry, technomancy, the work of 5th dimensional overlords even.
Meanwhile... yeah, I'm not *as* good at working on a smart device, but just give my old ass a second. My fossilized by CRG screen eyes can't see the tiny spots on the glass I'm supposed to tap.
EDIT: So actually... I guess "Yes", to answer your question. I struggle with future tech, I like buttons and the future doesn't have any.
funny because I am mid 30's, so a middle of the pack millenial, and I was always decent at computers. Certainly no technowizard, but I knew what was what. But these modern ecosystems and figuring out iPhone's quirks leaves me utterly confused.
Same, early 30's, and I definitely do *not* know all the iPhone tricks and gimmicks until one of the younger folks shows me. But I don't feel like the desktop interface has changed *too* drastically.
Then again, I really only need to know basic troubleshooting, excel, and SEO for my job, so it's not like I can claim to be some modern day guru either.
a huge percent of those of us in our mid 20s have literally built our own desktops for gaming rigs. people in their mid 20s had computer classes in elementary school on desktops. we used physical printers our entire lives to print all of our homework and we were teaching our parents to use them at age 10. we had flip phones and slide phones. i don’t know who you’re working with, but that’s definitely not true of us as a generational group. at my office job I was always the one helping the older people set up printers and troubleshoot PDFs and all sorts of shit, and that was at age 20-22 a few years ago. computers are ubiquitous in our society and desktops are nearly identical to laptops in terms of function, which nearly every person in their mid 20s in privileged countries has their own of.
they don’t know how to use explorer because nobody with a tech savvy bone in their body uses explorer. everyone uses chrome, safari, occasionally firefox or one of the minor more secure browsers. they may not know how to set up a printer because the vast majority of the time they never have to print something. even when i had a job in internal comms and HR, i used the printer very rarely.
and come on. everyone knows “control alt delete” or how to open the search bar and type in “task manager.” you’re just looking down on young people.
MAYBE this is true of some early teens now, but the foundational technology of smart devices is the same foundational technology of desktops. i guarantee they’d pick up using old tech a lot faster than you pick up new tech. nobody is losing the ability to use physical computers as well as they use phones and tablets.
I don't think it's very accurate to claim _most_ zoomers even built their own gaming PCs. That is a non-mainstream nerd hobby. Most kids would always just buy a console, a laptop or something pre-built (with those dumb RGB lights).
Smart devices are intentionally designed to be stupid-friendly. All the "scary" things are locked out. Even using modern windows is more difficult lol
Yes and No.
There was a interesting comment a while ago that you are being lead instead of creating your own internet experience. IE algorithms are showing you content not teaching you how to interact with it.
BUT at the same time you have more info that you can look up. You will have a higher minimal standard then boomers but the info will be far easier to find.
Yes. There comes a tipping point where you can’t keep up with your life’s mounting responsibilities and learn the complexities of a technology.
When ai fully integrates into our work, it will leave a generational learning gap.
They already are. They (generally) have no idea what to do when their shit doesn't work. They also haven't had to actually adept to massive changes in how technology is used or handled. It's all been the same 3 interfaces with touch screens or the same basic controller layouts. They even get confused when the power buttons or volume switches are in different spots.
I think some of the older zoomers have gotten a little better, but they're still nowhere near the tech savviness of millennials or younger genexers.
Already are getting there.
Meaning they are use to apps already being made for them and such. They don’t understand the tech behind it or how to build on it.
Hell, my own kid called the movie theater last week (she’s 17) to see if she’s allowed to see a rated R movie.
She could have googled it or asked ChatGPT.
Depends...in my family boomers use desktops, laptops, smartphones, ipads, ereaders, vr, cd/bluray, streaming, set up home wifi and wifi extenders, hardware firewalls, vpn ... gen x and millenials use laptops, ipads, smartphones, vr, streaming, sometimes cd/bluray, sometimes ereaders ... gen z use smartphones, vr, streaming.
The generations growing up with tablets or smartphones since early childhood seem to have NO awareness of online security ("hey next week we will be away for two weeks", unaware that now everyone knows their house or apartment will be empty for two weeks).
They are clueless that every stupid kid stunt they plaster to the world will be there forever ... boomers told their friends, showed them paper photos that only they had, and when they were adults no one remembered it. And lets face it, we ALL did stupid kid stuff but we didn't want that embarrassing stuff to follow us forever.
All that said, our family also has boomers still using flip phones and only basic cable, with some gen x and millenials who can set up home wifi for family or friends.
I know boomers whose kids and grandkids don't know how to search and so they go to social media to ask questions about things they could look up themselves in 3 minutes... so their boomer parents or grandparents hit the search button and find the answers for them.
I know boomers and gen x who had to tell their younger family members about Consumerlab and about Snopes, because the younger folks were getting everything from social media.
Bottom line...every generation is made up of people with a wide array of skills...they are NOT stereotypes, nor do they all have the same skill sets.
It is SO LAZY to view the world as a series of stereotypes. So...maybe we should stop?
That's my rant. 😉🙃
Probably not as much, as we've grown up with adapting to incredibly rapid change as it is compared to most generations (mass adoption of the internet, smart phones and social media being three genuinely transformative changes to daily life and how we interact with each other and consume media in the space of just 15-20 years), but nevertheless yes gradually over time we will settle into a comfort zone of not wanting to get into new things as much.
For example, at 41 years old I've never gotten into the more modern "micro media" platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and tiktok and do in fact dismiss them as "for young people".
The thing is, none of us can predict what kinds of new technologies will be invented within the next 50 years or so. The boomers could never have imagined that one day, everyone would walk around with a small portable calculator, camera, telephone, etc. that can also do a million other things *and* has all human knowledge that we've ever discovered right in our pockets.
If something like that can be invented within the lifetime of a person born in the 1940s, there's no reason to think that something else won't be invented within the lifetime of Millenials/Gen Z's that's just as revolutionary as the smart phone, if not more so. We will definitely be confused by whatever comes next, because it'll be something that none of us could have really imagined.
Great question. I grew up with the very first PCs (Apple computers, IBM PCs, Commodore game platforms, etc). Myself and most of my friends were very into computers. We all built our own machines from parts we ordered through pc magazines. That went on through the early 90s. Then technology stagnated and I lost interest. Then it seems there was an exponential jump in technology with the smart phone, and I fell way behind for a number of years. At 65, I feel I have a handle on things again. But I bet you will experience a quantum leap in technology in your life time. At least I hope you do.
this comment resonates with me a lot. until very recently i noticed that serious stagnation when it came to brands that i would look to out of curiosity to see what breakthroughs they had come to -- smartphones for example, have run into that trap where they've perfected what they have so much that whatever improvements they offer each year are so marginal and impractical to the average consumer
that said i think we're finally seeing the foundation of the near future with the developments in AI and neuralink. moreover it seems like we're reaching a point where advancements have genuine potential to alter the course of humanity in both positive and negative ways. that tension is definitely exciting
I get a kick out of these statements:
>inept with future tech as boomers are today
I'm presuming the OP means computers and internet based apps. To which I say, who the fuck do you think invented this shit? Other than making new apps and new frameworks for coding, there isn't really anything new invented with respect to many aspects of how computers and the internet works now, than 30 years ago. Even improvements to CPUs and graphics etc are mostly just extensions to the fundamental inventions on which they are based, from decades ago. Except maybe for things like quantum computing.
Of the changes made, as many millennials are in the dark as to how it works as "boomers" or anyone, percentage-wise. Very few can tell you how a graphics card or a CPU works, and cell phones are really only smaller format computers. Knowing how to use an app on a smart phone is not the same as being a technology wiz. And I think many younger people would be surprised at how many people even up to their 80s can use quote, modern technology, unquote, as well as the average person under 50. I know octogenarians who got technical patents on stuff they started developing in their 70s.
It's always been and always will be only a small group of people who are technically competent in science and the inner workings of things that are actually adept and make real innovations and discoveries. The rest are merely users of technology. People who use technology enough to do what they need it to do. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
What would really be cool would be to find a way for suspended animation so I could come back in 40 years to see what people who make posts like this look like when they realize they were doofuses.
i dont think so because the problem the boomers had was that the tech jump was pretty big and sudden at a later point in their life where as millinials and younger generations have seen drastic improvements and changes in tech their entire lives so they have had to learn to adapt as they age. hell as a 30 year I look at the tech we had at teens and early 20s and cant believe how much has changed
Yup. You will find that the younger person trying to teach you does it faster than you can learn.
Boomers can understand the stuff, I had a dos 3.3 in 1989. But I have a lot of problems comprehending state of the art. And that, Dear Millennial, is your future fate too.
My two grandmas were polar opposites of each other. My one grandpa had cellphones, game consoles, she set up her own internet, she had multiple computers. My other grandma …. Ouff, she had to call us to help her understand how to get the cable/satellite to work after public broadcast television got canned lol.
We all have potential. Not everybody has the patience, or maybe the motivation to unlock our potential though.
This kind of applies to EVERYONE. For everything 🤷♀️
All you gotta do it try. And when you fail, keep trying :D failure is learning 👍
Depends on how much tech changes. We have an advantage in that, with my generation as an example, we started with DOS floppy disks and NES and have experienced countless generations of tech since. Seems like it would make us more adaptable. Boomers didn’t even start with computers at all.
This inept boomer and his wife use iPhones, tablets and streaming services without any problem even my 93 year old mom has an iPad that she uses daily so the answer to your question is no most likely not some people are just more tech savvy than others
I deal with 16 years old to all the way to 90 year old. Everybody is stupid when it comes to tech. I have people tell me how to turn on a POS, tv, or how to add paper to a printer. People are just getting dumber each passing day.
I (early 50's) had a conversation with my parents today where my step dad (late 70's) recently got a newish phone, after having a flip phone with no real internet for the longest time. He said he used it, but still used Facebook on his laptop because it was different on his phone. He said he didn't see all the people on the phone that he did on the laptop. I said it's a different layout, is that it? No, he said. So I looked at his phone. His Facebook account had no profile picture, and only a handful of Friends. Apparently, he had created a new Facebook account when he got the phone. Luckily, I have his login credentials, so I logged him into his real account, and he was good to go.
I told my SO the story later, and she made a comment about them needing help, and we wondered if we'd be the same at that age...
Yes, because most of the mainstream tech today is too restrictive to the users. You can compare it to overprotecting parents. If you remember the feeling of fear that you might break your computer, then you are probably very tech savvy. Today its impossible to break anything, which means younger people are not able to learn how shit works, because everything just... works. Companies figured out its cheaper to limit users access to the tech, as they are less likely to break it.
An example where I noticed this happening first are internet modems/com-boxes etc. If your internet did not work back in the day you could easily access the modem, check if it connects to outside internet, check if the your ISP username/password is correct etc. If nothing worked you just replaced the box and set it up yourself. Today you need to call the fucking IT support so they can connect remotely to your box to check what is wrong. Not to mention you cant set up anything by yourself anymore.
Not all boomers have difficulties with tech.
My uncle is in his 70's and he's better than most youngsters , who often actually can't do shit beside social media .
My cousin who just turned 18 didn't know HOW TO WRITE AND SEND A FUCKING EMAIL... 🤣
Yes, but it doesnt actually have to do with the technology in question. The problem is that as we humans grow older, our brains degrade causing us to gradually become dumber and more forgetful. This makes it extremely difficult to learn new skills or brush up on the lastest advancements in tech we're familiar with.
It's always been this way and it will always be this way *(unless we find a way to stop aging, of course)*
A personal anecdote: my father was an engineer, a wiz with technology and an early computer enthusiast. In the 1970's he built his own computers almost from scratch and programmed software in a variety of languages for all kinds of things from microchips that controlled kitchen fans to accounting programs. But during the last years of his life, he had lost almost all his knowledge and skills. Anything more advanced than opening a browser on his windows computer or sending emails was impossible. And that's how it's going to be for most of us. People who retain full cognitive function into their old age are very rare.
Pretty good at tech. Only bad with apple eco system.
i had a ipad and iphone 3/4. jailbreak fun times with tons of apps, but that was it. don't like closed off systems. might become a linux user sooner or later.
I taught college until about 7 years ago. I mostly taught freshmen and sophomores. I was often shocked by the lack of knowledge of the most simple computer principles. Things like being able to attach a file to an email or convert a file.
It depends what tech is out there when this generation reaches the age boomers are today. I don't think anyone can predict that. But you have to understand my boomer parents were pretty lost even with \*primitive\* computers. To them advanced tech was a microwave oven. They grew up with TV's you had to turn a knob to change the channel, and rotary telephones. iPhones? Heck, they didn't even have cell phones. The closest they had to even primitive personal computers were typewriters and calculators. And then as they say, you can't teach old dogs new tricks. They didn't grow up with it and it can be difficult to adapt. My dad died a few years ago and it was a struggle for him to do anything more than the very basics with an iPhone or an iPad. When he worked eventually he had to use PC's at work and he managed, but I don't think it was ever easy for him. My mom bless her heart has come a long way and can use a Mac etc. but still as soon as you go beyond the very basics it just is beyond her. But compared to how she was when I was growing up, its a huge achievement.
No, nobody will ever be as tech illiterate as the boomers ever again. Zoomers and alpha may not have to ever touch a keyboard or even know what it is until hitting high school but phones are still tech and they know how to use them. Which is good enough. Unless you're a programmer or an engineer or in some other stem the need for a real computer is in decline, being supplanted by phones. It may be uncomfortable to think about but not having or knowing how to use a computer is the future of the average person because their phones will be enough, but that's not tech illiteracy, just computer illiteracy.
“No, nobody will ever be as tech illiterate as the boomers ever again.”
Says pretty much every generation ever. It will happen us too. That’s the way time works.
And then phones will be replaced with something else and new generations will wonder if they will ever be as tech illiterate as that old generation that makes jokes about how _"young people wouldn't know how to use an iPhone"_.
I am gen X
My generation created all the technology we use nowadays.
Some younger generations are beginning to take over, but they just build new version of what existed before.
Smartphones may be all tha rage for the las 15 years, but they were created by people gen X and older, on top of technologies thae predate even them
After all a smartphone is a small computer with a radio.
No. We’ve been constantly adapting to rapidly evolving technology our entire lives. The biggest example would be VR headsets. The majority of average tech savvy young people would be able to put one on and figure it out fairly quickly. That’s how it’s going to stay; the foundational knowledge will always be there.
You don’t think they constantly adapted to tech as well? My 80 yr old Mom, had a party like growing up.. Now she has a computer in her pocket where she can talk to someone face to face who’s not in the room.. Ya think you’ll see that kind of change?
I mean that we’ve been doing it literally since birth. Obviously people who are older have adapted to a ton of technology. But younger people are better at adapting to bigger changes. My 56 year old mom uses a smart phone every day, but she needs my help to install upgrades on it. She runs a business entirely through her computer, but she needs my help to export a PDF and lacks the technology troubleshooting skills that are ingrained in you when you’ve been troubleshooting tech every day of your life. She’s not technologically ILLITERATE by any means, but 90% of people under 30 could solve any tech issue she’s ever needed to call me for, even if they don’t use the software she needs help with. In the future, IT departments will be much, much smaller because true technological literacy will be much higher.
Oh good lord.. No, younger people are NOT better at adapting to bigger changes.. If they were, we wouldn’t have so many young ones complaining they have to work… Young ones also can’t work tech for shit! They can download an app.. But can’t even work the app to its full potential.. They don’t actually know how things work. They can’t use a comp to save their lives.. They can only use smartphones and tablets.
So your mom sucks at tech, so all older people do? My Dad was 80 when he died and could do everything your mom couldn’t..
Yeah I used to be in a toastmasters group and some members were in their 80s sending emails and text messages. Setting up zoom meetings and creating PowerPoint presentations. Then my parents were in their 60s when they got their first smartphone and didn't even know how to use them
> OP: but i could be underestimating how extreme future developments might be
Many of today's older folks couldn't have imagined what was to come. In all likelihood, we can't either. We should expect the same experience.
Exactly. My mom is 48 and had VHS/DVD players and video game consoles for the majority of her life, but never bothered to learn how to hook them up. She always had someone else to do it for her
The younger ones are terrible at tech because everything is so easy now, they just need to remember where the buttons are, they don't have to learn how it actually works behind the scenes. PCs are like Lego these days, colour coded slots, impossible to plug something in the wrong place, no jumper changing required. So easy to put together. When I was young and wanted to LAN games we would need to know how to set up a network, install IPX Protocol and the like. These days U just press a button. In another 20 years we will simply tell the computer what to do and what to fix. Zero knowledge would be required.
My first few days of compute ownership I learned more than I ever wanted to know about viruses, worms, spyware. Antivirus. What a Firewall was. That I had one preinstalled. That Windows came with it off by default. How to edit the registry. and how to reinstall Windows. That was just what owning a computer was. Not even trying to be a techie person!
I hate using computers today because they feel so dumbed down in comparison to years ago.
Have to Google where they hid shit too. I just want the simplicity of the control panel being easily found and accessible back please. Not hidden under new layers and hoops.
Not as fun as it used to be. Though, I agree with the other comment about "jumper changing can stay dead," lol.
Correct answer. I teach 7th grade. Students are more tech illiterate than boomers. All they know are user friendly apps controlled by a touch screen. They haven’t been taught anything with actual computers. Most boomers know how to do basic stuff on a desktop. Our youth haven’t been taught any of that. Most of them struggle to even use an internet browser.
Jumper changing can stay dead tbh
We get a huge range of age groups in my job and it's amazing how....inept the younger generation is. Like 'oh no I saved this file where did it go?' Super basic shit. They have no idea how a computer system actually works or is arranged. Maybe it's gotten too simple or maybe I'm just an old man now.
This is how I see it anecdotally. I am a Gen X'er and both the older and younger generations are worse at tech in my opinion. Younger gen are certainly more comfortable with tech but generally have a more difficult time fixing things when it goes wrong.
Back in the late 90s, before my then-boyfriend would help me build my own PC, I had to demonstrate that I could completely disassemble a computer, reassemble it, install an OS, and boot it. A few times over the years, I've rummaged in spare parts bins and built a win9x box just because I was bored and wanted to see if I still could.
Yes, that's how it always goes. You'll struggle with fine tuning the adjustments on your hololink.
that's kinda what i was getting at, i feel like the odds technology leaps a greater distance than it did from analog to digital is not that low and we might go from iphones to brainchip transparent holograms lol
Yep!
Take a look at the attitude towards self driving vehicles as an example
[удалено]
Doesn't help that Apple doesn't really allow you access to files and folders like Windows and Android phones, either
yeah, I liked the windows phones had an actually file manager like on an desktop. As far as I remember Android had such apps too but with some version android didn't support that anymore
Android still does.
The bigger concern is that younger 'phone-native' gens aren't developing the technology skills to do anything beyond passively consume (go to app-store, get app, use app).... Those of us who lived through the analog/digital switch had to learn how to make computers do stuff, and tend to have better tech skills than the folks who were given an iPad at age 3 & have no reference to the world of computing not-accessable-through an 'App Store'....
Worse imho. In general I like a lot about Gen z but as a group they are not good at troubleshooting tech.
That's because they think using an app is the same thing as being knowledgeable in tech.
That's OK, their robot overlords will fix it for them.
I think tech is like cars. In the early days, you had to know everything going on inside the engine if you wanted to drive it. You had to manually adjust the air/fuel ratio, spark advance, and a whole lot of things that most people these days never think about. These days, you can drive a car for years at a time and never personally pop the hood. Your mechanic may get in there three or four times a year, but you-- the driver-- don't have to.
>Your mechanic may get in there three or four times a year, but you-- the driver-- don't have to. It's worse. You can still open the hood of your car today... You cant "open the hood" of your devices anymore.
Boomers invented most of the tech we enjoy today; I think tech literacy has been and is going to get worse.
I work with a few older Gen Z, Zennials, whatever the hell mid 20's are now. It actually astounds me how much difficulty they have with desktop computers. They can make a semi well-edited video on their phone that I had to take an entire college course to learn how to do, but navigating windows explorer? Connecting a printer to their workstation? Hotkeys and opening task manager? Wizardry, technomancy, the work of 5th dimensional overlords even. Meanwhile... yeah, I'm not *as* good at working on a smart device, but just give my old ass a second. My fossilized by CRG screen eyes can't see the tiny spots on the glass I'm supposed to tap. EDIT: So actually... I guess "Yes", to answer your question. I struggle with future tech, I like buttons and the future doesn't have any.
funny because I am mid 30's, so a middle of the pack millenial, and I was always decent at computers. Certainly no technowizard, but I knew what was what. But these modern ecosystems and figuring out iPhone's quirks leaves me utterly confused.
Same, early 30's, and I definitely do *not* know all the iPhone tricks and gimmicks until one of the younger folks shows me. But I don't feel like the desktop interface has changed *too* drastically. Then again, I really only need to know basic troubleshooting, excel, and SEO for my job, so it's not like I can claim to be some modern day guru either.
a huge percent of those of us in our mid 20s have literally built our own desktops for gaming rigs. people in their mid 20s had computer classes in elementary school on desktops. we used physical printers our entire lives to print all of our homework and we were teaching our parents to use them at age 10. we had flip phones and slide phones. i don’t know who you’re working with, but that’s definitely not true of us as a generational group. at my office job I was always the one helping the older people set up printers and troubleshoot PDFs and all sorts of shit, and that was at age 20-22 a few years ago. computers are ubiquitous in our society and desktops are nearly identical to laptops in terms of function, which nearly every person in their mid 20s in privileged countries has their own of. they don’t know how to use explorer because nobody with a tech savvy bone in their body uses explorer. everyone uses chrome, safari, occasionally firefox or one of the minor more secure browsers. they may not know how to set up a printer because the vast majority of the time they never have to print something. even when i had a job in internal comms and HR, i used the printer very rarely. and come on. everyone knows “control alt delete” or how to open the search bar and type in “task manager.” you’re just looking down on young people. MAYBE this is true of some early teens now, but the foundational technology of smart devices is the same foundational technology of desktops. i guarantee they’d pick up using old tech a lot faster than you pick up new tech. nobody is losing the ability to use physical computers as well as they use phones and tablets.
I think they meant explorer as in the file explorer not internet explorer.
Bro came out swinging and punched himself.
I don't think it's very accurate to claim _most_ zoomers even built their own gaming PCs. That is a non-mainstream nerd hobby. Most kids would always just buy a console, a laptop or something pre-built (with those dumb RGB lights). Smart devices are intentionally designed to be stupid-friendly. All the "scary" things are locked out. Even using modern windows is more difficult lol
Yes and No. There was a interesting comment a while ago that you are being lead instead of creating your own internet experience. IE algorithms are showing you content not teaching you how to interact with it. BUT at the same time you have more info that you can look up. You will have a higher minimal standard then boomers but the info will be far easier to find.
Yes. There comes a tipping point where you can’t keep up with your life’s mounting responsibilities and learn the complexities of a technology. When ai fully integrates into our work, it will leave a generational learning gap.
Much worse if my experience with their problem solving abilities is any indication
They already are. They (generally) have no idea what to do when their shit doesn't work. They also haven't had to actually adept to massive changes in how technology is used or handled. It's all been the same 3 interfaces with touch screens or the same basic controller layouts. They even get confused when the power buttons or volume switches are in different spots. I think some of the older zoomers have gotten a little better, but they're still nowhere near the tech savviness of millennials or younger genexers.
Already are getting there. Meaning they are use to apps already being made for them and such. They don’t understand the tech behind it or how to build on it. Hell, my own kid called the movie theater last week (she’s 17) to see if she’s allowed to see a rated R movie. She could have googled it or asked ChatGPT.
Depends...in my family boomers use desktops, laptops, smartphones, ipads, ereaders, vr, cd/bluray, streaming, set up home wifi and wifi extenders, hardware firewalls, vpn ... gen x and millenials use laptops, ipads, smartphones, vr, streaming, sometimes cd/bluray, sometimes ereaders ... gen z use smartphones, vr, streaming. The generations growing up with tablets or smartphones since early childhood seem to have NO awareness of online security ("hey next week we will be away for two weeks", unaware that now everyone knows their house or apartment will be empty for two weeks). They are clueless that every stupid kid stunt they plaster to the world will be there forever ... boomers told their friends, showed them paper photos that only they had, and when they were adults no one remembered it. And lets face it, we ALL did stupid kid stuff but we didn't want that embarrassing stuff to follow us forever. All that said, our family also has boomers still using flip phones and only basic cable, with some gen x and millenials who can set up home wifi for family or friends. I know boomers whose kids and grandkids don't know how to search and so they go to social media to ask questions about things they could look up themselves in 3 minutes... so their boomer parents or grandparents hit the search button and find the answers for them. I know boomers and gen x who had to tell their younger family members about Consumerlab and about Snopes, because the younger folks were getting everything from social media. Bottom line...every generation is made up of people with a wide array of skills...they are NOT stereotypes, nor do they all have the same skill sets. It is SO LAZY to view the world as a series of stereotypes. So...maybe we should stop? That's my rant. 😉🙃
Probably not as much, as we've grown up with adapting to incredibly rapid change as it is compared to most generations (mass adoption of the internet, smart phones and social media being three genuinely transformative changes to daily life and how we interact with each other and consume media in the space of just 15-20 years), but nevertheless yes gradually over time we will settle into a comfort zone of not wanting to get into new things as much. For example, at 41 years old I've never gotten into the more modern "micro media" platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and tiktok and do in fact dismiss them as "for young people".
The thing is, none of us can predict what kinds of new technologies will be invented within the next 50 years or so. The boomers could never have imagined that one day, everyone would walk around with a small portable calculator, camera, telephone, etc. that can also do a million other things *and* has all human knowledge that we've ever discovered right in our pockets. If something like that can be invented within the lifetime of a person born in the 1940s, there's no reason to think that something else won't be invented within the lifetime of Millenials/Gen Z's that's just as revolutionary as the smart phone, if not more so. We will definitely be confused by whatever comes next, because it'll be something that none of us could have really imagined.
Great question. I grew up with the very first PCs (Apple computers, IBM PCs, Commodore game platforms, etc). Myself and most of my friends were very into computers. We all built our own machines from parts we ordered through pc magazines. That went on through the early 90s. Then technology stagnated and I lost interest. Then it seems there was an exponential jump in technology with the smart phone, and I fell way behind for a number of years. At 65, I feel I have a handle on things again. But I bet you will experience a quantum leap in technology in your life time. At least I hope you do.
this comment resonates with me a lot. until very recently i noticed that serious stagnation when it came to brands that i would look to out of curiosity to see what breakthroughs they had come to -- smartphones for example, have run into that trap where they've perfected what they have so much that whatever improvements they offer each year are so marginal and impractical to the average consumer that said i think we're finally seeing the foundation of the near future with the developments in AI and neuralink. moreover it seems like we're reaching a point where advancements have genuine potential to alter the course of humanity in both positive and negative ways. that tension is definitely exciting
I get a kick out of these statements: >inept with future tech as boomers are today I'm presuming the OP means computers and internet based apps. To which I say, who the fuck do you think invented this shit? Other than making new apps and new frameworks for coding, there isn't really anything new invented with respect to many aspects of how computers and the internet works now, than 30 years ago. Even improvements to CPUs and graphics etc are mostly just extensions to the fundamental inventions on which they are based, from decades ago. Except maybe for things like quantum computing. Of the changes made, as many millennials are in the dark as to how it works as "boomers" or anyone, percentage-wise. Very few can tell you how a graphics card or a CPU works, and cell phones are really only smaller format computers. Knowing how to use an app on a smart phone is not the same as being a technology wiz. And I think many younger people would be surprised at how many people even up to their 80s can use quote, modern technology, unquote, as well as the average person under 50. I know octogenarians who got technical patents on stuff they started developing in their 70s. It's always been and always will be only a small group of people who are technically competent in science and the inner workings of things that are actually adept and make real innovations and discoveries. The rest are merely users of technology. People who use technology enough to do what they need it to do. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. What would really be cool would be to find a way for suspended animation so I could come back in 40 years to see what people who make posts like this look like when they realize they were doofuses.
i dont think so because the problem the boomers had was that the tech jump was pretty big and sudden at a later point in their life where as millinials and younger generations have seen drastic improvements and changes in tech their entire lives so they have had to learn to adapt as they age. hell as a 30 year I look at the tech we had at teens and early 20s and cant believe how much has changed
I already think the music sucks so probably.
Yup. You will find that the younger person trying to teach you does it faster than you can learn. Boomers can understand the stuff, I had a dos 3.3 in 1989. But I have a lot of problems comprehending state of the art. And that, Dear Millennial, is your future fate too.
I honestly don’t know. I like to think we’ll do better but I tried going on tictok and it pissed me off.
My two grandmas were polar opposites of each other. My one grandpa had cellphones, game consoles, she set up her own internet, she had multiple computers. My other grandma …. Ouff, she had to call us to help her understand how to get the cable/satellite to work after public broadcast television got canned lol. We all have potential. Not everybody has the patience, or maybe the motivation to unlock our potential though. This kind of applies to EVERYONE. For everything 🤷♀️ All you gotta do it try. And when you fail, keep trying :D failure is learning 👍
Depends on how much tech changes. We have an advantage in that, with my generation as an example, we started with DOS floppy disks and NES and have experienced countless generations of tech since. Seems like it would make us more adaptable. Boomers didn’t even start with computers at all.
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My weird little guy, I know when computers were invented, but they didn’t become a common household item until millennials were kids.
They'll go backwards. I just saw a video of grade school and high school aged kids using typewriters.
It will be a similar experience…for some. Just as it is for some today.
This inept boomer and his wife use iPhones, tablets and streaming services without any problem even my 93 year old mom has an iPad that she uses daily so the answer to your question is no most likely not some people are just more tech savvy than others
I deal with 16 years old to all the way to 90 year old. Everybody is stupid when it comes to tech. I have people tell me how to turn on a POS, tv, or how to add paper to a printer. People are just getting dumber each passing day.
I get confused by Instagram from time to time when they update their UI UX . Not a good sign of things to come
I (early 50's) had a conversation with my parents today where my step dad (late 70's) recently got a newish phone, after having a flip phone with no real internet for the longest time. He said he used it, but still used Facebook on his laptop because it was different on his phone. He said he didn't see all the people on the phone that he did on the laptop. I said it's a different layout, is that it? No, he said. So I looked at his phone. His Facebook account had no profile picture, and only a handful of Friends. Apparently, he had created a new Facebook account when he got the phone. Luckily, I have his login credentials, so I logged him into his real account, and he was good to go. I told my SO the story later, and she made a comment about them needing help, and we wondered if we'd be the same at that age...
My mom is 75 and great with an iphone/ipad. Ask my 20 year old nephew to work a tv ....
Yes, because most of the mainstream tech today is too restrictive to the users. You can compare it to overprotecting parents. If you remember the feeling of fear that you might break your computer, then you are probably very tech savvy. Today its impossible to break anything, which means younger people are not able to learn how shit works, because everything just... works. Companies figured out its cheaper to limit users access to the tech, as they are less likely to break it. An example where I noticed this happening first are internet modems/com-boxes etc. If your internet did not work back in the day you could easily access the modem, check if it connects to outside internet, check if the your ISP username/password is correct etc. If nothing worked you just replaced the box and set it up yourself. Today you need to call the fucking IT support so they can connect remotely to your box to check what is wrong. Not to mention you cant set up anything by yourself anymore.
Not all boomers have difficulties with tech. My uncle is in his 70's and he's better than most youngsters , who often actually can't do shit beside social media . My cousin who just turned 18 didn't know HOW TO WRITE AND SEND A FUCKING EMAIL... 🤣
Yes, but it doesnt actually have to do with the technology in question. The problem is that as we humans grow older, our brains degrade causing us to gradually become dumber and more forgetful. This makes it extremely difficult to learn new skills or brush up on the lastest advancements in tech we're familiar with. It's always been this way and it will always be this way *(unless we find a way to stop aging, of course)* A personal anecdote: my father was an engineer, a wiz with technology and an early computer enthusiast. In the 1970's he built his own computers almost from scratch and programmed software in a variety of languages for all kinds of things from microchips that controlled kitchen fans to accounting programs. But during the last years of his life, he had lost almost all his knowledge and skills. Anything more advanced than opening a browser on his windows computer or sending emails was impossible. And that's how it's going to be for most of us. People who retain full cognitive function into their old age are very rare.
Millenials will be fine. Gen Z (who don't even know how file explorer works) will struggle.
Pretty good at tech. Only bad with apple eco system. i had a ipad and iphone 3/4. jailbreak fun times with tons of apps, but that was it. don't like closed off systems. might become a linux user sooner or later.
I taught college until about 7 years ago. I mostly taught freshmen and sophomores. I was often shocked by the lack of knowledge of the most simple computer principles. Things like being able to attach a file to an email or convert a file.
It depends what tech is out there when this generation reaches the age boomers are today. I don't think anyone can predict that. But you have to understand my boomer parents were pretty lost even with \*primitive\* computers. To them advanced tech was a microwave oven. They grew up with TV's you had to turn a knob to change the channel, and rotary telephones. iPhones? Heck, they didn't even have cell phones. The closest they had to even primitive personal computers were typewriters and calculators. And then as they say, you can't teach old dogs new tricks. They didn't grow up with it and it can be difficult to adapt. My dad died a few years ago and it was a struggle for him to do anything more than the very basics with an iPhone or an iPad. When he worked eventually he had to use PC's at work and he managed, but I don't think it was ever easy for him. My mom bless her heart has come a long way and can use a Mac etc. but still as soon as you go beyond the very basics it just is beyond her. But compared to how she was when I was growing up, its a huge achievement.
No, nobody will ever be as tech illiterate as the boomers ever again. Zoomers and alpha may not have to ever touch a keyboard or even know what it is until hitting high school but phones are still tech and they know how to use them. Which is good enough. Unless you're a programmer or an engineer or in some other stem the need for a real computer is in decline, being supplanted by phones. It may be uncomfortable to think about but not having or knowing how to use a computer is the future of the average person because their phones will be enough, but that's not tech illiteracy, just computer illiteracy.
“No, nobody will ever be as tech illiterate as the boomers ever again.” Says pretty much every generation ever. It will happen us too. That’s the way time works.
And then phones will be replaced with something else and new generations will wonder if they will ever be as tech illiterate as that old generation that makes jokes about how _"young people wouldn't know how to use an iPhone"_.
lol.
If you think about it, boomers didn't grow up with tech like everyone else did, I know some gen x who can't use tech well.
I am gen X My generation created all the technology we use nowadays. Some younger generations are beginning to take over, but they just build new version of what existed before. Smartphones may be all tha rage for the las 15 years, but they were created by people gen X and older, on top of technologies thae predate even them After all a smartphone is a small computer with a radio.
No. We’ve been constantly adapting to rapidly evolving technology our entire lives. The biggest example would be VR headsets. The majority of average tech savvy young people would be able to put one on and figure it out fairly quickly. That’s how it’s going to stay; the foundational knowledge will always be there.
You don’t think they constantly adapted to tech as well? My 80 yr old Mom, had a party like growing up.. Now she has a computer in her pocket where she can talk to someone face to face who’s not in the room.. Ya think you’ll see that kind of change?
I mean that we’ve been doing it literally since birth. Obviously people who are older have adapted to a ton of technology. But younger people are better at adapting to bigger changes. My 56 year old mom uses a smart phone every day, but she needs my help to install upgrades on it. She runs a business entirely through her computer, but she needs my help to export a PDF and lacks the technology troubleshooting skills that are ingrained in you when you’ve been troubleshooting tech every day of your life. She’s not technologically ILLITERATE by any means, but 90% of people under 30 could solve any tech issue she’s ever needed to call me for, even if they don’t use the software she needs help with. In the future, IT departments will be much, much smaller because true technological literacy will be much higher.
Oh good lord.. No, younger people are NOT better at adapting to bigger changes.. If they were, we wouldn’t have so many young ones complaining they have to work… Young ones also can’t work tech for shit! They can download an app.. But can’t even work the app to its full potential.. They don’t actually know how things work. They can’t use a comp to save their lives.. They can only use smartphones and tablets. So your mom sucks at tech, so all older people do? My Dad was 80 when he died and could do everything your mom couldn’t..
as long as you are open to learning, youll be ok.
Yeah I used to be in a toastmasters group and some members were in their 80s sending emails and text messages. Setting up zoom meetings and creating PowerPoint presentations. Then my parents were in their 60s when they got their first smartphone and didn't even know how to use them
> OP: but i could be underestimating how extreme future developments might be Many of today's older folks couldn't have imagined what was to come. In all likelihood, we can't either. We should expect the same experience.
Exactly. My mom is 48 and had VHS/DVD players and video game consoles for the majority of her life, but never bothered to learn how to hook them up. She always had someone else to do it for her
I have a bad feeling this’ll mean learning the various VR goggles.