Technology through the Generations

I interviewed people from three different age groups.  One was in their 30’s, one in their 40’s, and the last person was in their 50’s.  All were women.  Two are professors here and another is a business analyst at an insurance company. 

The first thing most said was that they didn’t really see huge differences in their young lives without computers because they didn’t know anything different.  It wasn’t weird to not be able to use a computer because no one was doing it at the time!  My mom focused on how differently information was found, because she was always forced to go to the library to find information, usually in encyclopedias.  There wasn’t an internet for her to search!  She also mentioned that when you needed to find someone to do a service for you (a lawn service, for example) you looked in the phone book, not on the internet.  Phone books had a much greater use then than they do now. 

All three women have embraced technology now, and think that things have changed for the better.  It’s easier to communicate and find what you need now that we have computers and the internet.  No one said that they had a particularly difficult time transitioning into it.  It was something they had to learn as they got older, but they all assured me that they had a firm grasp of technology now.  They do recognize that it is easier for younger generations to pick up on technology because they’ve had it for their whole lives, but many adults did transition quite well. 

Two out of my three interviewees did mention that new technology may have been embraced a little too much.  They thought that communication may have been negatively affected because there is less face-to-face conversation.  Many things are done via text and e-mail, as even phone calls have become too long to commit to! 

The youngest person I interviewed was right on the cusp of our age requirement.  She had a computer at home in high school, but it was just for word processing.  She remembers having one in school for Oregon Trail, but when she was younger those were really the only two things computers did.  She never had a computer in college, although they were used frequently.  She got her first e-mail address in college, which was an exciting entrance into a world of technology for her.  She enjoyed using computers in college because she said it made things easier and more efficient. 

I can definitely see the differences between the lives of these women and my own.  I don’t think I used the computer more than the average child, but I’ve had one in my house for as long as I can remember.  I would bet that we were one of the first houses in my school to get internet, because my father was a software designer.  We have around 6 computers in my house now, and countless floppy disks and software that seem so simple when I look at them now.  At one point we actually bought something with hundreds of different clip-art images.  This makes me laugh now because of how easily I could Google an image that I wanted and get it for free.  My dad was probably on the computer more than anyone in our house, and I don’t think that it made me any less social growing up.  I spent most of my time playing outside with friends, because I thought it was more interesting than my computer.  I do love the ease of the internet though, and I can’t imagine going to college without it!  I feel like projects would have been especially difficult if it weren’t for Google and the Library Catalog. 

            Matthew Moore, an author of the British newspaper The Telegraph, discussed how some of the changes have affected the world.  He noted that people are more willing to disagree, because faceless online forums have taken many people’s decorum.  He also stated that memory and concentration seem to be losing their value because we could just Google a fact instead of remembering it.  He also discusses how handwriting is losing its value now that everything is typed now.  One of my interviewees also mentioned this.  She is happy that she was forced to have good handwriting in school, because many people now have more or less lost that skill, and it is a shame because it isn’t very hard to learn!  

Moore, Matthew. "Ways the Web Has Changed the World - Telegraph." The Telegraph Online. The Telegraph, 18 Sept. 2009. Web. 01 Feb. 2012. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6207343/Ways-the-web-has-changed-the-world.html>.