So last week I posted a link about a round table discussion I was a part of. The topic of this discussion was women of different generations in the work place and how they work together. One of the things that I have often felt is that woman of the older generation are resistant to changes in technology. In the past when I have worked with some of the Boomers I know, it seemed like they had this underlying idea that they were unable to understand the processes. This is totally untrue as they are some of the most intelligent women I know, but I think that they were told (as a generation) that technology was mysterious and that it was something not to venture too deep into.
Over the years of being the family tech support Diva, i have developed a method of trying to anticipate their concerns and their fears about not being able to do something. Starting out, sometimes my mom would get so frustrated and its almost like you had to talk her down. My method of learning things is a sort of trial and error method whereas I think she would have preffered a more linear show me and i will do method. For a while it seemed like even though she was working on similar programs (say different Office products) needed step by step instructions when in fact the commands and the structure was all very similar.
I do have to commend my mother on her early(ish) adoption of digital cameras and later photo printing. My mom is a teacher and she is always doing really cool projects with her students, and she would always take lots of pictures. Some she would give to them others she would keep. Sometimes she made books out of them. The digital camera was such a good investment for her. She used the first one she had for quite a while. It was a beast of a camera. And then when she started doing the habitat for humanity stuff she decided to get a small little camera. Her needs had changed and so she changed the technology to better suit her needs. On this last trip to Uganda, she even picked up a cell phone(!) and was sending my text messages like nobodies business (!). Again she adopted this technology because of a need and learned to use the features that she needed.
My aunt has also been blossoming in a similar fashion. Her first real purchase was her iMac. She chose the iMac because it was plug and go and I think has been pretty happy with it. She probably wouldn’t have gotten a new computer but I think she needed to do alot of email stuff with this volunteer organization she was working with. She was working with the redcross as a volunteer for when disasters happen and had to be on call so she got a pay as you go cell phone. Ultimately the cellphone was not a big hit because she only used it about once a month and then when she stopped working that volunteer position she didn’t need it. But this last month she decided to take a photography course (although she is already a great photographer) and one of the things they suggested was to have a digital camera so that they could evaluate the photos right then and there. One day she sent me an email with the online research she had done, the prices she had found and so on, and I was so proud of her. She was using this technology, looking up reviews, finding prices online and she ended up finding a camera that fit her needs and didn’t get screwed on the price.
WHat I am trying to say in my long winded way is that while I adopt technology for adopting sake I realize that the older generation is not inherently against the uptake of new technology, its just that they need a better reason for it. I signed up for Youmail.com just because. I already have voicemail, but after trying the service, I would be sad to let it go. I tried it because I wanted to see it work not because I needed it. My mom needed a cell phone in Uganda. There few people have land line phones, but everyone can get a cell phone, and seeing as she was out and about it made sense in that context for her. I on the other hand want a new cell phone. Now that I made this site postable from a cell phone, i want to use that functionality.
So to sum this up, the way I see it, older adopters adopt new technology out of necessity to the situation or context. It the work context, their resistance to new technology is because they don’t see how it could benefit them and/or don’t know how it works, and perhaps in the life side of things, they already have their ways of doing things. On the other hand, many younger adopters adopt technology because it exists and may embrace it if it allows them to do new things, or may let it fade away if it doesn’t turn out to be something useful. Either way they give it a try.
long post I know, its just something I have been thinking about
