Oh the Changes You Will See (Blog Four)

When I first heard about this prompt for the blog, I got very excited. My parents and I have never really discussed the change in technology since they were kids, except for in passing. And I had never talked to my grandma on the subject...ever. Seems strange since I honestly do have such an interest in the subject. I have seen the change in action though. My parents, throughout our conversation, made simple mistakes such as calling it "The Facebook" and "Gloogle" (That's not a typo). These phrases that make them seem old make my grandma seem ancient, since she doesn't even know what they are. During our interview, I went on to explain them, and it ended in her giving me a baffled look and saying..."Why does anyone need that?".

And that...that is a great point. Why do we really need these things. Over the course of the interviews, I learned that they got by, whether it be in education, in life, or just for killing time. They didn't get awkward in a social situation and pull out their phones. They just dealt with it. They didn't sit there and look up a fact on their phone to prove their friend wrong, they impressed them by the facts they had learned and knew. So where have we gone to? The fulfillment is gone. The joy of knowing facts or being fulfilled after completing a task are gone, because it simply is too easy. When talking to my grandmother about how she made her family recipes, she talked about how she either learned it as a kid, or learned it from a book, or went next door and got the recipe from a neighbor. Learning, reading, social interaction. My parents did the same. But I..I am in the generation where it is all at the tips of my fingers. I pulled up some recipes my grandma makes on my phone, and she says..."Where's the fun in that?". And by God she was right. There's something fun about pulling out an old book and finding the recipe and making said recipe without worrying about getting flour or sauce on your phone while cooking. There's something more fun about just knowing information than having it at your fingertips. And there's something more fun about just getting out there in the world than sitting alone in your room on Facebook. Something...and my parents were shocked when I said this...nostalgic about it. Something fun about getting "back to the basics", or just what my parents and grandparents grew up doing all the time. This "nostalgic" fun used to be the only way to do it. But unfortunately, one thing still remains the same. People are always bored...ALWAYS...Take it away judging narrator from the 50's...

C'mon Ken....Bird watching is obviously way more fun than sitting in your room doing nothing. You should be out in nature...doing....nothing.

But one thing I was interested in figuring out is when people stop caring about how technology changes or being up with the latest technology. I mean, it is very rare when I see someone who is in their 60's and into the latest technology. There's a point where people just stop caring. And it may be sooner than I think. I was also talking to my young cousin (in a totally unrelated event) and he brought up how he got this new toy for his birthday. And you know what, I didn't have a clue what it was. I was baffled by how it worked, I just didn't know. And it made me fear that my whole idea of being the "cool grandpa who uses the stuff the kids do" just won't be a possible realization.  But this makes sense. And this week, instead of a quote from an article, I bring you something that's a little easier on the eyes...

Notice the differences between the younger "Digital Media Junkies" and older "Traditionalists". It seems that no matter what year we're in or what technology we have, the older we get, the more we sit back in what we knew in our younger years. My grandma still reads the newspaper, my parents still listen to Motown, and I am beginning to enjoy watching the shows from my childhood. I think it is not a matter of not wanting to be a part of advancing technology...it's just more comfortable and easier to relax back with something we know. 

Source: 

Macmanus, Richard. 2011. Graphic. ReadWriteWebWeb. 17 Sep 2012. http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/older_people_not_using_smartphones_or_digital_media.php