The dreaded technology issue…I had to bring it up sooner or later so it might as well be now.
I don’t pretend to be a tech geek but I am confident finding information online, manage to juggle three email accounts, a website, social networking sites and enjoy reading blogs or the NYT on my fancy iPhone. I am not afraid of technology, but I know several folks who are and it is hurting the non-profit and public sectors.
A good friend (and very technically savvy boomer I might add) sent me an interesting article in the NYT yesterday. It describes an online textbook business model like Netflix, offering greater access to expensive textbooks at a cheaper price for students. Essentially using technology to increase access to information and cut cost. It is a business model making technology work for the student.
What was even more interesting was a reader comment.
“Technology is big business, so technology needs to be a workhorse, not a game. Another example are school boards – in California we have 1,000 or so school districts. Each district has 5-7 board members. In my 4 year term, it requires a full 48-feet of bookshelf space to house the materials I wade through each month to do my job. The binders, printing, assembling costs are absurd. 48-feet of information is useless. I need a computer to help me wade through the information and make use of it. A paperless board would save our district $200k per year.…. but, but, but we have board members who can barely figure out how to use email, let alone download a document. The old refuse to learn, dictating how the young will learn – oh my.
…I watch our young and older administrators. The older ones have a secretary and staff. The younger ones have a blackberry, apple this or that in their pockets. The older ones take forever to respond to anything. The young are johnny on the spot, responsive and informed. Will somebody do an analysis and get this under control?”
Here is your analysis...people use age as an excuse NOT to use technology. In the spirit of the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall…it’s over, find a new show. Age is not a valid excuse for not using a tool that will increase efficacy and reducing the cost of business. Some of the most tech savvy people I know are boomers or traditionalists. They have embraced the unknown of technology like the rest of us and have made it work for them, as it should be.
My tolerance for looking at technology as an add on or game that you can either play or not play is waning. Technology is here, lets work together to figure out how to use it to our advantage for the sake of our non-profit mission and services. If you are fearful and want to change, its cool, just ask the Gen X’er sitting next to you with an iPhone in her hand, I’d be glad to help you out.
//
…and these new studies that are showing the staggering rate of students who have 8-12 hours/day of media face time. Up from a 2005 study in which researchers thought it peaked. And the conclusion is…they’re all worried. First of all, we need to define “they”. Who are the “they” and why are “they” worried. As uncomfortable as it may seem, the medium has changed, but not the rules of creativity or problem solving. “They” who, let’s be honest just learned how to right-click, are often traditionalists who have (had) ownership over tools of communication. And I’m not sure that cursing the tool is the answer, nor is it really the issue. Technology, being the medium of ambiguity manifests itself in any kind of Smart device that can move information anywhere around the world and back again in the speed of light. With that comes an issue of vulnerability and ultimately transparency in the users which can be scary if abused. So if knowledge can be shared so freely, rapidly, and without shame – there’s no control. So the issue of medium is not the issue at all rather it’s the mindset of change.
I have a technology teacher friend who encourages her students to listen to iPods, text, and surf the net all at the same time, while she intermittently teaches on her Smart Board. She gets it. The kids are engaged and excited in her class. Her objective? She’s freeing her students by working within their system of thinking, while pulling them into an educational hierarchal level of thinking using their choice of medium. Go figure.
The days of pretending technological illiteracy is “cute” are long gone. I believe individuals of whatever age should be looked at as if they have two heads when they imply they avoid technology and the access to information it provides. As for slowing down the exchange of information? – well, at this point, it should be considered rude and they should be informed of this in no uncertain terms. If one is involved in business of any sort – I believe it is beginning to be (if it’s not already) considered unacceptable to lack posession of a smartphone. Forget comfort with utilizing email…if it’s not getting pushed to a smartphone – you’re now two steps behind. I too am willing to tutor anyone who would ask me for assisstance.
For more data about internet usage:
Brief slide shows from slideshare – Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
http://www.slideshare.net/PewInternet/slideshows
The following slide shows are about internet usage by age – 8-12 data slides:
http://www.slideshare.net/PewInternet/generations-online-in-2009-charts
http://www.slideshare.net/PewInternet/baby-boomers-in-the-digital-age
The data was collected in late 2008
I agree. Age is not an excuse. If my Silent G. mother can figure out the iPhone then so can others of all ages. All anyone needs is a reason. She just had one reason and that was to be able to see her email on her phone for a major fundraising event she was in charge of. I think one of the other issues though is the way older folks think of technology. The new lingo scares them and they are afraid that they’ll break something, like it’s a toaster or some other kitchen appliance. I see this with my Mother-in-law. But the real issue is that they don’t see the tools as software that can be limitless or at least have a multitude of work-arounds and ways to get the job done.
The Generation Online Charts 2009 are fascinating RMBell, thanks for sharing. I learned quite a bit. What shocked me most is that there’s really not a tremendous discrepency in online usage in cross-generations as one would think. Based on the percentages in Gen Y – G.I. aggregates, there is similar usages – go grandma! However the type of usage is different, however in one chart, the type of usage in the Gen Y and G.I. is very similar.
I agree with Chris…the slides RMBell posted are amazing. Well worth the time to peruse. I was particularly interested in the circle graph that illustrated uses of technology by generation. I was surprised to see that the generation that uses the internet most for information gathering was GenX, where GenY uses it the least for information gathering. I didn’t expect us to be on opposite sides of the continuum there.
Being a blogger myself…I was also really surprised to see so few GenXer’s who blog. I guess we are an elite group?!
Thanks RMBell…great links.