My uncle is reliant on technology more than anyone I know, and is constantly feeding my little cousins dependency. This last Christmas my 7-year-old cousin got her own Mac book, but none of us were too surprised. What really shocked us was my grandpa’s gift: the iPhone.
My grandpa is more tech savvy than others in his generation. He uses yahoo chat, regularly checks his e-mail, and has a cell phone. I would also say that I relate to him and spend more time with him than my other grandparents who aren't so technologically advanced. However, I thought an iPhone would be too much for someone his age. Surprisingly, my grandpa has become accustomed to his phone. He might not use all the features, and it took some time for him to adjust to a touch screen, but he now uses the phone to play games, check his e-mail etc. Like me, his computer remains off for days. My grandpa isn't the only one acclimating to the current generations' demands. My friend recently received a text from her great grandma. She replied to her grandma: "You're sending text messages now??" Her great grandmas reply: "I don’t know, is this a text?" Our older generation definitely feels a pressure to conform to the technology that has become necessary for communication.
Maybe the generation gap between our grandparents and us isn't as great as we thought. Many people look at older generations and think that they're very behind us. In reality, we might be falling behind. The generations younger than us are already far more fast paced and connected than we were at their age. The gap between my cousin and me is far larger than the gap between my grandpa and me. I didn't think a 7 year old would ever know more about computers and phones than me. I also didn't expect to get a Facebook friend request from my 9 year old cousin, or watch my younger sister (only three years younger) juggle her laptop, iPad, iTouch, and the TV remote. As the New York Times points out, the gap between younger generations and us is growing every year. I can’t help but wonder at what point it'll be too much for someone to handle, but as of now there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight..
2 comments:
This post is very close to the changes I am seeing in my family. Since my mom started texting 2 years ago, we are in constant communication. In our case it has made our relationship much better, it is easier to tell her when I am too busy or have a quick question. This has helped our relationship but with the generation older than us I think it may be more harmful. I think that many of the adults that are two generations older have a huge gap in communication from my generation. I think that in some cases, elders may feel intimidated by the younger generations ability to use technology. I also think that my generation has difficulty talking to our grandparents because it they do not use technology as we do. In general, my friends who can text or e-mail their grandparents, are closer with them. However this is not the majority of the population, and I think the majority of us are experiencing a disconnect.
My grandparents still do not know how to use their computers and phones and I am somewhat thankful for that. While it is easier to keep in contact with them through such easy modes of communication, I believe that their lack of technological savvy helps me take a step back and adapt to their lifestyle. I am forced to drive over and visit them if I wish to talk. I believe that this causes me to consider life from my grandparents perspective and put more value in the communications we do have.
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