Author Topic: Older folks, ever feel "out of touch"? (Read 509 times)

JB73 · « **on:** October 27, 2007, 04:23:08 PM »

This is directed at us older than college age right now....

Ever feel out of touch with internet culture? I know many here started on the internet back in the old BBS days and 1600 baud dial up, me I got into ti about 1992 or 1993 maybe with a friends 14.4 dialup.

Here we are now on a forum, many here only because of the addiction to AH, and some linger even though they don't play. As to the newest trends on the internet, I have to say I know I am WAY behind the times.

Even old things are still foreign to me it seems, and I feel like an idiot I don't know enough to keep up with them. Things like Facebook, from my understanding a school aged social networking site. how would someone like me 34 years old get to know how ti works without being some creepy old man? I bring it up because another online game I play set up a facebook group or something, I don't even know where to begin. it's not a kids game, it's just a MMROPG turn based thing.

I even missed IRC chat. I get the idea, and was recently playing around with it, but whats with all the commands? I watched people do all sorts of weird stuff I had no clue what was going on.

I don't even know what else is out there that is being used by millions I might be missing, and man that feels pathetic.

The worst part is I am in the IT field

A colleague of mine is younger, he heads up the IT at a partner company. He's 27 or something, and totally grew up in a "different era".

I really think the generation gaps are getting and will continue to get worse or wider the faster technology advances. I remember the days when the joke was older people couldn't program a VCR, or set the time... now I can't even count the ways younger people are more technology tuned than myself.

How many of you over 30 feel you are as current with technology as an average 21 year old college student?

Halo · « **Reply #1 on:** October 27, 2007, 05:51:41 PM »

(quote) Older folks, ever feel "out of touch"? (unquote)

No.

Vulcan · « **Reply #2 on:** October 27, 2007, 05:55:24 PM »

Just the opposite, especially when I asked someone (younger guy) their IP address and too open a browser window and they had no idea what I was talking about (end user support call accidentally got routed to me so I decided to be kind and try and help).

In fact I'd go as far to say as theres a growing lack of knowledge in this new younger generation who just accept the internet 'as is' and have no idea what drives it or where it came from.

Irwink! · « **Reply #3 on:** October 27, 2007, 06:13:00 PM »

I got started in the acoustic modem days. The avearage 21 year old ain't got nothin' on me.

Charon · « **Reply #4 on:** October 27, 2007, 06:35:13 PM »

To me it's a communications thing and impatience with the getting up to speed process with new tech.

E-mail, as useful as it can be in certain tasks (sending data files) and SOME communications but it is otherwise the biggest business productivity waster around. Loads of crap communications that suddenly takes an immediacy beyond the actual need. E-mail, more often than not keeps me from getting stuff done. I cringe anymore when I hear the "new mail" sound.

So, texting has about negative 100 percent appeal.

Facebook? Myspace? Who has time. Maybe next week I'll get my 3 registered Web pages up with something for home pages. Since I haven't coded html in years I'll have to hobble though becoming familiar again arrgh!

Stuff that used to be fun and challenging, diddling with this, tweaking that -- my patience has slipped.

Charon

cpxxx · « **Reply #5 on:** October 27, 2007, 07:08:23 PM »

I used to be au fait with all the latest developments but now it's beginning to leave me behind. Not sure what 3G is, no interest in Myspace or Facebook. Don't quite get them. Blackberrys are still fruit that grows on bushes every Autumn. I have an excellent mobile phone with loads of features I don't need and few features which I know nothing about. I know what HD is and would like it but can't be bothered to find out how. Realise now that I never really got a good handle on computers or the internet really despite the fact that I have been using PCs since 1981 and having worked for IBM for eight years. Not interested in my IP address. Know that ping rate is important but no idea why.

I used to soak up all that kind of thing for fun. I first noticed it in work when I stopped bothering to ask what people meant when they hit me with jargon. Didn't even know what the microchips I was testing were used for and didn't care to ask.

I suppose I fear that filling my head with stuff, I'm not really interested in might push out stuff I like. Such as all the aircraft and flying trivia, I bore my wife with.

It's not that I'm incapable really. It's just that I'm not that interested anymore.

Although, I think Vulcan is right in that many in the younger generation know less about the what drives the net. I think it's the same with PC's. They are getting more user friendly so who needs to know? It's a bit like cars. Everyone knows there's an engine there but who looks at it or touches it? You just expect it to work when you turn the key or push the button as it is more often is nowdays.

Tac · « **Reply #6 on:** October 27, 2007, 07:34:02 PM »

Well im not *that* old as some of you farts but I do remember in college taking a networking course (2000-2001) and had the instructor tell us to check the jumper settings on the lan card and modems as part of a practice lab.

The 18 year olds taking the class... you could see it in their eyes: ' wtf is a jumper?'

JB73 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 27, 2007, 08:16:49 PM »

cpxxx, thats almost exactly what I am talking about.

thing is with things like work the "young" guy makes me look bad

keeping up is something that needs to be done it seems, just to not look the fool

Dichotomy · « **Reply #8 on:** October 27, 2007, 08:39:18 PM »

I'll be honest with you. I'm 43 and when I have someone younger than me or my same age in my office ask me to fix their computer 'problem' I have to roll my eyes at them. They only gave the the it position because I could spell computer once they spotted me the vowels.

Myspace, facebook, blogging, etc.., Not interested so I don't know how to do it. She Devil can code that stuff but.. blah. I don't get enough cartoon air time as it is.

Holden McGroin · « **Reply #9 on:** October 27, 2007, 09:33:39 PM »

I had 8" floppy disks on my first computer. It was pretty cool though, I was able to get into the school computer and adjust my and my GF's grades.

I had an auto dialer and once called all the phone numbers in San Jose, looking for a new game I was interested in.

I thought I found what I wanted, and started playing a game called Global Themonuclear War.

Boy the s**t hit the fan then.

I was banned from computers for a while... court order.

Meatwad · « **Reply #10 on:** October 27, 2007, 10:04:41 PM »

Im not exactly 30 and above, but my first experience online was with a 2400 baud modem, DOS copy of Procomm Plus, and Toll Free dial up BBS systems. (Boy them was really fun times, I sure miss all the fun I had of Dial up BBS's

) A year or two later I got my hands on a 9600 baud external modem. Boy I was flying then!

Then at an auction I got a box of PC parts that had a 14.4K internal modem and discovered the wonderful software called "Juno". WOOO I could dial a number just 50 miles away and upload/download email messages.

Shuckins · « **Reply #11 on:** October 27, 2007, 10:15:15 PM »

I'm 54 years old....and let my 24 year old son set up my computer and its programs.

I can boot 'em up, access the intardnet, play some games, send a few messages, use Microsoft Word and Works, etc.

Beyond that, I am computer ILLITERATE....

....and ask me if I care.

LePaul · « **Reply #12 on:** October 27, 2007, 10:27:58 PM »

Ha, yes, I feel your pain. I'm a wee bit older than you are but also deal with the same kinds of younger IT staff here.

And what makes it even more fun is we have three guys I work with who are late 50s and early 60s. These guys were around when the computers first came on site at the hospital and can tell you amazing stories of punch cards and tape media!

I think we all go through that spell where we used to eat, drink and breathe the new technology. Back in the 90s, we were all over the modems, BBSs, software, hardware and mocked anyone who couldnt figure out of 16 bit was better than 32 bit.

Now, we just don't care and realize just how darn annoying those young guys can be!

I used to surf all the technology boards, Tomshardware and then some. Now, if I get there weekly, that's a lot.

I tihnk what summed it up for me the other day was watching the young guys pitch in and ordering fattening chinesse food while I was reading the Nutritional info on my fat-free yogurt LOL. I'm eye balling cholesterol and trying to be healthy while they guzzle high fat foods and surf the net to see whose better, nVidia or ATI this week.

Tac · « **Reply #13 on:** October 27, 2007, 10:38:26 PM »

If you remember what MEMMAKER was for...

Mark Luper · « **Reply #14 on:** October 27, 2007, 10:48:02 PM »

I had a DOS boot up menu that I used to boot up games. I had it so it called a particular config.sys and autoexec.bat file for the particular game I played. If I wanted to run windows 3.1 I would just reboot and type win at the C:\ prompt. I remember spending hours trying to get the last bit of the 640k memory.

It was fun and I learned a lot. Now I don't ever use the DOS commands and have forgotten most of them.

Mark