general Why do older generations dislike modern technology?

[Muffinnz 3,219]

Why dont they like modern things?

Why dont older generations decided to just sit down at their computer one day and get caught up?

[Dashy 4 Ever 4,832]

"How do I open a new page in Google?"

Pretty much sums it all. But in all seriousness, older generations probably aren't that interested to get caught up in all the newer tech and stuff of today since they probably prefer to stick with their forms of entertainment as they grew up with them.

[The Historian 515]

It's new and they don't understand it. It feels foreign to them and they can't just "get caught up." Change is so rapid that they can't be bothered. I'm sure, at some point, many of us will be that way. I try not to be but sometimes, I catch myself thinking about "how we used to do it and how it was good enough."

[Tacodidra 59,798]

I guess they just don't see the need to do it – they spent decades of their lives without that and got by just fine.

To be honest, I understand them. I'm not old myself and do use some modern devices (I'm on my computer writing this right now ), but I'm still like that in some regards. I don't like smartphones, for example – all the fancy features just make them more difficult for me, since I don't use my phone for anything but calling people.

[Venomous 18,813]

My mom has taken to modern technology very well. She has the latest iPhone model, uses Facebook, etc. like a champ. She’s loves it too! My dad, on the other hand, doesn’t hate it but still can’t figure out how to use his own cellphone at times. He still needs help with it and using our PC.

[EpicEnergy 22,082]

I suppose it's because they don't really understand it that well, and because they grew up without it.

[gamecubeguy214 2,511]

It's likely because of their nostalgia. The world has changed so much in their lifetime that they just wish they could see the world as they used to when they were young, but they never will. This probably contributes to making them grumpy about everything new that wasn't present back in their illusion of a better time.

[Fluttershutter 2,118]

Personally I think most technology these days is more about invading your privacy than improving your life. That's why I'm stubborn about it.

[Envy 6,000]

I mean I'm not even that old and there was a time where I was completely adverse to the idea of touch screen phones. I insisted on phones with physical keypads. But when my favorite phone began to slow down and not really be able to get on websites very well, I broke down and got an iPhone and I haven't looked back.

I feel like that was probably the same kind of stubbornness that older people get. I got over it, but I felt that way for quite some time.

[Lucky Bolt 34,914]

Well, don't know if this counts but I am Gen Z and you'll hear me barking and complaining about how they just don't make vehicles like they used to.  No seriously. Too much technology.  The idea of a backup camera perplexes me. And a push start button for the engine?? Also too many bells and whistles.  So, I guess my point is, it isn't just the older generations who seem to have a grudge against modern day technology. 

Edited April 1, 2020 by Lucky Bolt

[碇 シンジン 27,427]

Things that you have not grown used to or familiar with are harder to get into as you grown older. As you have more history without them as with them. So using them feels foreign and out of place. It requires more effort to get used to it.

Another reason is that if you don't understand something it can be harder to approach it from a neutral perspective especially if you have experiences from a time where things were different. Change is not always easy to come in terms with.

Modern age kids got used to these things in their childhood - the most impressionable age where it is significantly more easy and natural to process and gain new information.

I believe those are some of the main reasons behind the divide.

Edited April 1, 2020 by 碇 シンジン

[Oblivion 20,265]

Because simpler times when people lived for the moment etc...

[Sunlight Glisten 368]

We see how modern devices impair your mental processing ability. Statistics are out and youth of today are the dumbest generation ever to exist. Lowest SAT and ACT scores across the board. Why would we want to be like you when we know how to do real physical things instead of pretend digital things. 

(Im actually only 31 but have seen the negative cognitive affects and research so I have chosen to abstain from the majority of modern technology. Can I do it still? for the moment, do I want to? no. For work though I still have to work with 3d modeling digitally)

[zerox 1,050]

Because they don't understand how to use it and don't see much or any benefits from the use of technology.

Edited April 1, 2020 by zerox

[Splashee 28,537]

On 3/31/2020 at 12:09 AM, Muffinnz said:

Why dont older generations decided to just sit down at their computer one day and get caught up?

Depends how old fashioned they are. There are a lot of older people that caught up pretty fast with social media. Even faster than me.

However, at one point in your life, you just don't want to learn new things. We are talking about years and years of learning new things. Older people can get tired of having to learn new things, just like young people can get tired of following their parents advice or rules. However, there is no rule that enforces old people to learn new things. It there were a rule, I am sure old people would do it even if they didn't like it.

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

Modern technology isn’t intuitive, malfunctions constantly and is constantly reconfigured and upgraded, whether it needs it or not. And there are so many pointless bells and whistles involved that one has to figure how to get past all the clutter just to get to the basic functions required to do a task. Technology is supposed to simplify life and make things easier, but instead it now takes ten steps where it used to take only two. If the older generation should just sit down and learn modern technology, it might be equally useful for the newer generation to just sit down and learn how to function without it. People are suited best to what they grew up with and have made use of for the majority of their lives. No one is better or worse than anyone else for what they do or do not feel the need to adapt to. I personally prefer technology be kept to a minimum. 

[Fluttershutter 2,118]

On 3/30/2020 at 5:58 PM, Bakugou Is My Man ❤ said:

My mom has taken to modern technology very well. She has the latest iPhone model, uses Facebook, etc. like a champ.

If facebook is the height of modern technology I look forward to the next dark age.(Honestly I think we're in a type of dark age now.)

Another thing I hate is that today's technology is all about the moment and instant gratification. I want to collect my favorite books, videos, and music and watch them whenever I want, not to just watch whatever's trendy on a streaming service.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Fluttershutter

[Sunny Fox 5,929]

Brain plasticity... I guess.

[Pentium100 2,057]

Modern stuff is much more difficult to use and it requires a different approach.

For example, take a record player - someone shows you how to play the record and you will be able to do it by just repeating the actions. Threading a tape on a reel to reel deck is more difficult, but, again, as long as someone shows you how to do it you can repeat the actions and do it (or it you see that the result looks wrong, just start over). There is a button to play, a button to rewind etc. Setting the clock on my car is very simple - push in a knob and turn it until the clock shows the correct time. 

On the other hand, modern technology is menu driven and dialog driven. You have to, essentially, talk with the device. Remembering Menu->settings->clock->set time->..->apply->exit is much more difficult than remembering that you need to push the knob in and turn it. So, instead of trying to remember all of the menu paths you need to think differently "I need to set the clock, well, it probably is under settings, oh look, now there is a 'clock' option". Instead, what I see some people doing is remembering this "press 'menu', then press 'down' 3 times, press 'ok', now press 'down' twice and press 'ok' again" which is more difficult to remember and easy to make mistakes (do I need to press down three or four times?)..

And that is not even starting with the internet.

I dislike the menus in cars and other places where there are only a few functions and each of them could have a separate button.

 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Pentium100

[Tropical Melody 5,104]

Quote

Why do older generations dislike modern technology?

We don't. Depends whether we think we need it or not. That can apply to a lot of things. Right now I've got two laptops powered up and an iPhone, and they're very useful. All on Wi-Fi. Lappy #1 I'm typing on now, lappy #2 is currently looking thru my security camera (also uses Wi-Fi) because I'm expecting deliveries so I can see at a glance if anyone is approaching. I don't play computer games because frankly I can't find the time. I love the fuel injection on modern cars and motorbikes, I recognise it's superior to carburettors. I've dabbled in Basic firstly, then machine code (6502 / Z80), Visual Basic, Visual Pascal, C, Java, Javascript, HTML, PHP, PIC chips (RISC), but only where it does something I want. So if I think it's useful to me, I'll use it. If not, I won't. I get that some people are scared of technology, but often they figure all they gotta do is press some buttons. And like that.

 

[Tropical Melody 5,104]

On 3/30/2020 at 11:33 PM, Tacodidra said:

I guess they just don't see the need to do it – they spent decades of their lives without that and got by just fine.

  this

This was my mother all over. However she could use a DVD player and regularly browsed Ceefax (much to my amusement). But right there are two examples where modern technology offered things she was actually interested in. Else, meh.

Latterly she was forced to get a modern washing machine (when the previous ancient thing finally turned its toes up) but she was OK with that too. If eventually!

 

[Splashee 28,537]

8 hours ago, Pentium100 said:

And that is not even starting with the internet

Still, I have heard about older generation getting stuck in bitcoin debt. Lucrative stuff can be complicated but still keep the old generation interested.

[碇 シンジン 27,427]

On 4/1/2020 at 2:24 PM, Sunlight Glisten said:

We see how modern devices impair your mental processing ability. Statistics are out and youth of today are the dumbest

What? If you think about it logically that doesn't make any sense, as the baseline is that every new generation has collectively more information available to them from the beginning than the previous one. Thus more time to get used to it and learn stuff.

However more information doesn't always equal smarter though it provides a better environment for becoming smarter. So if you take out all the other factors it is more likely that the younger generations will be able to gain more knowledge than the older generations. Just because they have better starting point for the longer run.

 

[zerox 1,050]

Our relatives which are older people bought not that long ago a new dvd player. They already have a desktop computer that they have connected to a smart tv that has 2 dvd rw drives so I don't get why they would need a new standard dvd player.

Edited April 2, 2020 by zerox

[Pentium100 2,057]

1 hour ago, Super Splashee said:

Still, I have heard about older generation getting stuck in bitcoin debt. Lucrative stuff can be complicated but still keep the old generation interested.

There are always exceptions. Also, there are old people who were programmers etc back in the day too.

Older stuff is still easier to use though, well, at least to remember how to use it.