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Many stereotypes fall apart on closer inspection. One is that young folks who grew up with technology must have mastered it while, in contrast, elders are believed more likely to break something when having to install, say, a graphics driver. But is that really true? I beg to differ! A recent study from Microsoft found users under 40 easily fall prey to fraudulent calls and emails, no surprise there, but how can you grow up with technology and still be an amateur at it?
When I think back to how I learned the ropes of information technology, it was usually in the face of issues and malfunctions, serious malfunctions even. Before the internet, our problem solving strategies were based on trial and error or extensive research the old-fashioned way, i.e. through books and magazines. My first 486er and its Windows 3.11 occasionally felt like judgment from above and had me spend hours upon hours over countless PC magazines and books for help. Granted, what Iearned back then is now out of date but it laid the foundation for my current career. My first PCs were inexpensive, usually made out of cheap no name components and a hotbed of blue screens and boot failures, quite aggravating but also very educational. One particularly outlandish blue screen issue even sent me to a Finnish forum where a friendly Lapp helped me solve it, once I got past the language barrier.
Computer magazines were a common source of knowledge back then and getting up to speed on the latest tips and hardware trends was a genuine thrill! Today, print faces a steep decline with many publishers having gone out of business, all thanks to the ubiquitous internet. Still, nothing beats the smell of freshly printed magazines or the tactile experience of gleefully flipping through a book. Besides, most online tips and tricks sections lack the depth of a thoroughly researched magazine article and present only tidbits of information, barely touching on the broader picture.
Maybe today's technology has fewer flaws? Windows 95, 98 or ME used to feel half-finished and forced users to take the initiative. This usually meant customizing files like "Autoexe.bat" or "Config.sys" to tailor the OS to their machines. Drivers had to be installed and set up manually and Registry tweaks were commonplace to skirt around incompatibilities. Sure, Windows 10 is far from perfect but it does most of the heavy lifting out of the box. Thanks to the internet, missing drivers are found and installed automatically, all that's left for users to do is to wait during reboots. In the mobile space, ease of use is a core concept that dominates cellphones and tablets. But fewer errors mean less incentive to dive into technical details, so how are today's users supposed to acquire the skills to master technical challenges?
Since many of my friends work in IT support, I decided to take a poll. How do younger users generally fare? Mia*, call center agent at a large telco: "They are frequently impatient and coddled. Everything has to work right away, ideally without user input. Plugging in a router is about as much work as they are willing to invest. Disconnects longer than 20 minutes per month are enough to send them into a rage. Elderly internet users have experienced worse and tend to stay calm and just wait." Kenneth*, support agent at Microsoft: "Once we get to the Registry or low-level system settings, things frequently get critical. Most users expect PCs to work like cellphones with few settings and very little configuration depth. It takes strong nerves on both sides."
Frank*, support agent at Amazon: "Our Fire TV, Fire Stick or Fire tablets are designed with simplicity in mind. It's minor deviations from the perceived norm, like our own app store, that severely throw younger users off. There's little to no love for variety, anything that goes against the familiar is generally met with disapproval and hardly anyone looks into their device's settings." Alex*, hotline agent for a local TV provider: "All the curiosity and fascination from earlier days seems to be gone. Today, entertainment technology is expected to just work, like a toaster. Having to go through the settings to make adjustments is considered unacceptable. Unfortunately, TV receivers can't read your mind so manually toggling switches is still required now and then, which most elderly users understand even though they might also be struggling."
Don't get me wrong, this is not a matter of black-and-white thinking. Many younger users are fairly adept at the technology that surrounds them. Still, in the 80s, expectations were that coming generations would automatically internalize all aspects to the point where they'd put IT support agents, technical writers and others out of work. What we have today are diligent users with limited technical understanding. There have and always will be specialists but profound computer literacy has certainly not become a mass phenomenon.
What I would like to know: What do you think? To what extent does simply growing up around technology equal or beat hands-on experience?
*name altered
Hi Sven,
Interesting and challenging points, as always :)
It is my understanding that (depending on your definition of it) generation gap based on technology has always been around, and what would look ubiquitous for the younger ones might seem "Chinese" for their elders.
This being said, we are clearly witnessing a much faster pace in technology change, so much so that even whatever we learn today in school and at the University most probably will have little resemblance to the technology we will have to cope with in real life and jobs (not to mention that in order to remain "relevant", one has to learn all along, or drop into market obsolescence very quickly!)
With this behind us, let me stress one more thing: USING a technological device (say: a smartphone) is NOT the same as UNDERSTANDING the technology that drives it and/or being able to DEBUG it or (G_d forbid!) DEVELOP for it (apps, or OS-es).
So back to your starting title: Repetitio EST matter studiorum (as the old Romans used to say), unless you prefer "practice makes the master :) ". The question here is WHAT do you practice?
The younger generation "practices" the use of smartphones since a very early age (I've seen two-years old toddlers do it!), so they really become wizards at USING these mini-wonders; but do they know how to maintain or create such devices? For most of them, this is a clear NO: it takes schooling for that (just as you and I and many others needed it for taking care of MVS / VMS and even Win NT and programing in various dialects of Assembly or other "high-level" procedural or recursive languages).
So growing in a technological environment can help getting you a kick-start into the relevant Eco-system, but it cannot beat the hands-on sweaty learning needed to actually get control of it.
Well, hope this throws some more light on the generation-gap question, from the technology (rather than social) perspective.
All the best,
Eric
I'm nearly 80 and I'm very familiar with fixing computers and I leave the rest to Ashampoo software to keep things running smoothly.
All I'm about to do is talk about this blog. I add that Windows 7 was working well, but I still struggled to pick up my computer, and if I did, I changed parts.
Because of the high degree of integration, this is no longer necessary, but at the age of 86 I have an eye on the world.
(Sorry, I did not say good-by-language right here and there.)
Very interesting, and I remember all the MS DOS and autoexec.bat battles. Learned a lot, but forgot most of it in the last few years.
I think your story can be summarized by one recent phenomenon and that is the rise of iPhones. Basically the Brilliance of Steve Jobs is that he knew most consumers do not really want to learn about tech but rather want to just push an icon or a button. Understanding is left to the techies and the Developers. That is why there are no choices and most Apple systems. And that is why in Microsoft you can do the same task 10 different ways.
I think it is also why the younger said today have no interest in cars. They think of them only as transportation from devices from point A to point B and really do not care about internal workings nor how to optimize them nor maintain them. Everything is disposable today, evidently even life it seems.
Nice tips, thanks
Like Mal, I started using computers with the Sinclair ZX80, progressing to the BBC Micro, through CPM to MS-DOS and every iteration of the Microsoft OS since.
When you start this low down on the ease-of-use scale and grow old with decades of daily PC use, today's Windows and software seems extremely easy and effortless. At the age of 75 I am the family tech support desk for my children and grandchildren!
I liken my experience of computers to experience with cars. If you start out simply learning how to start the engine and drive, you'll get into trouble the moment anything goes wrong. But if you know what goes on under the bonnet, you (a)tend to have more care and patience with the machinery, and (b) have a much greater ability to resolve problems.
Like many others I grew up building Z80 kits and CPM. Then moved to 8088 and 486 etc and DOS and Windows. The magazines of the day taught us as did interaction with our fellow enthusiasts. The early learning and problem solving has not left me. I do not accept things at face value and may be considered a bit of a skeptic when I see a "must have" fixit tool. It takes a bit of time to sift the wheat from the husk. I enjoy the topics raised in the blog and the views expressed. Always learning. Thankyou
unfortunately, technology makes people lazy and does not allow the understanding how things happen. The consequence is, everything is done for you until it does not work.... heaven forbid if you used the word configuration, settings or workflow..... This is sad in one way as it flows into practical life........ ie Tyre is flat.... Now what do i do..... is there a button for this????
(Sorry for posting in parts, I'm still worried about failure to post.)
As for computer literacy, thinking everyone would understand it is kind of wishful thinking. Sure, we might want people to understand computers, but, first of all, it's something that needs to be taught. Secondly, it's a much more complex subject than it was 30 years ago. Someone who understood how to configure config.sys and autoexec.bat years ago would be hard pressed to configure Storage Spaces in Windows, or many of the other capabilities that few people even know exist. There's so much there that you really have to be an IT person or a dedicated enthusiast to even know the features available. Not only that, but it's rather pointless knowing these things.
I do think that young people should be taught how things work, because there are so many interesting technologies that people have created, and would help if people have more appreciation and understanding of them.
My kids are better than I am at figuring out how to navigate the smart TV, and can figure how to use devices pretty well.
I imagine that on average young people do understand technology use more than our generation did. I mean, sure, 'we' grew up with more knowledge of how to handle computers, but that 'we' aren't the average people, but the computer geeks who happen to currently be reading an Ashampoo blog. We're ones who probably use computers for our living.
So it's easy for us to scoff at the younger generation, but in our generation most people had absolutely no clue about technology. That young people have less patience, I think that was always the case.
Indeed. And the very implication that the user might 'RTFM' is tantamount to insult. In fact, for my wife's daughter, I bought her computer--then got the screen replaced on her laptop--while I was gone, no one could figure out what a NAS or a UPS might possibly be (supposedly according to the installer no one but me could figure out what I'm doing) and I'm sure you couldn't guess what the admin userid and pword are. At least they didn't use one of the Cisco brands that nearly all use the same one. Oh, and I never lie, either. Fortunately Win 10 actually is at least semi-intelligent.
My first desktop computer was purchased from a friend who happened to be German. He knew I was terrified and asked me to sit at his desk with the computer facing me. "Go ahead": he said, "hit any key". I did so only to hear him shout "not that one!" How did I know I hit the power switch. "Pretty useless machine" I dared to say.
As I left his shop with a new computer he shouted "Call me when you have questions". He taught me by getting me to ask the correct question(s) and using excellent sources. Books lots of books I could keep handy for references. To the younger generation, I would simply say, it's human nature to find yourself curious enough to ask questions.
Thank you Sven,
The difference is that generations of people before the current mode of IT 'arrived' had faults and problems with their possessions from socks to bicycles, appliances, chair & tables, motorised vehicles, telephones and ... et cetera; ...
People then had some sort of ability to 'fix things' or wait patiently for someone with special knowledge to arrive and 'fix it'.
We now have a 'rip-tear-bust' throw-away society to want a 'new-and-improved' product, misguided by the twisted words of the sales jargon that the current, perfect, older model which is working perfectly is 'out-dated'.
This is linked to your comment Sven, many of the under 40's generation want the new product immediately .... and will spend all night on a footpath next to a store to be first to own the latest and greatest whatever it is, often at a ridiculous higher than sensible price and simply punching the plastic card to pay for it.
I think 35 seconds wait time to be an exaggeration. I'd say somewhere between seven and ten seconds. I post videos to YouTube about field hockey Rules and practice and the people who deliberately visit my page do so presumably because they have in interest in the subject. But the average view time for people in the UK and the USA is just over one minute. The average run time of my videos is around five minutes although some are about twenty minutes long. I don't feel that the low view times are entirely because my videos are no good, there is too much repeat traffic for that and I have been producing videos for almost ten years. It's just that the attention span of people who think they know what is coming is very very short.
No doubt this article will evoke comments from the mainly not-so-young.
Like many, I spent thousands of wasted hours rebuildng those old and slow PCs in the hope of extracting an extra kilobyte or two from them (not Mega or Giga please note !).
Naturally I gravitated to working in IT.
In my 40 years + I found that over time, understanding of IT became virtually nil by "users". Much of this was because (in my Company) users just sat in front of the GUI (read "simple screens") and expected the AMO (A Miracle Occurs) when they pressed any button.
How many of us have gone to the Web in the hope of finding answers to tricky problems only to find some MVP has replied with the most basic inane answer ? Yes, I have turned the PC on and Off !!!! I call these experts "script kiddies" as they only know how to go through a check-list with no idea how things actually work (or not work !)
And so, we can only expect things to get worse in the future. Maybe I can get paid Megabucks to come out of retirement and fix things ? ha ha !
cheers
As usual another interesting and informative article Sven.
A very interesting point about our younger generation of today. I fear people are too dependant on the information and misinformation of the internet and could be prone to a failure to analyse things for ourselves. (A generalisation of course).
I relate to your readers comments relating to Windows 3.1 etc. I learnt so much about computers due to that "blue screen of death".
Thank you Sven
Sven: Years ago, in the early 90's, SGI did a study that showed an internet user was willing to wait only 35 seconds after clicking a link for the page to load and that was in the days of slow modems. Don't think it has changed much.
Also, when I buy electronics, if I have to fight it right out of the box, back it goes.
Great article.
Very observant, Sven. I see this trend daily here in the US of A. No one is willing to put out the effort to find out how to deal with a problem, they would rather call someone, connect online, or drag the problem to a brick-and-mortar store to let someone else deal with it.
I have always said there are two ways to learn something: 1) try to teach it to someone else, and 2) get the answer wrong on a test. I will, to my dying day, know that Edmund's favorite philosopher was Plato, although I have no idea who Edmund was and probably will never know. This was a test question I missed in college.
Hi there!
"Experience is not what happened, but the way the person reflect what happened"
IMHO ,in this key we should try to understand this subject.
-if you are young and very familiar with IT products you may encounter a lot of problems as user but this doesn't mean you have experience if your thinking about them is not wright;
-if you are a guy like me, who use to be a Fortran and NOS programmer capable to find at any time what was the contents of a memory cell in a CDC machine, the problems as user of a PC may be fewer but the approach of them will be methodical and also we may say also this is not experience.
The experience is a rare find today when media is full of desinformation and any rookie can present himself as a Guru.Again,we are facing with moral standards.
Thank you for your topic,Sven and I wish you and yours all the best!
This article certainly struck a chord with me! My first computer was an 8-bit machine with MS BASIC. I used to get the magazines with helpful articles and pages of program listings, which I would laboriously type into my little computer over several days. A few more days debugging and the program would be ready to run. The listings were usually games or utilities, and one I remember was a fairly decent wordprocessor. I learned a lot from those early days, and one of the most important was patience. When I moved on to a grown-up PC, running Dos, I was introduced to the wonderful world of autoexec.bat and config.sys, memory management, and IRQ's. There is nothing that frightens me about todays machines, where the OS seems to hold your hand every step of the way, but I kind of miss the good old days when computers were an adventure, and one felt like an explorer. Nothing quite beats that feeling you get after solving a tricky problem after hours or days of sweat.