I am a Geek, I love technology! I had a cell phone back
in the day when it was a huge giant box in your car and the cost was ridiculous;
what am I thinking the cost is still ridiculous today. I read somewhere that it is actually a
family’s largest utility bill. I must
confess to you as I delve into this topic, I am a diehard Apple fan! I have had nothing but iPhone's from the
first release, and I have stuck with them through all the growing pains, and
every reiteration that came out, as Apple strived for the perfect phone. My love of Apple has caused many heated
discussions within my family and friends circle, Apple VS Android. For a long time I was the only Apple fan,
that is until my teenage grandson and sister joined me. This is much like the
Chevy vs. Ford debates of my youth.
Whether you are a loyal Apple fan or not, you have to admit,
they create the most brilliant devices, and everyone else follows suit. Why do I love all this new technology? Well the number one reason is, I love being
instantly in touch with my kids and my grand-kids. They will respond to a text, or answer me on
FaceTime. They’ve always hated getting
on the phone when they are busy, just the same as I do. They will send me a picture of what they are
doing, with a funny text, it allows me to be a part of their daily lives, and
know what they are all up to. Another key reason I love new technology is; I believe when you stop growing and learning, well it’s
time to bury you, and new technology keeps my mind alert, especially in trying
to figure it out. I must also confess I
have an Alien Ware computer for gaming, two iPods, an iPad, desktop computer,
and an iPhone, not to mention the 60” TV for playing computer games online with
my Xbox (really it’s for the grandkids when they come). I told you I was a geek.
The most interesting thing to me is all the comments made about oldsters like me being technologically challenged! This I think is a myth spread by our
children, the infamous Generation X. But
let me tell you, that is not the case at all.
Boomers have grown up with computers, from the first computers with
IBM punch cards to the desk computer with the infamous green screens. We had to adapt or die in the work place.
I recall many of my coworkers were freaked out that the
computers were going to replace them, and they would lose their jobs. As I kept reminiscing I began laughing as I
recalled the last years of my work career where email became the corner stone
of my primary job; it seemed that’s all I did was read and answer emails. Seriously, emails, not phone calls. Back in the day “who would’ve thunk it,” a
computer in every home, then laptops and my personal favorite, the iPad!
When I retired, BFF Hubby and I did away with the landline
phone, we both carry cell phones, or as he refers to it, his electronic
leash. He resisted it for some time but
I finally got him on board with the smart phone, I keep him one iPhone release
behind, so I have time to figure it all out before I give him one. Baby steps, but let me tell you it was a
victory! <Grin>
As a card carrying member of the Baby Boomer generation, I want to set the
record straight; it’s a myth that the young rule the technology industry. Did you know that Steve Jobs was 52 when he
introduced the iPhone? Did you know that in every year from 1996 to
2013, Americans in the 55-to-64 age group started new businesses at a higher
rate than those in their twenties and thirties?
Those from the ages of 55 to 64 started 14 percent of all new
businesses in 1996 but nearly 24 percent of them in 2013. Don’t believe me? Well then Google it; Google is after all the new library.
To survive in the work place Boomers became
excellent at adapting to the ever-changing world of technology and embracing
it. I suppose I shouldn’t generalize but
if you worked you had no choice; and as a whole I believe with boomers, well really with all ages of people, they either are or aren’t adaptable. Boomers are just as tech savvy as their children
or the Generation Xers are, we are just well, older.
What I have been observing in the Boomers
I am around, including myself, we just aren’t as patient anymore. And because of this lack of patience, it’s
too easy to call our kids and say help me, it’s not working. I am guilty of that;
my son-in-law is a detective in computer forensics, so in my eyes that makes
him an expert on all the new technology.
So rather than power through a
problem and try to solve it myself, I take the quick easy way and just call
him.
Then one day when making such a
call, my daughter said to me, “He’s really busy Mom, did you try to fix it
first before calling him?” Hmmm, I really
thought about it. I took a step back, wow;
I am becoming impatient and too reliant on my son-in-law. This has to stop! So I started fixing and troubleshooting for myself,
researching things on line and looking at the message boards/blogs where others
had similar problems and found a resolution.
The last holdout however, is BFF hubby; he is not as trusting of my
abilities and will immediately call my son-in-law, much to my dismay. BFF Hubby is the king of impatient where
electronic devices are concerned.
Am I sounding like an Apple Commercial? Well, for the record I think the Apple Watch
is ridiculous. OK, OK, not the watch but
the price, because that means I can’t have one with a $10,000 price tag. But I digress, one of the awesome things I
love about Apple products are that they are user friendly and really have the
best self-help online. It also helps
that my sister is an Apple fan as well; I can always call on her to help solve
it. Oh, by the way, she’s a baby boomer
too, just sayin’.
In the community of Sun Lakes, I see oldsters of all ages using Androids,iPhone’s, Kindles, iPads, and iPods. So it would appear even the generation prior
to the baby boomers, our parents since they are living longer, have had to
adapt. I can attest to this personally
as BFF Hubby’s mother just turned 90 years young; she moved from her old cell
phone to a smart phone. On her own one
day she went out and got a Galaxy S5 and she texts! She has also signed up for the computer club
here in Sun Lakes so she can learn more about Windows 8, which makes her ahead
of me; I have not yet embraced Windows 8. The point here is they have a
computer club for us oldster geeks, and those who want to stay abreast of new
technology.
So I shall leave you with my final thoughts on this subject, well
for today at least, Boomers aren’t tech novices, and we keep this fact well hidden,
I think we like it that way. Perhaps
patience is the major block for some in adapting to new technology, or… maybe it is
less that boomers are not adapting to new technology, but because they still
want to make their children feel needed and that they are smarter than us. I
know after I got yet another lecture on how to attach a photo to an email, I
would hang up the phone and laugh silently to myself, the photo already
attached. The future is so much bigger than the past, so I shall keep
on embracing the changes.
Be sure and stay with me for more ramblings and
observations… and thank you again for taking this retirement journey with me,
or as I refer to it, “my longest
coffee break." I'm just
sayin’…
