Interview three people from three different generations, 18-35, 36-60, 61 and up. Discuss with them how they use the internet. What are their primary uses of the internet? How comfortable are they with communicating on the internet? Has technology changed the way they live their lives, for the better or worse? In general, what do they think of the internet? Summarize your interviews on your blog. These may be posted as one blog or three separate blogs (though this still only counts as one week’s worth of entries). What do you learn from comparing the three generations. Due Feb 24.
For the 18-35 age group I interviewed my best friend. She uses the internet for school and research but also as a form of communication. Not only in emails but on websites such as myspace and facebook and chat programs like AIM. She does not use the internet for dating as many other younger people seem to do. For the 36-60 age group I decided to interview my mom. She used the internet for emails from work and vacation planning. These are the things she almost entirely uses the internet for. Her internet skills are very limited. She is able to navigate google pretty well but steers clear of using the internet for much else. For the 61 and up age group I decided to interview my Grandmother. She very rarely uses a computer. My Grandfather is a big internet and computer lover but my grandmother has clung for dear life to her typewriter. She just now is learning to use a laptop for word processing only. Sometimes I will get an email from her but that is rare, and I think it is mainly transcribed through my grandfather. It was very interesting how people use the internet differently by generation. It seems for the younger generations it is a part of life, that we have grown up with and so we use it every day and for all sorts of reasons. For the middle generations it seems that a lot of people only learned to use computers for work. Since it is almost impossible to find a job that doesn’t use computers in one way or another. And for the older generations some people, probably not all, seem to avoid them all together. They are retired and don’t really have any need to learn how to use the internet. They have faired their whole lives with out it so what is the point now? I think I would probably have the same thought process. On the other hand, my grandfather, who I did not interview has taken on the internet as a hobby. So, I know not everyone over 61 avoids the technology. He uses the internet for all sorts of things. There is hardly a minute in the day when his laptop is not on and he sits in his chair at the table watching TV, eating peanuts, and surfing the internet. Being 23 it is hard to think of a time without computers. But really it was not long ago that computers and the internet were not household names. Even in my life time I have seem the internet get faster and faster and larger and larger. While computers just keep getting smaller and smaller and more powerful.
In the Wood and Smith reading this week the authors talk about the change into the information world. Through doing these interviews I was able to see how different the generations views on the changes are. The generation that knows no different, the generation that adjusts because it has to, and the generation that avoids the change because they are set in their ways.
February 24, 2009 at 7:47 pm
You make good points about the transformation of generations. The more we get accustomed to the internet “the more we use it”. The theory that if the “older” generation had access to the internet like we do they would probably be the “experts” by now. It is becoming clear that the “user” has to be confident, comfortable, and have “quick access” in order to utilize the internet often and effectively. Good post!
February 26, 2009 at 12:12 am
Reading your post and the comment about middle aged people learning to use the internet at work made me think about the differences in how we learn about how to use the internet. I learned about it through experimentation and school, my parents learned about it through work. Funny thing is that I believe my parents know how to better use it than I do basically because a lot of communication, networking, and business is conducted through the internet in various ways. I only use it for entertainment, communication (Facebook) and research. I would be able to search for information on the internet better than my parents, but they would be much more well rounded users, utilizing all of its aspects.
February 27, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Kimberly,
I thought it was interesting how you talked about how over the years you have seen the computer get smaller and smaller, and the internet get fast and faster. I was just talking to one of my friends the other day about how 7 or 8 years ago the computers we would have at home were these huge things that literally took up the whole desk! Now you don’t even see a computer unless it is a flat screen. Also we were laughing about how when you wanted to use the internet you had to dial up and your phone line would be busy. I can’t even start to imagine living life that way. Now a day you have access to the internet at a click of a button even on your cell phone.