You probably feel like your parents are more than slightly out of touch when it comes to technology, but do your younger siblings feel that way about you too? A New York Times article from earlier this year titled “The Children of CyberSpace: Old Fogies by Their 20s” suggests that increasingly rapid changes in technology “may be minting a series of mini-generation gaps, with each group of children uniquely influenced by the tech tools available” when they’re growing up.
Back when we were kids, we learned to read with good old bound up collections of paper. Our younger siblings? They read books too but practiced their spelling on PC games for kids. According to the researchers mentioned in the article, digital books will be more normal than the printed word for the infants of today. They predict that as these kids grow up they will be super multi-taskers and expect instant access to information at the tips of their little fingers (on one all-powerful touch screen device, of course).
Do you see technology changing the way people only a few years apart in age interact? We know we are not about to be one-upped by our younger siblings when it comes to using the latest tech gadgets. We’ll never fall out of touch! Fingers crossed…
EvologyNow 
I am amazed at how young children (like my 3 year old niece) interacts with technology. Essentially no learning curve. Kinda creepy and kinda cool.
Isn’t it? She’s a true digital native.
I totally agree with this; I feel (slightly) disconnected from this “new generation”. It’s like they not only interact differently with technology, but it also changes their morals and attitudes.
Oh really? In what way do you think it changes their morals? I can kind of see that in regards to privacy.
Pingback: Changing technology and changing morals, Part I « Teknophilia
I completely agree that the rapid rate at which technology evolves is creating mini-generation gaps. I feel a disconnect between myself and coworkers who are only 5 years older than me. I feel equally out-of-touch with my stepbrother and his ‘generation,’ even though he is only 3 years my junior. Technology has more or less always fueled culture and cultural changes create generation gaps. Now that technology moves so fast, the life span of a generation is constantly shrinking. Of course, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. The ability to adapt fosters change and innovation and just think of all of the innovation we have to look forward to from the 5 and 6 year olds who can master the technology we couldn’t even dream of when we were their age.