Ask Lemmy

Gen X here, not for me but I see a lot of my age group struggling with AI. I keep trying to get them to use it and I'm even buying it for the office and it's interesting to see the reactions.

There’s plenty of millennials that are completely ignorant about the technology they use, so yes, they definitely will be as bad.

Yes.

Of course, there will be a range in all generations from those who ignore technology altogether and who will inevitably be bad at it, to those who keep on top of every change and continue to be skilled users of that technology.

I don't see why there would be a difference from one generation to the next. The proportions might be different: boomers and GenX who saw this stuff come in later in life and who know there is more to life than technology might be more inclined to spend their time away from that tech than later generations that grew up with this stuff. Or maybe the later generations will want to get away from it and rediscover nature.

I suspect that if and when retirement happens I'll (GenX) be spending a lot of time away from computers.

Nah don't think so. I think it's less of a generational thing and more like when a particular technology came about. Like boomers are in my experience generally okay with older more 'analog' tech. Millennials I think are decent all around. Gen z don't know how to use anything outside an app and it's baffles me.

Guess we'll just wait and see.

Na it'll be the music we don't understand.

And the fashion.

Oh wait and the slang.

iPhone to scan a QR code.

Knowing that this feat was not existent 5years ago ( < iOS11) and is not implemented the same on , is it a fail ?

Damn near guaranteed.

Technology doesn't stop but at a point you get stuck in your ways. Sure you could use Windows Settings App, but you know how to navigate the control panel and the settings app is so damn cluttered. I could potentially live to be 90 something but I'm for sure intimidated by what tech would look like in 50 years.

I think it's gonna get worse. Change is a part of every generation but it feels like the rate at which things change is increasing significantly.

It depends what we mean by "bad with technology."

A lot of posts here are talking about how the current young generations (Generation Z and Generation Alpha) are bad with technology as they don't understand anything, and this is true, but to most people being "good with technology" means you're good at using it for desired results, not necessarily understanding how things work or how to troubleshoot.

In my opinion: No. Due to the type of technology that the millennials grew up with, they are generally good at adapting to new and changing technologies, so I suspect they'll be quite good at keeping up. Whether this will hold true for Z and Alpha is to be seen.

Yes, at some point there will likely be a change you don’t follow. Then you’re stuck

My grandfather was an electrical engineer. Very comfortable with technology. Built TVs and ham radios for fun, fixed people’s appliances on the side. He helped build the first TV station in Baltimore. After he retired, he built one of the first TV stations in San Salvador. His thing was power electronics and I could never keep up with all the facts, the formulas and math, the circuit architecture that just poured out of him at will. A very impressive guy.

Then as a summer project, he helped my brother build an amplifier so we had great music …… and realized his thing was transistors. So much technical skill, knowledge, interest, that didn’t make the jump from vacuum tubes to transistors.

We’re all thinking computers, since that’s what we do, but technology is so much more. Think of car guys. Huge, impressive, emotional technology that changed the world. But a lot of them got left behind with ignition electronics, more efficient engine design, exotic alloys. Think how many will be left behind as we transition to EVs. We’re no different

To all you guys bragging about which Linux you use, let me tell you about my lord and savior: cloud computing. Will that be the jump you can’t make?

Probably not but social media trends have got me fucked.

No. Was born in the 90s and I'm doing fine

Yes. I think the big jump will be with biotech. Some people will have trouble with organic interfaces and organic machines.

Meanwhile I love watching kids who have used touchscreens their whole lives trying to navigate a mouse.

I’m rounding mid 40’s. I use linux all the time and I am becoming increasingly bad at troubleshooting or fixing windows issues. I don’t really have that problem with my current OS and I’ve never used Win 11 once.

This is something I worry about as well (mid-thirties millennial), but I'm really hoping it won't be a problem. Anecdotally, I don't notice any appreciable difference between myself and my dad (technically a boomer) when it comes to technology, but my mom isn't as comfortable. I think it's because my dad spends more time using various types of current tech and is willing to troubleshoot on his own, so maybe it's just a matter of continued exposure and a willingness to learn.

At the same time I see my grandparents really struggle with digital interfaces because they didn't grow up with them and don't find them intuitive, in a way that can't be explained by lack of curiosity. It's almost like they're not fluent in the language because they missed a critical period of learning in childhood? If a brand new, extremely different way to interface with the world takes over, I guess I could see myself and my peers struggling as well.