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Abstract

their devices.Because it was a significant change, not everyone was able to adapt. Even today, people still buy the old flip phone style.This type of shift happens every few years. Before my Mac, I struggled to learn the arcane commands of DOS. This was followed by the introduction of the mouse and graphic interfaces. We had to deal with those crazy AOL online portals, followed by learning to navigate websites.Each time technology shifted, people were left behind.This is why I can confidently say that someone currently 15 years old will struggle with technology as a senior the same way their grandparents do.There will be more paradigm shifts, even if you can’t imagine them, and they, too, will lead to trouble keeping up.<h2 id="9e7c">We’re in the middle of two of those paradigm shifts right now.</h2>The first is AI. If you’ve tried OpenAI or any of the others, you know it’s not as simple as it appears to get the results you want. People have begun to make a living as Prompt Engineers because not everyone has been able to figure it out.The second shift is the Apple Vision Pro. Once more, we’re being introduced to a new type of interface using your eyes and gestures.There are more elements I can add to this.The first is that young people don’t understand tech as much as you think they do.Being able to create videos for YouTube and knowing your way around TikTok and Instagram doesn’t mean your kids have a full grasp of technology and how it works. Ultimately, they’re merely consumers pushing buttons.They typically know enough to do the things they want to do, but no more. The only real difference betw

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een older and younger is that seniors don’t like to push a button without knowing what it does, while the kids are not afraid to push buttons randomly. This is what gives them an edge.Over time, that edge will disappear.Will some people be able to adapt no matter their age? Of course, but this brings up the fallacy that seniors don’t understand technology.Just because I don’t know how to use WhatsApp and TikTok doesn’t mean I don’t understand my devices.I’m an expert user of Adobe Audition, a professional audio editor, for my voice work. Based on what many teenagers think, as a person in my 60s, I shouldn’t know how to use it.It comes down to choosing what I want to know instead of what younger generations think I should know.TikTok holds no interest for me. I’ve never bothered to try. However, I’m certain I could learn it if I wanted to.<h2 id="d74f">The second element is that technology will not always be relevant to today’s kids.</h2>Even in a generation raised with tech, many will discover as they age that they don’t need it to be happy and satisfied with life.Grandma may not want to learn tech because her life experience taught her she doesn’t need to.It’s also possible today’s kids will burn out on tech someday.As I’ve shown, there are myriad reasons people lack knowledge of today’s technology, including lack of intention. If I don’t want to learn, I don’t have to.Paradigm shifts will continue to reset the playing field, and not everyone will adapt.No one should ever be criticized for what they don’t know about technology. In the end, we all fall prey to the same cycle.</article></body>

Gen Z Will Struggle With Technology As Seniors

Don’t believe they’ll have it easier because they’re growing up with tech

I taught classes at an Apple Store for several years.

In all that time, I never had anyone under 50 at my table. It was always the older crowd that needed the most help.

This has always confused me. Despite popular opinion, we did grow up with technology, even if it wasn’t as advanced as it is today. If anything, the simplicity of my first Mac 40 years ago should have made it easier to keep up with tech’s evolution.

However, I believe I’ve discovered why older people struggle and why future generations will do so.

It’s about the paradigm shifts.

Let me give you an example.

I didn’t buy the first iPhone. I didn’t believe in its potential and didn’t want to learn a new way of dealing with my mobile phone.

Moving on from my Palm Treo meant giving up my stylus and my physical keyboard. Not going to happen.

I wasn’t alone. My wife loved her BlackBerry and had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the iPhone world when her company told her they would no longer support her beloved Curve.

My point is that an onscreen keyboard and gestures like swiping were a paradigm shift. It led to everyone having to learn a new way to interface with their devices.

Because it was a significant change, not everyone was able to adapt. Even today, people still buy the old flip phone style.

This type of shift happens every few years. Before my Mac, I struggled to learn the arcane commands of DOS. This was followed by the introduction of the mouse and graphic interfaces. We had to deal with those crazy AOL online portals, followed by learning to navigate websites.

Each time technology shifted, people were left behind.

This is why I can confidently say that someone currently 15 years old will struggle with technology as a senior the same way their grandparents do.

There will be more paradigm shifts, even if you can’t imagine them, and they, too, will lead to trouble keeping up.

We’re in the middle of two of those paradigm shifts right now.

The first is AI. If you’ve tried OpenAI or any of the others, you know it’s not as simple as it appears to get the results you want. People have begun to make a living as Prompt Engineers because not everyone has been able to figure it out.

The second shift is the Apple Vision Pro. Once more, we’re being introduced to a new type of interface using your eyes and gestures.

There are more elements I can add to this.

The first is that young people don’t understand tech as much as you think they do.

Being able to create videos for YouTube and knowing your way around TikTok and Instagram doesn’t mean your kids have a full grasp of technology and how it works. Ultimately, they’re merely consumers pushing buttons.

They typically know enough to do the things they want to do, but no more. The only real difference between older and younger is that seniors don’t like to push a button without knowing what it does, while the kids are not afraid to push buttons randomly. This is what gives them an edge.

Over time, that edge will disappear.

Will some people be able to adapt no matter their age? Of course, but this brings up the fallacy that seniors don’t understand technology.

Just because I don’t know how to use WhatsApp and TikTok doesn’t mean I don’t understand my devices.

I’m an expert user of Adobe Audition, a professional audio editor, for my voice work. Based on what many teenagers think, as a person in my 60s, I shouldn’t know how to use it.

It comes down to choosing what I want to know instead of what younger generations think I should know.

TikTok holds no interest for me. I’ve never bothered to try. However, I’m certain I could learn it if I wanted to.

The second element is that technology will not always be relevant to today’s kids.

Even in a generation raised with tech, many will discover as they age that they don’t need it to be happy and satisfied with life.

Grandma may not want to learn tech because her life experience taught her she doesn’t need to.

It’s also possible today’s kids will burn out on tech someday.

As I’ve shown, there are myriad reasons people lack knowledge of today’s technology, including lack of intention. If I don’t want to learn, I don’t have to.

Paradigm shifts will continue to reset the playing field, and not everyone will adapt.

No one should ever be criticized for what they don’t know about technology. In the end, we all fall prey to the same cycle.