According to a recent "
Times" newspaper,
Microsoft Psychologists have decided that there are "3 Ages Of
Office Worker":
N-GENS (18-25 years old)
These workers have grown up
online, and at ease with the world of
technology. Are much better at using technology than their older colleagues.
Lack
confidence in themselves,
fear themselves and the
world around them, and will
hide behind technology.
PC-GENS(25-34)
Grew up using a
PC, but not the
Internet. Unlikely to use
technology to its
full potential because they remain
wary of its
powers. Often
avoids technology by
rationalizing that it doesn't really
help.
TV-GENS(35-Plus)
Unsure of technology.
Strong sense of self.
Proper balance in
life.
Scared of
technology.
Overwhelmed by it. Turn backs on technology
saying the
old ways are
better.
I don't think it's
possible to let this go without adding
some subjectivity. So, having read the
conclusions of this
report, I'm inclined to
say...
bollocks.
It's true that there are undoubtedly
people around who do fall neatly into those
categories. However, in my experience, a persons
age has very little to do with
which group they fit into.
"Scared of technology. Overwhelmed by it. Turn backs on technology saying the old ways are better."
When I was 6 years old, my
Grandad bought a
computer "for us Grandkids to play with". As it happens, he ended up using it pretty much
constantly and got into
programming, getting me
interested along the way. If he hadn't, I probably wouldn't be in this job, or online now typing this...
"These workers have grown up online, and at ease with the world of technology. Are much better at using technology than their older colleages.
Lack confidence in themselves, fear themselves and the world around them, and will hide behind technology"
That's me then apparently. Are they saying that I
automatically lack confidence because I
rely on technology? Could it not be
possible that
people in this
age group simply have
less experience than their colleagues, which will naturally make them a little
insecure at first, whatever
field they
work in?
"Grew up using a PC, but not the Internet. Unlikely to use technology to its full potential because they remain wary of its powers. Often avoids
technology by rationalizing that it doesn't really help."
Well, that brings me to the
whole point of this
rant. At what age does a person stop "
growing up"? The real problem with this report is
that it
assumes that by the time you reach
18 you've already learned
everything that you'll ever
need or
want to
know. So what if a 30 year
old didn't have the option of using the internet to do their
school homework? Does that automatically mean that they weren't
first in line to use
the
Internet when it later became
available?
When I was at
school, there
was one English teacher who absolutely
refused to let anyone
word process anything, while other
(sometimes
older) teachers could appreciate the benefits of actually being able to
read my
work, so sure, some people
are like this.
The point, though, is that it all depends on the
individual, and what the study should really have
concentrated on is why
some people of
whatever age are
scared of technology and
progress. In my (not so humble) opinion, a
company with as much
spare cash as
Microsoft would do better to
invest money into getting those people
interested in
computers instead of commissioning
pointless and
ill-thought out "
ageist"
reports which may
adversely influence the
decisions of people responsible for
hiring employees.