The Technology Gap

Have you ever noticed that a child is miles of ahead of their parents when it comes to using a computer? Computers are now a critical aspect of our modern world, capable of delivering staggering amounts of information in less time than it takes to toast a piece of bread. That rapid availability is a cause of concern because in so many cases, adults just don't know how to use a computer as well as kids. In most cases this simply results in a loss of productivity for the less informed computer users. In some instances however, this can lead to much more serious situations.

The Parent Problem

For most things a child encounters, a parent can give them guidance as to how they should confront it...What things the child should or should not do in order to learn how to deal with the situation. And this method works, since everything a child deals with, the parent often has dealt with it too. ...And then comes the computer. Most children grew up with the computer. They know how to put photos on it, download songs onto their favorite mp3 player, ...And for that matter, they know what an mp3 is. But they also know how to surf the internet. And when parents can barely check their e-mail, you can start to see the problem. The technology gap that exists between children and their parents can lead to many problems, almost always dealing with the internet.

What Do You Do About It?

Try, make mistakes and learn. It's as simple as that. How do you think kids learned so much about computers in the first place? The difference between you and them is that they have no fear. When they sit down at a computer, they push buttons, they click on things, and consequently they do stupid stuff. And when they do those stupid things, they ask people to teach them how to fix it so that their parents won't know.

Adults on the other hand take a different approach. Usually the thought at the forefront of their minds is, "If I break it, how much money is it going to cost me to fix it?" That thinking prevents them from trying new things and taking chances...It prevents them from learning. And adults rationalize it by saying, "Well if I break it, a new computer is going to cost me what-$1000?" But do they ever stop to think how much money they could save by learning about their computers so that they would never have to take it to anyone to get it fixed? Do they ever stop to think how much money they're losing in productivity by not knowing how to use a computer?

Do they ever stop to think how distanced they are from their children because they are so clueless about something so central to their kids' lives?

The Current State of Affairs

The fact is, the technology gap exists. But it doesn't have to prove to be a insurmountable obstacle between children and adults. Social networking sites such as MySpace and Friendster have proven to be a great enticement for kids to post sensitive and personal data about themselves for others to view. And if parents don't start getting a clue and learning about these sites, their kids could end up making themselves vulnerable to online predators posing as harmless online buddies.

The internet, (and computing in general), are such relatively new technologies that they have surpassed many older people. There are some however who have refused to lay down and have taken to embracing the new technologies. Will you be such a person or will you allow the Information Age to leave you in its dust?

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