This doesn’t just apply to seniors but I’m sure we’ve all been there unless you’re under 20 years old. Technology is always emerging with something new and fascinating, but ultimately you will have to learn how to use this new tech in the end. Being someone that has seen it all, it would still be hard to absorb new things like all the new advances to our world. Computers aren’t relatively something new, but the way it’s been advancing has made it difficult for even the tech-savvy to catch up because of the learning curves.
For anyone over the age of 60 (even 50), it would be hard to imagine that anything is easy to learn anymore. Nothing is just a matter of simple buttons and tutorials anymore because of the complexity of design and functionality. We live in a world where multiple devices are all accessible in a machine we can put in our pocket.
This is a simple guide to how things have changed and how we can adapt!
How Our Technology has Changed
Here I will list the basic tech that has really changed our lives since computers have been invented.
-Computers
It’s amazing how far we’ve come from a simple computer that replaced our typewriters and calculators. We started with a basic system to make our normal tasks work faster and it quickly started to replace many other tasks that we can only dream of such as accounting, banking, and even creating art.
Remember when some of us spent thousands on an Encyclopedia library? or even a simple upright piano (still thousands)
We call that Google and Wikipedia now among other websites that store vast amounts of information, as for music, the options we have now to listen and even play a piano just comes down to a download.
-Phones
Remember landlines? It’s definitely still around and a lot of us still use it but it’s slowly being phased off with wireless and satellite technology. Honestly for me, it’s the safest way of communication because it’s a physical connection that can never be cut off (sort of ) but in the world we live now, it’s not preferable anymore.
As mentioned before, computers have paved the way in technology and now we have computers that we can carry in our pockets. The “phones” we carry now are nothing but portable computers that can do everything from making calls to taking pictures. Carrying a separate camera or an audio recorder are long gone.. decades gone.. and it’s hard to embrace this combination of technology but it’s quite easy to learn with practice no matter your age.
Everything is an “APP” (or application/program), which just applies to everything you used to use, such as a phone, camera, piano, typewriter, etc… It is a computer in our pocket with some advancements but with a little diligence, it’s not hard to learn.
-Autos
So after my previous introduction on computers, you can only imagine what we can do with automobiles. Nowadays, it’s just a giant computer on wheels with an engine and it’s all being controlled by a central computer that tells the auto what to do. Speedometers, odometers and all the check lights such as for the engine and washer fluid is all based on meters that are attached to an electronic board that acts as the “motherboard” or the main brain of the auto.
This is basically another form of a computer scaled to a larger size to carry us around. There is specialized tech for autos now, but unfortunately it would be too much to explain it in this space outside of a simple computer
As we Grow…
As technology advances, it may seem hard to understand how everything works, but with basic knowledge from the technology of our past, it’s not hard to associate the technology that you knew growing up to the new technology that are trying to tie things together.
It may seem daunting to learn of the ever-growing technology of our present but with an open mind from what you are used to from days gone, the association can be learned easily especially in a world where everything is accessible by simply asking. I say “Simply asking” and in lehman’s terms of this world.. I’d hate to say it but you can search or “Google it”.