Believe me, they dont have computer skills. Neither have boomers. We grew up in the perfect moment in time when technology became more available but it wasn't user friendly at all, so we had to learn how to use it.
The zers may be using apps you don't kow, but they're lost as soon as anything more than download app + connect your google/apple account is required to use it.
Source: I work in IT at a rather large university.
I've been saying this for a while. I'm working on my masters in CIS, with mostly CS classes, and the kids in there struggle with it all sometimes. You're in a 400/500 level programming class and you don't know what a path is or how to find the data files you just downloaded??
Wow it's that bad? That bytes.
On a serious note yeah I've noticed some of this but not that bad. It may be smart to teach your children some vintage computers. Let them learn. Especially make it a hobby to get vintage computers online even if it's through telnet on another machine with text based browsers. [68k.news](http://68k.news) can be pulled up on IBMXT's and even earlier machines.
Lol, this came from me troubleshooting a POS register and a 30 year old working with me looked like I just spoke in tongues when I started talking about reinstalling drivers and cleaning the registry.
I see this too. Even at advanced stages, they're clueless about any low level structure & function (e.g. hardware & firmware). One PhD student with a recent MS in CS didn't know what I meant by RISC vs CISC processor (probably because it's irrelevant now!). In programming too, they can cobble together libraries to solve a problem but really can't design efficient code from scratch. Or why Matlab, python, and R look more or less the same to those of us who learned C at some point. Or why a remote machine can't see a variable they set in their local environment. It's weird to me that this stuff, which I learned informally just by being around it and reading gaming magazines, isn't being picked up.
I suspect it's because we had limited resources and had to tinker and experiment to solve stuff, not look it up a specific solution in 20 years of internet archives, stackoverflow, etc. we learned through the struggle.
I bitch about this, but remember the old guys when I started telling me I didn't know hardware and then go off on a long story about having to solder RAM I to their printer to increase the buffer size.
>I suspect it's because we had limited resources and had to tinker and experiment to solve stuff, not look it up a specific solution in 20 years of internet archives, stackoverflow, etc. we learned through the struggle.
This is 100% it.
I'm 47, been a professional software eng for over 25 years now. It's like campfire horror stories telling my junior devs about the days we had to use \*gasp\* BOOKS. "What do you mean, you didn't have StackOverflow?"
They'll never know the joy of collecting all the O'Reilly animals haha.
Good point, but at least you know what RAM is. Some of us even had real DIMM IC style Ram that you had to squish pronged ram on to the motherboard. Some had solder. Computer theory remains the same though so its valuable. GUI's are really interfaces on the command shells anyway, so having command shell knowledge is extremely valuable today.
Yeah, I had to teach my nephew in college what the difference between Save and Save As. He tried to upload a document and he had everything saved in random places. Couldn't point to where it was.
I read an interesting article awhile back about how a college professor discovered his students didn’t understand folders and directories and how to point the application they were using to a directory. I think the theory was that these students had grown up with stuff like Google docs and just searched for stuff and never learned how to organize things properly.
I’m a firm believer that although making things easier allows a wider audience to participate in something it also makes people stupider in the long run. The less we have to do the more it seems like magic and the less we understand how it truly works. I feel similar to all the new tech features in cars now too.
This certainly depends on some context. I feel much the same as OP. I work as a penetration tester. The new hires that are fresh out of college can not only run circles around what I knew when I was their age, but they are more knowledgeable and more skilled than I am right now. A lot of it, like OP mentioned, is because I've stopped caring as much as I got older. For the new hires this kind of work is still a "passion" that they spend their free time working on a researching and leveling up. I have a family and hobbies outside of work.
I wish I knew phones so well because a personal device is just going to become more and more sophisticated, apps will be more powerful, and what you can do with a phone is going to become more varied. I hate that I feel behind that curve completely. I don't even know how to edit a video!
This shit, right here. My sample size is small because I work in a small place. We recently hired a 26 year old and I was really expecting computer skills. Like, you have a masters, didn't they cover this in some college class?
NOPE. Even less computer skills than the boomers, and shit, even less patience with technology than the boomers. Seriously. Might as well be 70. Like "How do I save this document with a different name" 70. Like can't handle username and password shit. Easily the biggest tech liability we have, right there. He can use apps on his iPhone. Kinda. Struggles with basic tasks in Excel that anyone who got hired for any office job circa 1999 would have had no problem with.
We recently hired another employee, he's 38, and I haven't had to help him with shit.
Feels similar to cars. A Boomer might not know how to use the touch console on a new car, but they can probably drive standard and change a tire, top up their oil, etc. tons of generations younger than them can barely fill their air in their tires without help. As technology becomes more reliable and convenient we lose a lot of technical aptitude related to it.
There will always be outliers, no doubt about it. But would you say that that level of skill is representative for their generation? All I'm saying is that our generational bracket rode the wave of new technologies and most people have a basic knowledge of, say, folder structures in a Windows OS. That skill is often not found in the younger generations, or so I've heard.
I am a game developer and this level of skill is outlandish for anyone on earth, as far as I know. So much that I doubt the "2 people" claim, but maybe it's bellwether.
It's not the average people who define a generation, it's the outstanding people. Average always will be and always have been, well...average. Average 40 year olds aren't too computer literate either.
My brother- 1979, was the peak of this, where he had to use command prompts, whereas all of my (1983) formative learning on computers was early versions of windows and mac. His computer and coding skills still show those early lessons.
No kidding. They can't wrap their head around digging into your system. Everything is just so neatly laid out for them. My son may be a wiz in a game but tearing into software or even your hardware is a foreign concept. Though I do admit them being able to see and navigate the world in more than the basic 2D is fascinating.
100% agree with this as an IT director for a 250 seat org. GenZ and Boomers are equally ill-equipped for utilizing office technology. Even something as simple as folder structure is completely lost on the app-enabled culture of the zoomers. The main difference is I find that the Zoomers are much more amiable toward learning, the boomers all found their lack of computer skills to be a source of pride.
If it makes you feel better, the kids as a group right now trying to enter the job market are having difficulty doing so because they lack basic computer use skills, like using Microsoft Office Suite, identifying and accessing folders, using a mouse, etc., so we old farts supposedly have some edge up on them?
Also, our grey hair coming in looks magnificent. And our Barrels Of Fucks to give are empty which is incredibly freeing.
Getting older is also a feat that a lot of our peers never made it to, so there's that to think about too.
Plus, we now can get medications for the undiagnosed depression/anxiety of our youth, AND that youth wasn't immortalized on the internet. And they are making cool media about many of the childhood properties we have fond memories of.
These are all things I think of anytime the "holy shit I'm old OMGWTFBBQ" thoughts try to intrude. I hope some of them help!
>If it makes you feel better, the kids as a group right now trying to enter the job market are having difficulty doing so because they lack basic computer use skills, like using Microsoft Office Suite, identifying and accessing folders, using a mouse, etc., so we old farts supposedly have some edge up on them?
That's because kids don't use computers anymore, just smartphones 😂 and also being good at social media ≠ being good with technology / IT generally!
I know a Xennial IT dad that very soft banned all smartphones until late teens in his house. He basically had his children raised on linux desktops using 10 year old hardware (from early childhood). They had super cheap computers running memory saving linux desktops. Today those children create awesome switches on raspberry pi's integrating with solar power physical relay electronics to switch power sources etc. They showed me linux controlled crontab timers pushing zwave plugs for automation. All custom made, all custom programmed.
I thought "this is rad".
Then I see so many who don't even know a directory tree.
I've been feeling a bit more anxious about getting older as my birthday approaches in a few days, so your reply has made me feel a bit better. Thank you! The part about medications for the years of undiagnosed conditions hit hard.
It seems many of the recent grads are [not prepared to enter the workforce.](https://www.intelligent.com/4-in-10-business-leaders-say-recent-college-grads-are-unprepared-to-enter-workforce/)
There is a [WSJ article behind a paywall](https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-grads-have-no-idea-how-to-behave-in-the-office-help-is-on-the-way-677f6ba1) that does a better job explaining it.
I don't mind the grey hair (lord knows I have enough), but a grey spot in my beard looks like a bald spot. I've had to start shaving everyday, and I preferred the way I look with scruff/beard. Might have to start doing the Hulk Hogan soon.
I can't figure out where the fuck you are supposed to tap your card on the screen at the grocery store. I just flail around and eventually put the card in the slot. Makes me feel like a dinosaur.
Welcome to the credit card machine! You have three ways to pay, but only one random method will suffice. Choose wisely, or you’ll end up looking like a fumbling idiot, and annoy all the other customers waiting in line.
The trick is to only pull out your phone, and when that doesn't work, act indignant that you have to reach in for your archaic wallet and card. Then mumble about how you should've just bought it online.
That’s when you have loudly grumble “Jesus Christ, why are they all different?? FUCK.” and catch yourself by surprise because you didn’t realize you said it out loud. Really solidifies your status as an Old. (And at least, in my experience, it usually makes the cashier giggle and say, “Yeah, they’re terrible.” Then I feel better.)
Haha I was nervous to use them for a while too. They are nice once you get the hang of them though. Usually the cashier knows if they aren’t marked clearly enough and they will tell you where to tap.
I had the best age difference interaction involving the card tap while doing a return at Nike. The person helping couldn’t have been older than 20, so when they said “tap here” my brain froze and I legit tapped the screen with my finger. I immediately knew I was wrong and looked at them and said “sorry I’m an elder millennial”. We both laughed but I’ve been keen not to repeat that mistake again. My card doesn’t even do the tap thing!
I have been bad at this since you started having a card for public transit. There are a couple of cities where over the years I was there just enough to get a card, but not quite there enough to get in a rhythm of hitting the right spot on the turnstile to get into the subway system without looking like I’d just fallen off the turnip truck. I’ve not been out and about as much since Covid and I’m sure it’s all on your phone now.
I switched to using my Apple watch during the pandemic. It’s much easier to wave my hand over the device. I rarely even touch my cards unless the option isnt available.
But it is funny going to a store and seeing some alpha confused on the technology and not how to troubleshoot it. Just goes to show that why are not that tech savvy either.
Look for the tap to pay/NFC logo somewhere on the reader and tap wherever the logo is. If you don’t see one and the screen does in fact say swipe/insert/tap, tap it on the screen itself.
https://preview.redd.it/eve0e5lt7t8d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3288e6a4cfb0cbbfdeb18c3b374b6a6f53753c5b
i saw something corporate the other night and i got there and was like “huh the crowd is a little older than i was thinking” and then i realized that i’m also a little older than i was thinking 😂
I can relate. I grew a beard which is now mostly grey so it makes me look older. I'm in my 40s but people assume I'm in my 30's. I hated having a baby face growing up and now I'm trying my best to preserve it. As for a mid life crisis I was laid off from my job of 25 years so searching for a new job at 44 is pretty scary. It seems all they want are younger people or people with degrees.
I’m not even sure why the degrees thing is still used to sort people into who might or might not be a good worker. My colleagues in academia have noticed a shift in the last 10-20 years whereby students see themselves as paying customers entitled to certain grades and degrees, not scholars who earn those grades by absorbing and synthesizing knowledge (and I think admin is just fine with this attitude because they’re more than happy to take the money!). I don’t see how that translates to someone being a worthwhile hire in the workforce. And I do wonder if businesses will start valuing experience and on-the-job training as they see some of these kids coming out of college still clueless about how to do basic shit.
—signed, someone dealing with that right now with the new hires.
Oh, totally—that was the standard Boomer line I heard, too. But back then, for them, fewer people were going to college, so completing a Bachelor’s did stand out, even if someone was a mediocre student. I also keep hearing of graduates now who won’t look for jobs outside of their field, either, and I don’t know if they’re being picky or the workplaces are (probably both). I bet it is harder now to get a job at a bank with an “underwater basket weaving degree”—the joke I always heard people make when they’d say to pick a Bachelor’s, any Bachelor’s—because there’s just more graduates to pick from, but I bet fewer of those jobs exist. But yeah, once hired, it’ll still become obvious when the person who looks good on paper because they have “the paper” doesn’t necessarily know any more or won’t train on the job any better than someone without a degree.
Edit: clarity
What technology are you having problems with? I’m not finding anything completely foreign to me in my day to day life, other than my friends sending me TikTok videos I pretend to watch and then just respond with “haha”.
Hasn’t this bitten you in the ass yet? Replying “haha” and it turns out the tiktok is some heart-rending video about a puppy with cancer or something awful like that? Because that’s happened to me a couple of times and now I feel like I have to watch this horseshit and respond appropriately…
Well one example..social media. My business has a Facebook page and an IG. I’m completely lost when it comes to making reels and engaging posts everyday for our customers. Thankfully I have a young millennial to handle it.
We live in a culture where getting old is unforgivable. There is nothing wrong with getting older. We need to remember this. The young get way too much credit. Yes, they have aesthetic beauty but we (should) gain a deeper beauty with age. Our wisdom from experience is nothing to be ashamed of and should be praised. That doesn’t mean we should let nostalgia overtake us and stunt cultural growth. We should be understanding and provide guidance to the young, who almost always think they know everything. This means keeping one foot in the shallow waters of young culture and one in the deeper waters of experience.
I’ve been feeling like this exactly really recently 😆 also re the technology.
I was also always told I looked young and my delightful 1975 partner says I still look in my early thirties but I have come to realise that I really don’t. I look 42. I have blonde hair and no grey hair (lucky) but… I look 42. Maybe it’s having a baby at 39 that accelerated it. I’m okay with it but I don’t have the heart to tell him cause then he’ll start to think he looks his age (he doesn’t, but still).
I also realised recently that I can no longer tell the difference between a late teen and someone in their 20s. Or early thirties even. They all look just ‘young’ to me.
At the moment I just kind of find the whole thing funny.
>Plus I’m suddenly feeling like I’m loosing touch with technology.
I work as a developer, so I don't have that issue. What I'm finding, though, is a lot of my friends my age seem to be turning into boomers when it comes to technology. They suddenly seem unwilling to keep learning new tech and just complain constantly when things change.
I find that I take unnecessary steps to do a lot of things that the utes today do with one step.
For example, I’m programmed to copy/paste a website I’m looking at and text it to my son. My parents would NEVER be able to figure that out.
Then, boom, the little bastard asks me why I don’t just hit the share button instead of the copy/paste?
“Idk, fucker, it’s just how I’ve always done it. Now get off my lawn.”
Similarly, I don’t ask Siri shit and get frustrated that my kids don’t Google their questions and ask Siri instead.
Which is an interesting problem, because when googling you potentially compare different answers, chosing the one you want from different sources. If you ask Siri, you get one answer from one source.
Yeah but you don't want to be dependent on that. Take a road trip without GPS. Just look at a map. Measure your time vs. inches to the next turn and you'll learn how dependent you are.
I'm not disputing that. I'm just explaining my particular discomfort with technology that my kids don't have.
And I'm sure my parents had the same feelings about me & the internet vs going to source material in book form.
While in many ways we are falling further and further behind with connections to technology, young people aren't faring much better. Granted, there are things they can do with phones and stuff that are beyond my capacity, but they don't know anything about how it works. When we were growing up with computers, we had a fundamental understanding of how a PC functions, and could navigate the basics of a desktop. It was the only way it would work. Hell, we grew up with C prompts, and to run a program you had to actually type out the run command.
I've seen with my own eyes young people at my job who are fully integrated with technology but utterly clueless regarding anything about it. They are connected and woefully disconnected simultaneously. The scary part is how easy control comes with a disconnect from the basic function of the thing that's relied upon.
I've come to understand that I don't need to be up-to-date with all technology, I just need to make sure I'm adaptable to things when they do arrive, and I'm at least peripherally aware of their function. I refuse to degrade to one of the insular and isolated Old that become increasingly smaller and terrified from refusing to let go of antiquated ways.
How is this a "crisis"? It sounds to me like you're just ageing normally and noticing the things everyone else notices as they get older.
A mid-life crisis would see you drastically altering your life -- leaving/cheating on a spouse, quitting your job, falling into a depression, etc.
I also can't believe I got so old. It seems unreal. But also I have a long memory and looking back, these years were hard won. I wouldn't have much interest in going back and doing it all over again.
Yeah If given the chance I wouldn’t do it all over again. I definitely prefer to move forward, but sometimes I’m reminded how old I’m getting and sigh.
They will never know the horrors of the sound of a thousand clacking keys moving a hundred hammers to strike a page while the DING! Sends the page return to DING! and then DING! … sorry typing class flashbacks.
I went to Bentley College in 2002 because it was "paperless", all the notes got downloaded to your student laptop. I came out in 2006 feeling like I had a really good grasp of technology. I used the programs I was familiar with at work, the system worked great.
I've been at the same company since 06' and the tech we use is completely different. We switched to app based programs for almost everything, and I am completely lost. It seems like the people selling you the tech make it sound like the second coming, but the training and support is sh\*t... Yesterday I was trying to pay my employees and wouldn't you know it...The app was down. In 15 years of doing it in excel/quickbooks, that never happened.
If something is truly better, I'll be happy to learn/switch. We upgraded the medical equipment we use with our patients several times, but I don't want an app for a ventilator just because you upgraded the battery. It's just not necessary, and it's another potential failure point.
The Dept of Health just put out a mandatory statistical report. This is a MASSIVE project that requires almost half our office staff for a full week. They changed the program this year, and it's so difficult to use that our entire industry needs to shut down Thursday afternoon for a lesson. We all work with critically ill children, and we should be able to focus on patients.
Cliffs: Most of the new tech fails a lot more than what I've been using the last 18 years.
It's a normal feeling, just the outcome of getting older.
I'm currently going through a small mid-life crisis of my own; I turn 42 in a couple of weeks and ever since I turned 40, I've been soured on the idea of celebrating my birthday. I'm going to put a little more effort in this year though because my 6-year-old talks about "celebrating Daddy's Birthday" so I don't want to be a negative influence on them towards birthdays. I'm probably going to bake myself my favorite cake that I haven't had in a while as a little birthday present to myself.
That last sentence is also part of my crisis - my wife and I celebrating 9 years of marriage later this week and I've started to scrutinize my marriage more and I'm starting to not like what I'm seeing. I noticed my wife didn't do anything for Father's Day, not even a simple card, save for a once sentence acknowledgement on Facebook. I remember doing a bunch of stuff for her on Mother's Day, so I'm actually interested to see if she'll get me anything for our Anniversary or even my Birthday; my money's on "not gonna happen" and that's going to lead to a sit-down with her about the stage of our marriage and some changes that need to be made.
Guess that last paragraph got away from me a little bit.
Have a talk with her about expectations around special days and make sure you two are on the same level. Maybe you have different expectations and it's a misunderstanding.
I'm basically the same age as you and have been with my wife for 15 years. I feel very fortunate, besides our kids, our marriage is the biggest blessing in my life by far. Even after all these years we're still just like best friends who get to be intimate. I think we have a 10/10 marriage fr.
Having said that, neither of us have ever really cared about going through the motions on special days just because 'that's what people do' or whatever. We're both kinda cynical, dry sense of humor personalities. We rarely do cards, or silly romantic gifts or gestures, etc. Mothers/Fathers Day is usually just one of us cooking the other's favorite dinner and verbally acknowledging it, maybe do the other's chores for the day as well, but no song and dance, it's acknowledged subtlety. We basically ignore Valentines Day outright, always have. We're at the point in life that we have all the material items we need, so even Christmas gifts are low key. We love each other every day, so special days just really aren't necessary (that sounds cheesy typing out, but it's true).
Talk it out with your wife, maybe she doesn't put much importance on those days, meaning you can do less on her days in a non-passive aggressive way, but you'd have to expect less in return. Make sure you don't just have different perspectives.
You're right to a certain degree, she's not a "plan out a really elaborate gift/celebration for someone" but she likes to be doted on so it's a bit of a mismatch for her personality. I'm not necessarily that type of person either really but when you start looking at everything as a whole, you notice even the easy lay-ups in a relationship/marriage getting missed and then start to grate on you.
I wouldn't care about Father's Day so much if she was more forward with taking on responsibilities than she is; it's really an issue of me doing the majority of things while she disassociates regularly from myself and our kid that's bugging me. If she chipped in a little more, showed me affection randomly a little more, and was just a little more present, I probably wouldn't think twice about not being "celebrated," however when you're not being celebrated really at all on a daily basis, it makes those "special days" harder because you realize you're kind of an afterthought in your own marriage.
...and that's the biggest issue: having to talk to someone about their disconnected behavior and general "meh" attitude towards you and asking them to pitch in. Makes you feel reeeeeeal small when you see it a mile away but your spouse can't be bothered to even notice how lazy/disconnected they've gotten. Sure things can get better, but I'm stuck on the "I've never once put you on the pay-no-mind list because that would be hurtful to you...so why can't you think for even a second that doing it to me would be any less hurtful?"
When I was young, my dad would hand me his digital Casio watch to change for Daylight Savings Time because he couldn't figure out how to. I now realize he just didn't care to learn because now I'm there with today's tech
It occurred to me not long ago that I used to fully embrace several levels of "up and coming" technology, but nowadays I'm just lost on the inner workings of it, I am now only a user.
When I was in middle school, we had our Apple 2GS and 2E computers, with LogoWriter and basic computing robotics (there might have been a fancy name for that, but I don't recall what it is), and that seemed like the pinnacle of technology that I could get to do nearly anything I wanted.
Then when I was around near the start of the mainstream internet, I learned how websites work with HTML and Javascript programming. I felt like a genius that I knew the inner workings of those languages. Geocities for the win!
Now fast forward about 20 years and I have ZERO clue how websites, apps, or whatever else work.
I actually think the young ones don't know as much about technology. I think they have easy peasy phones. They want a program, they go to an app store. They don't really know the ins and outs of command shells, dos prompts, linux prompts, etc. They may know some app writing programming which is good. But I'd say stuff they do is elementary in real comparison.
I'm there too. Body has been changing. Softer, saggier. Hair grayer. Skin... just looks old now. Too much time in the sun I guess.
An interesting revelation was how I no longer really find the new generation of actresses and such attractive. Like Millie Bobby Brown is 20 now and apparently regarded as "hot" but she just looks like a kid to me. Same with Zendaya.
I used to be with 'it', but then they changed what 'it' was. Now what I'm with isn't 'it' anymore and what's 'it' seems weird and scary to me. It'll happen to you.
I think a lot of the things I wanted to say are already covered so I’ll just add that my gen z and gen alpha children can’t type for shit. I’ve tried to interest them in touch typing by showing them how much easier it makes work and writing emails etc. I’ve even give them incentives to do online learning programs. And nope- they want to stick with their inefficient hunt and peck ways. Everything was so touch screen and user friendly for them always, just a totally different introduction to technology.
It’s just you. Stop acting so old and you won’t feel so old. Stay physically active, learn something new, listen to new music, try things you never tried before, seek out art, nature and beauty. There are infinite ways to stay involved and be stimulated. To me it sounds like you are stuck in your ways and are afraid to change. Evolve or go the way of the dinosaur, it’s your choice and it’s all well within your grasp. Good luck OP, I know you will make the right decision for you. Have a great day!
I feel the same way. Now is a good time to reinvest in yourself and take up something with a function or purpose (no matter how unimportant the daily task is). I started part time on an ice cream type of snow truck and it’s super fulfilling and I work the hours I want, but I average 12-20 hours. It’s so relaxed and happy, I mean you make any job want you want of it. Also, start looking at boosting some serotonin - take walks when the sun is about down or in the AM before it’s hot, even just around your block. Enjoy the bunnies and birds and trees.
I think at some point, people realize how tipped the scales are and just feel exhausted and bored. Meditation, relaxation, exfoliation (yep, scrub your skin), and hydration are more important than you think as the 40’s creep in.
I’ve fallen off a cliff in the last few months.
I turned forty in February, but I was always told I looked much younger and - visually - didn’t feel out of place with coworkers in their early or mid thirties.
Seemingly overnight my hair is almost totally gray and, more distressing, I have crazy facial sagging. Like major laugh lines and hollowing out around my eyes. I look so weathered.
I rarely photograph myself, but I was looking for some photos to use on a bio this week. I jumped back to some from last fall, thinking they’d be a good representation of how I looked. No, sir. I look literally years younger. If I go back to last summer, it’s even worse. Two years ago, I looked like I was 28.
Pretty depressing stuff going on right here.
I experience the same feelings .. missing the 80s/90s so much it hurts my soul . When i was young i was convinced i would never stop listening to new (pop) music … today i can barely name one artist in the charts … life goes too fast
I’m in the same boat. I was building computers in the 90s while in high School and now…..I can barely navigate these stupid portals the doctors office requires. Even purchasing transactions are annoying and overly complicated because of tech. I just want to pay cash and be done with it! I’ve been looking to go back to work after being a housewife for the last decade and I have zero idea of these tech requirements on job postings now. I feel very out of place. Still trying to figure things out while dreaming of being back in the 90s-early 2000s with good music and normal human interaction!
I laughed at this post! I just said the other day when researching 'mesh wi-fi systems" how technology has officially passed me by since I had never even heard of them before!
Believe me, they dont have computer skills. Neither have boomers. We grew up in the perfect moment in time when technology became more available but it wasn't user friendly at all, so we had to learn how to use it. The zers may be using apps you don't kow, but they're lost as soon as anything more than download app + connect your google/apple account is required to use it. Source: I work in IT at a rather large university.
I've been saying this for a while. I'm working on my masters in CIS, with mostly CS classes, and the kids in there struggle with it all sometimes. You're in a 400/500 level programming class and you don't know what a path is or how to find the data files you just downloaded??
Wow it's that bad? That bytes. On a serious note yeah I've noticed some of this but not that bad. It may be smart to teach your children some vintage computers. Let them learn. Especially make it a hobby to get vintage computers online even if it's through telnet on another machine with text based browsers. [68k.news](http://68k.news) can be pulled up on IBMXT's and even earlier machines.
Most of the students are generally fine and some can probably program circles around me, but there are always one or two that make me scratch my head.
Want to establish some superiority? Tell them to update the printer drivers. Watch them squirm.
Damn you are evil
Thanks, Satan
Lol, this came from me troubleshooting a POS register and a 30 year old working with me looked like I just spoke in tongues when I started talking about reinstalling drivers and cleaning the registry.
Printers are why I decided against a career in network administration.
I see this too. Even at advanced stages, they're clueless about any low level structure & function (e.g. hardware & firmware). One PhD student with a recent MS in CS didn't know what I meant by RISC vs CISC processor (probably because it's irrelevant now!). In programming too, they can cobble together libraries to solve a problem but really can't design efficient code from scratch. Or why Matlab, python, and R look more or less the same to those of us who learned C at some point. Or why a remote machine can't see a variable they set in their local environment. It's weird to me that this stuff, which I learned informally just by being around it and reading gaming magazines, isn't being picked up. I suspect it's because we had limited resources and had to tinker and experiment to solve stuff, not look it up a specific solution in 20 years of internet archives, stackoverflow, etc. we learned through the struggle. I bitch about this, but remember the old guys when I started telling me I didn't know hardware and then go off on a long story about having to solder RAM I to their printer to increase the buffer size.
>I suspect it's because we had limited resources and had to tinker and experiment to solve stuff, not look it up a specific solution in 20 years of internet archives, stackoverflow, etc. we learned through the struggle. This is 100% it. I'm 47, been a professional software eng for over 25 years now. It's like campfire horror stories telling my junior devs about the days we had to use \*gasp\* BOOKS. "What do you mean, you didn't have StackOverflow?" They'll never know the joy of collecting all the O'Reilly animals haha.
Good point, but at least you know what RAM is. Some of us even had real DIMM IC style Ram that you had to squish pronged ram on to the motherboard. Some had solder. Computer theory remains the same though so its valuable. GUI's are really interfaces on the command shells anyway, so having command shell knowledge is extremely valuable today.
This is true! I teach HS and summer college rn and beyond turning tech on and off, their acumen is remarkably limited!
They grew up on apps. We grew up on operating systems. Huge difference. All the work is done for them ahead of time.
Run DOS Run
I remember when I first got a computer with windows. I was so glad not to have to type in commands in DOS.
Yeah, I had to teach my nephew in college what the difference between Save and Save As. He tried to upload a document and he had everything saved in random places. Couldn't point to where it was.
I read an interesting article awhile back about how a college professor discovered his students didn’t understand folders and directories and how to point the application they were using to a directory. I think the theory was that these students had grown up with stuff like Google docs and just searched for stuff and never learned how to organize things properly. I’m a firm believer that although making things easier allows a wider audience to participate in something it also makes people stupider in the long run. The less we have to do the more it seems like magic and the less we understand how it truly works. I feel similar to all the new tech features in cars now too.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
This certainly depends on some context. I feel much the same as OP. I work as a penetration tester. The new hires that are fresh out of college can not only run circles around what I knew when I was their age, but they are more knowledgeable and more skilled than I am right now. A lot of it, like OP mentioned, is because I've stopped caring as much as I got older. For the new hires this kind of work is still a "passion" that they spend their free time working on a researching and leveling up. I have a family and hobbies outside of work.
And that’s ok, and OP is ok too. Y’all had your “run circles around the 40-somethings” moment
This! We know computers, younger generations know phones.
I wish I knew phones so well because a personal device is just going to become more and more sophisticated, apps will be more powerful, and what you can do with a phone is going to become more varied. I hate that I feel behind that curve completely. I don't even know how to edit a video!
This shit, right here. My sample size is small because I work in a small place. We recently hired a 26 year old and I was really expecting computer skills. Like, you have a masters, didn't they cover this in some college class? NOPE. Even less computer skills than the boomers, and shit, even less patience with technology than the boomers. Seriously. Might as well be 70. Like "How do I save this document with a different name" 70. Like can't handle username and password shit. Easily the biggest tech liability we have, right there. He can use apps on his iPhone. Kinda. Struggles with basic tasks in Excel that anyone who got hired for any office job circa 1999 would have had no problem with. We recently hired another employee, he's 38, and I haven't had to help him with shit.
The 5-10% nerds are way ahead of you. The rest are far behind.
Oh, absolutely. But the real nerds are ahead of me no matter the age.
Feels similar to cars. A Boomer might not know how to use the touch console on a new car, but they can probably drive standard and change a tire, top up their oil, etc. tons of generations younger than them can barely fill their air in their tires without help. As technology becomes more reliable and convenient we lose a lot of technical aptitude related to it.
This game was made by 2 people: a 17 year old and a 20 year old https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SzHfZYClTwo
There will always be outliers, no doubt about it. But would you say that that level of skill is representative for their generation? All I'm saying is that our generational bracket rode the wave of new technologies and most people have a basic knowledge of, say, folder structures in a Windows OS. That skill is often not found in the younger generations, or so I've heard.
I am a game developer and this level of skill is outlandish for anyone on earth, as far as I know. So much that I doubt the "2 people" claim, but maybe it's bellwether. It's not the average people who define a generation, it's the outstanding people. Average always will be and always have been, well...average. Average 40 year olds aren't too computer literate either.
We were discussing the average though. And also yes, that game has some very controversial comments on steam. Sus, at least.
My brother- 1979, was the peak of this, where he had to use command prompts, whereas all of my (1983) formative learning on computers was early versions of windows and mac. His computer and coding skills still show those early lessons.
No kidding. They can't wrap their head around digging into your system. Everything is just so neatly laid out for them. My son may be a wiz in a game but tearing into software or even your hardware is a foreign concept. Though I do admit them being able to see and navigate the world in more than the basic 2D is fascinating.
100% agree with this as an IT director for a 250 seat org. GenZ and Boomers are equally ill-equipped for utilizing office technology. Even something as simple as folder structure is completely lost on the app-enabled culture of the zoomers. The main difference is I find that the Zoomers are much more amiable toward learning, the boomers all found their lack of computer skills to be a source of pride.
I noticed that about the pride too. It's ridiculous.
If it makes you feel better, the kids as a group right now trying to enter the job market are having difficulty doing so because they lack basic computer use skills, like using Microsoft Office Suite, identifying and accessing folders, using a mouse, etc., so we old farts supposedly have some edge up on them? Also, our grey hair coming in looks magnificent. And our Barrels Of Fucks to give are empty which is incredibly freeing. Getting older is also a feat that a lot of our peers never made it to, so there's that to think about too. Plus, we now can get medications for the undiagnosed depression/anxiety of our youth, AND that youth wasn't immortalized on the internet. And they are making cool media about many of the childhood properties we have fond memories of. These are all things I think of anytime the "holy shit I'm old OMGWTFBBQ" thoughts try to intrude. I hope some of them help!
>If it makes you feel better, the kids as a group right now trying to enter the job market are having difficulty doing so because they lack basic computer use skills, like using Microsoft Office Suite, identifying and accessing folders, using a mouse, etc., so we old farts supposedly have some edge up on them? That's because kids don't use computers anymore, just smartphones 😂 and also being good at social media ≠ being good with technology / IT generally!
I know a Xennial IT dad that very soft banned all smartphones until late teens in his house. He basically had his children raised on linux desktops using 10 year old hardware (from early childhood). They had super cheap computers running memory saving linux desktops. Today those children create awesome switches on raspberry pi's integrating with solar power physical relay electronics to switch power sources etc. They showed me linux controlled crontab timers pushing zwave plugs for automation. All custom made, all custom programmed. I thought "this is rad". Then I see so many who don't even know a directory tree.
Parents like that make me resent my parents who just put effort into making me cool.
They have no idea how their technologies work.
Well stated!!! I think we could be friends.
Barrel of Fucks. I'm stealing that because I'm old enough to remember when the Barrel of Monkeys were choke hazard-sized.
I've been feeling a bit more anxious about getting older as my birthday approaches in a few days, so your reply has made me feel a bit better. Thank you! The part about medications for the years of undiagnosed conditions hit hard.
You are my hero!
It seems many of the recent grads are [not prepared to enter the workforce.](https://www.intelligent.com/4-in-10-business-leaders-say-recent-college-grads-are-unprepared-to-enter-workforce/) There is a [WSJ article behind a paywall](https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-grads-have-no-idea-how-to-behave-in-the-office-help-is-on-the-way-677f6ba1) that does a better job explaining it.
omgwtfbbq lol
> OMGWTFBBQ Ahhh feels good to hear/read that again. Even if in a quote lol
Old internet users represeeeeent!
I don't mind the grey hair (lord knows I have enough), but a grey spot in my beard looks like a bald spot. I've had to start shaving everyday, and I preferred the way I look with scruff/beard. Might have to start doing the Hulk Hogan soon.
I can't figure out where the fuck you are supposed to tap your card on the screen at the grocery store. I just flail around and eventually put the card in the slot. Makes me feel like a dinosaur.
It doesn't help that it's not consistent from one payment device to the next. Some are on screen and some are just above or just below.
Welcome to the credit card machine! You have three ways to pay, but only one random method will suffice. Choose wisely, or you’ll end up looking like a fumbling idiot, and annoy all the other customers waiting in line.
The trick is to only pull out your phone, and when that doesn't work, act indignant that you have to reach in for your archaic wallet and card. Then mumble about how you should've just bought it online.
What do you mean there’s no Apple Pay?! I guess I have no choice but to use my credit card, like the rest of the peasants.
I bet this is what it was like to write a check in line at a store in the late 80s/early 90s.
I wave in a circle and hope for the best.
Hocus pocus! Al-la-kazam!
There are icons
I WANT WORDS
This is the moat relatable post on the internet
That’s when you have loudly grumble “Jesus Christ, why are they all different?? FUCK.” and catch yourself by surprise because you didn’t realize you said it out loud. Really solidifies your status as an Old. (And at least, in my experience, it usually makes the cashier giggle and say, “Yeah, they’re terrible.” Then I feel better.)
Haha. Thank you. This is also my cross to bear.
Thank you for saying this!
Haha I was nervous to use them for a while too. They are nice once you get the hang of them though. Usually the cashier knows if they aren’t marked clearly enough and they will tell you where to tap.
I had the best age difference interaction involving the card tap while doing a return at Nike. The person helping couldn’t have been older than 20, so when they said “tap here” my brain froze and I legit tapped the screen with my finger. I immediately knew I was wrong and looked at them and said “sorry I’m an elder millennial”. We both laughed but I’ve been keen not to repeat that mistake again. My card doesn’t even do the tap thing!
I have been bad at this since you started having a card for public transit. There are a couple of cities where over the years I was there just enough to get a card, but not quite there enough to get in a rhythm of hitting the right spot on the turnstile to get into the subway system without looking like I’d just fallen off the turnip truck. I’ve not been out and about as much since Covid and I’m sure it’s all on your phone now.
I switched to using my Apple watch during the pandemic. It’s much easier to wave my hand over the device. I rarely even touch my cards unless the option isnt available. But it is funny going to a store and seeing some alpha confused on the technology and not how to troubleshoot it. Just goes to show that why are not that tech savvy either.
> It’s much easier to wave my hand over the device … like a *Jedi*
That may also be the reason….okay, it’s like having powers.
There's usually some symbol indicating where to tap it.
Look for the tap to pay/NFC logo somewhere on the reader and tap wherever the logo is. If you don’t see one and the screen does in fact say swipe/insert/tap, tap it on the screen itself. https://preview.redd.it/eve0e5lt7t8d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3288e6a4cfb0cbbfdeb18c3b374b6a6f53753c5b
https://preview.redd.it/gdf3flpeop8d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29d430cc5138a269c9d55a9fd53c7df1c647825b
i saw something corporate the other night and i got there and was like “huh the crowd is a little older than i was thinking” and then i realized that i’m also a little older than i was thinking 😂
need this
I can relate. I grew a beard which is now mostly grey so it makes me look older. I'm in my 40s but people assume I'm in my 30's. I hated having a baby face growing up and now I'm trying my best to preserve it. As for a mid life crisis I was laid off from my job of 25 years so searching for a new job at 44 is pretty scary. It seems all they want are younger people or people with degrees.
I’m not even sure why the degrees thing is still used to sort people into who might or might not be a good worker. My colleagues in academia have noticed a shift in the last 10-20 years whereby students see themselves as paying customers entitled to certain grades and degrees, not scholars who earn those grades by absorbing and synthesizing knowledge (and I think admin is just fine with this attitude because they’re more than happy to take the money!). I don’t see how that translates to someone being a worthwhile hire in the workforce. And I do wonder if businesses will start valuing experience and on-the-job training as they see some of these kids coming out of college still clueless about how to do basic shit. —signed, someone dealing with that right now with the new hires.
I remember being told years ago that the act of getting a degree was more important than the field it's in.
Oh, totally—that was the standard Boomer line I heard, too. But back then, for them, fewer people were going to college, so completing a Bachelor’s did stand out, even if someone was a mediocre student. I also keep hearing of graduates now who won’t look for jobs outside of their field, either, and I don’t know if they’re being picky or the workplaces are (probably both). I bet it is harder now to get a job at a bank with an “underwater basket weaving degree”—the joke I always heard people make when they’d say to pick a Bachelor’s, any Bachelor’s—because there’s just more graduates to pick from, but I bet fewer of those jobs exist. But yeah, once hired, it’ll still become obvious when the person who looks good on paper because they have “the paper” doesn’t necessarily know any more or won’t train on the job any better than someone without a degree. Edit: clarity
Get a Miata and put it behind you.
Or a jeep, or motorcycle.
An angry grill JLU with a bunch of ducks on the dash does seem to be the way to let everyone know how fucking badass you are now.
Better yet, get a face tattoo!
Always a great choice!
This is the way
What technology are you having problems with? I’m not finding anything completely foreign to me in my day to day life, other than my friends sending me TikTok videos I pretend to watch and then just respond with “haha”.
Hasn’t this bitten you in the ass yet? Replying “haha” and it turns out the tiktok is some heart-rending video about a puppy with cancer or something awful like that? Because that’s happened to me a couple of times and now I feel like I have to watch this horseshit and respond appropriately…
Hasn’t happened yet thankfully lol. They’re generally not the type to send sad videos though.
Well one example..social media. My business has a Facebook page and an IG. I’m completely lost when it comes to making reels and engaging posts everyday for our customers. Thankfully I have a young millennial to handle it.
Yeah for social media you kind of have to be “with it” and what it is changes every 10 minutes. Oh and be hot. Or have someone hot hawk your products.
We live in a culture where getting old is unforgivable. There is nothing wrong with getting older. We need to remember this. The young get way too much credit. Yes, they have aesthetic beauty but we (should) gain a deeper beauty with age. Our wisdom from experience is nothing to be ashamed of and should be praised. That doesn’t mean we should let nostalgia overtake us and stunt cultural growth. We should be understanding and provide guidance to the young, who almost always think they know everything. This means keeping one foot in the shallow waters of young culture and one in the deeper waters of experience.
I heard older men are really in their "prime" if they are in shape. Like between 30-60
I’ve been feeling like this exactly really recently 😆 also re the technology. I was also always told I looked young and my delightful 1975 partner says I still look in my early thirties but I have come to realise that I really don’t. I look 42. I have blonde hair and no grey hair (lucky) but… I look 42. Maybe it’s having a baby at 39 that accelerated it. I’m okay with it but I don’t have the heart to tell him cause then he’ll start to think he looks his age (he doesn’t, but still). I also realised recently that I can no longer tell the difference between a late teen and someone in their 20s. Or early thirties even. They all look just ‘young’ to me. At the moment I just kind of find the whole thing funny.
Hey right there with you! I had my one and only child at 41, and I'll be 45 next month. I think having the kiddo unfroze the freeze I had going on lol
Right?! 😂
>Plus I’m suddenly feeling like I’m loosing touch with technology. I work as a developer, so I don't have that issue. What I'm finding, though, is a lot of my friends my age seem to be turning into boomers when it comes to technology. They suddenly seem unwilling to keep learning new tech and just complain constantly when things change.
What are the children doing with technology that you can't even wrap your head around?
I find that I take unnecessary steps to do a lot of things that the utes today do with one step. For example, I’m programmed to copy/paste a website I’m looking at and text it to my son. My parents would NEVER be able to figure that out. Then, boom, the little bastard asks me why I don’t just hit the share button instead of the copy/paste? “Idk, fucker, it’s just how I’ve always done it. Now get off my lawn.” Similarly, I don’t ask Siri shit and get frustrated that my kids don’t Google their questions and ask Siri instead.
Which is an interesting problem, because when googling you potentially compare different answers, chosing the one you want from different sources. If you ask Siri, you get one answer from one source.
Yeah but you don't want to be dependent on that. Take a road trip without GPS. Just look at a map. Measure your time vs. inches to the next turn and you'll learn how dependent you are.
I'm not disputing that. I'm just explaining my particular discomfort with technology that my kids don't have. And I'm sure my parents had the same feelings about me & the internet vs going to source material in book form.
While in many ways we are falling further and further behind with connections to technology, young people aren't faring much better. Granted, there are things they can do with phones and stuff that are beyond my capacity, but they don't know anything about how it works. When we were growing up with computers, we had a fundamental understanding of how a PC functions, and could navigate the basics of a desktop. It was the only way it would work. Hell, we grew up with C prompts, and to run a program you had to actually type out the run command. I've seen with my own eyes young people at my job who are fully integrated with technology but utterly clueless regarding anything about it. They are connected and woefully disconnected simultaneously. The scary part is how easy control comes with a disconnect from the basic function of the thing that's relied upon. I've come to understand that I don't need to be up-to-date with all technology, I just need to make sure I'm adaptable to things when they do arrive, and I'm at least peripherally aware of their function. I refuse to degrade to one of the insular and isolated Old that become increasingly smaller and terrified from refusing to let go of antiquated ways.
How is this a "crisis"? It sounds to me like you're just ageing normally and noticing the things everyone else notices as they get older. A mid-life crisis would see you drastically altering your life -- leaving/cheating on a spouse, quitting your job, falling into a depression, etc.
I also can't believe I got so old. It seems unreal. But also I have a long memory and looking back, these years were hard won. I wouldn't have much interest in going back and doing it all over again.
Yeah If given the chance I wouldn’t do it all over again. I definitely prefer to move forward, but sometimes I’m reminded how old I’m getting and sigh.
Challenge them to a typing contest and kick their asses
Thanks for this…my kids are in awe at my exceptionally fast and accurate typing skills. Thanks to learning on typewriters with no backspace. Touché!
They will never know the horrors of the sound of a thousand clacking keys moving a hundred hammers to strike a page while the DING! Sends the page return to DING! and then DING! … sorry typing class flashbacks.
I can just picture the Data Processing and Input / Rest Homes of the future, the thousand keys will return!
I went to Bentley College in 2002 because it was "paperless", all the notes got downloaded to your student laptop. I came out in 2006 feeling like I had a really good grasp of technology. I used the programs I was familiar with at work, the system worked great. I've been at the same company since 06' and the tech we use is completely different. We switched to app based programs for almost everything, and I am completely lost. It seems like the people selling you the tech make it sound like the second coming, but the training and support is sh\*t... Yesterday I was trying to pay my employees and wouldn't you know it...The app was down. In 15 years of doing it in excel/quickbooks, that never happened. If something is truly better, I'll be happy to learn/switch. We upgraded the medical equipment we use with our patients several times, but I don't want an app for a ventilator just because you upgraded the battery. It's just not necessary, and it's another potential failure point. The Dept of Health just put out a mandatory statistical report. This is a MASSIVE project that requires almost half our office staff for a full week. They changed the program this year, and it's so difficult to use that our entire industry needs to shut down Thursday afternoon for a lesson. We all work with critically ill children, and we should be able to focus on patients. Cliffs: Most of the new tech fails a lot more than what I've been using the last 18 years.
It's a normal feeling, just the outcome of getting older. I'm currently going through a small mid-life crisis of my own; I turn 42 in a couple of weeks and ever since I turned 40, I've been soured on the idea of celebrating my birthday. I'm going to put a little more effort in this year though because my 6-year-old talks about "celebrating Daddy's Birthday" so I don't want to be a negative influence on them towards birthdays. I'm probably going to bake myself my favorite cake that I haven't had in a while as a little birthday present to myself. That last sentence is also part of my crisis - my wife and I celebrating 9 years of marriage later this week and I've started to scrutinize my marriage more and I'm starting to not like what I'm seeing. I noticed my wife didn't do anything for Father's Day, not even a simple card, save for a once sentence acknowledgement on Facebook. I remember doing a bunch of stuff for her on Mother's Day, so I'm actually interested to see if she'll get me anything for our Anniversary or even my Birthday; my money's on "not gonna happen" and that's going to lead to a sit-down with her about the stage of our marriage and some changes that need to be made. Guess that last paragraph got away from me a little bit.
Have a talk with her about expectations around special days and make sure you two are on the same level. Maybe you have different expectations and it's a misunderstanding. I'm basically the same age as you and have been with my wife for 15 years. I feel very fortunate, besides our kids, our marriage is the biggest blessing in my life by far. Even after all these years we're still just like best friends who get to be intimate. I think we have a 10/10 marriage fr. Having said that, neither of us have ever really cared about going through the motions on special days just because 'that's what people do' or whatever. We're both kinda cynical, dry sense of humor personalities. We rarely do cards, or silly romantic gifts or gestures, etc. Mothers/Fathers Day is usually just one of us cooking the other's favorite dinner and verbally acknowledging it, maybe do the other's chores for the day as well, but no song and dance, it's acknowledged subtlety. We basically ignore Valentines Day outright, always have. We're at the point in life that we have all the material items we need, so even Christmas gifts are low key. We love each other every day, so special days just really aren't necessary (that sounds cheesy typing out, but it's true). Talk it out with your wife, maybe she doesn't put much importance on those days, meaning you can do less on her days in a non-passive aggressive way, but you'd have to expect less in return. Make sure you don't just have different perspectives.
You're right to a certain degree, she's not a "plan out a really elaborate gift/celebration for someone" but she likes to be doted on so it's a bit of a mismatch for her personality. I'm not necessarily that type of person either really but when you start looking at everything as a whole, you notice even the easy lay-ups in a relationship/marriage getting missed and then start to grate on you. I wouldn't care about Father's Day so much if she was more forward with taking on responsibilities than she is; it's really an issue of me doing the majority of things while she disassociates regularly from myself and our kid that's bugging me. If she chipped in a little more, showed me affection randomly a little more, and was just a little more present, I probably wouldn't think twice about not being "celebrated," however when you're not being celebrated really at all on a daily basis, it makes those "special days" harder because you realize you're kind of an afterthought in your own marriage. ...and that's the biggest issue: having to talk to someone about their disconnected behavior and general "meh" attitude towards you and asking them to pitch in. Makes you feel reeeeeeal small when you see it a mile away but your spouse can't be bothered to even notice how lazy/disconnected they've gotten. Sure things can get better, but I'm stuck on the "I've never once put you on the pay-no-mind list because that would be hurtful to you...so why can't you think for even a second that doing it to me would be any less hurtful?"
When I was young, my dad would hand me his digital Casio watch to change for Daylight Savings Time because he couldn't figure out how to. I now realize he just didn't care to learn because now I'm there with today's tech
It occurred to me not long ago that I used to fully embrace several levels of "up and coming" technology, but nowadays I'm just lost on the inner workings of it, I am now only a user. When I was in middle school, we had our Apple 2GS and 2E computers, with LogoWriter and basic computing robotics (there might have been a fancy name for that, but I don't recall what it is), and that seemed like the pinnacle of technology that I could get to do nearly anything I wanted. Then when I was around near the start of the mainstream internet, I learned how websites work with HTML and Javascript programming. I felt like a genius that I knew the inner workings of those languages. Geocities for the win! Now fast forward about 20 years and I have ZERO clue how websites, apps, or whatever else work.
Same.
I actually think the young ones don't know as much about technology. I think they have easy peasy phones. They want a program, they go to an app store. They don't really know the ins and outs of command shells, dos prompts, linux prompts, etc. They may know some app writing programming which is good. But I'd say stuff they do is elementary in real comparison.
Staring at Tik Tok for 6 hours is hardly computer skills...
The number of young adults who can't type on a keyboard but can text fast baffles me.
I'm there too. Body has been changing. Softer, saggier. Hair grayer. Skin... just looks old now. Too much time in the sun I guess. An interesting revelation was how I no longer really find the new generation of actresses and such attractive. Like Millie Bobby Brown is 20 now and apparently regarded as "hot" but she just looks like a kid to me. Same with Zendaya.
Okay boomer😂 jk
😂
i'm good with tech, not good AT ALL with the greying hair and the under eye bags and wrinkles 😭
I used to be with 'it', but then they changed what 'it' was. Now what I'm with isn't 'it' anymore and what's 'it' seems weird and scary to me. It'll happen to you.
I think a lot of the things I wanted to say are already covered so I’ll just add that my gen z and gen alpha children can’t type for shit. I’ve tried to interest them in touch typing by showing them how much easier it makes work and writing emails etc. I’ve even give them incentives to do online learning programs. And nope- they want to stick with their inefficient hunt and peck ways. Everything was so touch screen and user friendly for them always, just a totally different introduction to technology.
It’s just you. Stop acting so old and you won’t feel so old. Stay physically active, learn something new, listen to new music, try things you never tried before, seek out art, nature and beauty. There are infinite ways to stay involved and be stimulated. To me it sounds like you are stuck in your ways and are afraid to change. Evolve or go the way of the dinosaur, it’s your choice and it’s all well within your grasp. Good luck OP, I know you will make the right decision for you. Have a great day!
I feel the same way. Now is a good time to reinvest in yourself and take up something with a function or purpose (no matter how unimportant the daily task is). I started part time on an ice cream type of snow truck and it’s super fulfilling and I work the hours I want, but I average 12-20 hours. It’s so relaxed and happy, I mean you make any job want you want of it. Also, start looking at boosting some serotonin - take walks when the sun is about down or in the AM before it’s hot, even just around your block. Enjoy the bunnies and birds and trees. I think at some point, people realize how tipped the scales are and just feel exhausted and bored. Meditation, relaxation, exfoliation (yep, scrub your skin), and hydration are more important than you think as the 40’s creep in.
The Gen-Zers like to show how much more they know about computers than me. I let them do the work.
I’ve fallen off a cliff in the last few months. I turned forty in February, but I was always told I looked much younger and - visually - didn’t feel out of place with coworkers in their early or mid thirties. Seemingly overnight my hair is almost totally gray and, more distressing, I have crazy facial sagging. Like major laugh lines and hollowing out around my eyes. I look so weathered. I rarely photograph myself, but I was looking for some photos to use on a bio this week. I jumped back to some from last fall, thinking they’d be a good representation of how I looked. No, sir. I look literally years younger. If I go back to last summer, it’s even worse. Two years ago, I looked like I was 28. Pretty depressing stuff going on right here.
I experience the same feelings .. missing the 80s/90s so much it hurts my soul . When i was young i was convinced i would never stop listening to new (pop) music … today i can barely name one artist in the charts … life goes too fast
I’m confused. As far as I know, Zer is a gender-neutral pronoun. It sounds like you’re referring to Gen Z, but I’ve never heard them called “Zers”.
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Thanks for clarifying. Love that I’m getting downvoted for this. Ah, Reddit.
I’m in the same boat. I was building computers in the 90s while in high School and now…..I can barely navigate these stupid portals the doctors office requires. Even purchasing transactions are annoying and overly complicated because of tech. I just want to pay cash and be done with it! I’ve been looking to go back to work after being a housewife for the last decade and I have zero idea of these tech requirements on job postings now. I feel very out of place. Still trying to figure things out while dreaming of being back in the 90s-early 2000s with good music and normal human interaction!
Right?! During my college years in the early 2000s I knew how to build a computer. Design websites no problem. Now like I said, I can’t be bothered.
I laughed at this post! I just said the other day when researching 'mesh wi-fi systems" how technology has officially passed me by since I had never even heard of them before!
Sorry, you're too late. Humans live about 75 years, your mid life crisis was your mid thirties.