How is global technology affecting the generation gap?

Society has found ways to communicate throughout history, from symbols on cave walls to flags on ships. In modern days, we have cell phones, e-mail, radio, television and friend-finding Web sites. And while I understand how important technology has become, my issue with it is how the generations before the “Net Generation” are adapting to the new forms of communication. And what harm does this new technology do to our environment? 

One of the things I fear is how the oldest generations are adapting to the sudden surge of technology. What happens in an emergency when a grandmother can’t call her doctor because her new cell phone has 20 different features and she keeps taking photos and video of her feet? This could be the same woman who has trouble setting her VCR but her son bought her a TiVo. There are steps that need to be taken to relieve the added stress that the new technology is creating for senior citizens. 

Technology is also creating a larger gap between parents and children. When in the past parents only had to deal with television and friends distracting their children, they now have to face cell phones, the Internet and a real lack of communication skills. The younger generation, known as the “net generation”  because it’s never known a world without the Internet, is used to interacting with people through e-mail, text messages and cell phones. They no longer know to socialize in person, which is very different from how their parents grew up and causing the communication gap between parent and child to get bigger. The perfect example of this is the cell phone commercial where a mother questions a daughter about her excessive text message usage and is replied back with letters and incomplete words that is somehow supposed to replace an actual conversation. 

How much do children really need these technologies in school? Laptops are becoming essential in the learning process and some schools districts (like a few in New Mexico) are providing them for their students. The Internet is vital to education now, becoming the first source of research for many. But are cell phones and iPods needed as much as students say they are? iPods were at the top of many back-to-school lists, things students say they need to be productive.  

It’s just not the oldest generation that is being held back with the news way to communicate. Baby boomers in the workplace are being replaced with a generation that only knows how to deal with technology. Known as “Gen Xers,” these younger people like to keep busy with something that intrigues them, don’t like meetings and do a lot of their social networking online, through Web sites like Facebook. The attitude is a vast difference from how the boomers grew up, who were coached by their parents to respect their privacy. 

The last issue I have with the new communication technology is the waste it’s creating. People are getting new cell phones at an average of once a year, so what happens to their old one? What happened to all of the pagers that were so popular in the 90s? While many are being recycled, too many are being thrown away, collecting in landfills. We must find a place for all of the used cell phones, pager and computers to go. 

My recommendations 

I’d like to see more senior citizens learn more about the new technology. It would open doors of communication to their grandchildren, offering them a chance to write e-mails to sending photos. More programs like cyberseniors.org, which provide computer training to senior citizens, are necessary around the country. Also, there should be more phones available at major wireless companies that are much simpler to use and only have the major functions: making and answering phone calls and programmed phone books. Most of the available phones today are much too complicated. 

I also think it would be best to find new ways to recycle your old communication tools. Use the parts to create new cell phones or to build something else. Many places offer to recycle such material. There are also groups that collect old cell phones to give to people in desperate need, like soldiers and charities. Some organizations ask for cell phone donations to give to battered women so they can call for help instantly. There should be displays for these causes everywhere, like there are for aluminum and newspaper. 

My last suggestion is one I was not comfortable making because of the generation I grew up in. Last month, the Charlotte Observer’s newsroom employees were invited to attend a meeting where they learned about Facebook. In a world where alternative forms of communication are being found very often, it’s important that every generation learns these new tools. While at first I found it awkward that my supervisors were on the site, I knew it was the best step forward they could make to become part of the global social network online. More employers could find similar steps for their older employees, to provide the tools they need to make it in the modern world.