Don't use technology use as a proxy

At one time the following twaddle, taken from an article about the Retail Industry, would have really annoyed me.

As is always the case, one generation’s “noise” is another generation’s music. One thing I do get is that those who are in the social media vibe are tuned into a life rhythm that is much faster, more intense, and less tangible than what most of us aging boomers have ever experienced before. Meaningful participation in social media is probably too big of a goal for a baby boomer.

Perhaps an appreciative awareness and acceptance is the best that we can hope to achieve when it comes to the phenomenon.

As it pertains to retailing, an appreciative awareness is really all that is needed to make social media work, providing that you also have a sufficient number of millennial buzz-savvy staff members who know the how-to’s of actually putting it to work.

This person is clearly one of the breed of older people who fumbles about with their notebook when giving a presentation gurgling about: “I normally get my grandchildren to help me out” or some other fatuous statement.

There is another type of older person, typified by Gordo (age 58), who thinks that it is cool to use the Web; even better, something called “social media” to communicate to the ‘young’ and in the process makes a complete twat of himself.

There is another type of oldie that thinks that understanding digital stuff is an ageing virility symbol (i.e. I know as much about this stuff as any yoof).

The more attention that is drawn to the way older people use digital the worse it becomes, because it forces people into stereotypes. Even worse is to use technology savvyness as some form of proxy for the lifestyle behaviour of the individual. Dick Stroud