Will you keep up?

[Deepflow]

Something thats clear about the internet is that it seems the vast majority of people who use it are relatively young (teens, twenties (DM lol) ). This is easily put down to the fact that younger people tend to embrace new technology more than older ones. However, when we are all in our forties, will we still be onto the "new thing" whatever that is? I would like to be, but personally i doubt it, trends in history seem to go against it. Its quite possible we will be seen as old fashioned for using the internet when our kids are highly adept at some new fangled new technology.

Personally, im going to try and keep up with the march of technology, whether I will or not remains to be seen. The question is, will you try? And if you do, what do you think are your chances of sticking to that when you're old and ratty?

Douglas Adams - Anything created before you are 13 is the natural order of things, anything created between the ages of 13 and 35 is new and exciting, and anything created after you are 35 is new and scary.

[SilverSmoke]

I am 29, seriously starting to lose interest in computergames and computer related stuff, don't know if that says something in this context though.

[All Systems Go]

It's kind of hard to envisage what would be made that is not just a better version of what we have now. the internet was a kind of one-off invention which could be considered the natural progression of the telephone, but mixed with the releatively recent revolution brought about by the invention of the microchip.

If by future technology you are referring to bodily implants as suggested above then that would a very different situation.

Even basic things such as music storage. We've reached a stage where it's very difficult vo see how it could be topped in any real way. You are now able to store thusands of songs (as well as any other form of data) on one small device. You can fast-forward and rewind through songs and can play them in any order you wish. there is no need for multiple disks or anything. How can it be topped?

[Nusselt]

Ive already gone off computer games and as a result the latest spec computers, i sound like an old fart but really reading wiki and the bbc pages or browsing chomsky or other things is the best way to pass your time on the internet, its full of knowledge kids. Add to that ive no desire for the latest mobile phones and most 12 yr olds are clued up on the newest ring tones and screen savers. 10 years time ill be staying off the streets incase im assualted by nokia's lightsabre phone complete with mp4/camera/inbuilt vibrator/dildo/pregnancy tester/drug administrator.

Originally Posted by Nusselt +40

pfft who needs to play 3d clitoris stimulation on the underground with some bint in mongolia, back in my day we had civilisation, taught you something that did, kids these days, sexsexsex.

I remember a game we played called planetarion, where you had to have social interaction to succeed...form alliances, then back stab them to win, not all this get your knob off nonesense.

[Nusselt]

Originally Posted by Nantoz

Most of us simply doesn't have the technical insight to imagine what might come next. But I seriously doubt we've reached a plateu.

This to an extent this is bullshitting with confidence, but everyone has been talking about the biological revolution to come, true this has been said for the past 30 years and nothings happened, and most tissue engineering techniques are in their infancy (nothing beyond cartilage) but if they figure out how to switch on and off certain genes, ive always wondered if it would be possible to have cosmetic surgery to choose a different skin/eye/hair colour. It would certainly aid in uniting humanity.

[djbass]

I've been into computers & various forms of technology since I was 4 (even programming basic programs on the C64). I'm as geeky as they come, technology is so ingrained into my life that despite age I could not imagine ever escaping it all.

[All Systems Go]

Maybe you should get one of these then

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/te...=th&oref=login

For those who can't be bothered to register:

A new product, Das Keyboard, seems to have both in mind. It's a regular 104-key keyboard - except that nothing is printed on the keys.

"It's really for geeks," said Daniel Guermeur, the creator. "They can already touch-type without looking. They feel a little bit superior. The keyboard is a statement."

[JamMak]

Originally Posted by All Systems Go

For those who can't be bothered to register:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/te...erland&emc=rss

or http://nytimes.blogspace.com/genlink if it doesn't work

[Cannon_Fodder]

Originally Posted by Nusselt

It would certainly aid in uniting humanity.

I would disagree but thats another topic entirely.

[Tomkat]

Well it's commonly known that kids pick up on things more readily than adults.

When teaching for instance, I can just show a program to some pupils and they'll pick up on it really quickly, and play around with it. I find often that within 2 lessons or so, they'll have found quite a few new things I didn't even know about.

When you try to teach adults (I recently did a brief intro to Dreamweaver and Fireworks for some of the other teachers as they haven't used it) they don't like just fiddling, in case something goes wrong. They much prefer having some kind of guide or worksheet to go from, whereas younger people don't.

Most of us will be "experts" in using Microsoft Office and Windows I expect, even though we have never read a manual or helpguide for it (except maybe to refer to once or twice). That's simply because when we were younger we just fiddled with it and made mistakes.

[flapjack]

it seems to be true that older age people fall behind on technology, but it's quite clearly not true for everyone.

My grandmother for example still has a top of the line computer and actually plays several games, albeit not FPS's. A good example is Morrowind, which she has played (not sure if she still does) and some strategy games, including Warcraft 3.

In other words, on average, you're right about older people getting behind. I hope not to be average

[Marilyn Manson]

this thread has reached an expansive plateau

[Weeks]

When I'm 40 I'll be more interested in my kids, should I have them, having dinner with friends and whether I should retire to the south of France in 10 years time than whether the new version of Firefox is out or not.

I'll still keep an interest in technology though.

[Nodrog]

Depends what it is. I doubt I'll care about the latest games consoles or televisions since I couldnt care less already, but if I ever reach the point where I dont pay attention to things like VR, life extension, space colonisation, brain research, consciousness/intelligence modifiication etc then I might as well be dead.

[Dace]

Originally Posted by Nodrog

if I ever reach the point where I dont pay attention to life extension then I might as well be dead.

:up: