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Attitudes to technology and age

Age is a significant factor influencing whether people will engage with new technologies.  The findings of “Getting IT Right” were that in general, older people were more likely to lack confidence in using new technologies, and this lack of confidence constitutes a barrier.  However, it must be remembered that this is a general trend, and being young or old does not necessarily mean that an individual is confident or unconfident.  For example, those that described themselves as ‘very confident’ in using new technologies were aged between 21 and 83! 

But in general, older people are more reluctant to engage with new technologies.  The views expressed by this 70 year old were common to many, suggesting that technology was not for the old,

“I think [technology is] very good for the young people.  Very, very good, and I’m sure it’s the up and coming thing and the day will come when everyone’s using computers and things, but…no I don’t think I’ll get involved.”

Our research, taking its lead from the ideas expressed by Prensky in ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants’, suggests that there are three age-defined groups with different experiences of and attitudes to new technologies. 

Digital Foreigners are those who have no interest in new technologies whatsoever.  They may see no use for such technologies in their lives, they may view them with suspicion, or may lack confidence in their ability to use new technologies.  New technologies are foreign to them, and they do not want to get involved.  These tend to be retired people, or those close to retirement.  Often these people had left the workplace before computers and associated technologies became normalised, and so have little, if any experience of such technologies.

Digital Immigrants tended to be those aged from their 30s to late middle age.  As such, their experience is of being introduced to new technologies through their work, regardless of their opinions of it, or of seeing skills in using technology, especially computers, as important in keeping or getting new jobs.  This meant that they have had exposure to technologies, begun to understand how they can be helpful in life, both in terms of leisure and work, and have begun to use them.

Digital Natives are those younger people in their teens and twenties who have grown up surrounded by technologies, and see it as normal; for them it has always been there.  This group expects to be using new technologies, and expects to see them developing, and therefore tend to be happy using new technologies.

Of course, these are not determining categories, as there will be technophobe teenagers and extremely competent ‘silver surfers’!  However, the general trend is present, and the implication of this is that issues about technology per se will lessen over time as more of the population grow up surrounded by technology, with the expectation that such technologies will develop continuously.