Generations Online in 2009:
It was a surprise for me to see so many from the X Generation online. There is a sharp rise of 76+ year old that are using the internet as a tool. Is it because the X Generation needs it more than the others? As more old people are living alone and have very few people to take care of them, they are falling for this tool which does not require them to physically move out for work. However, my part of the story is different. In this globalized world it is cheaper to stay in touch with my parents if they were internet savvy. I have been trying to get them to use the internet more often but in vain. Though my father has retired as a chemical engineer and has handled machines, he is very uncomfortable with the computers. Every time he clicks the mouse button he simultaneously does a head banging. There are a lot of problems and I have finally given up trying. Maybe if my father was educated in English medium, he would have found it easier to adapt to computers. I feel that the X generation from non-English countries would have a language barrier. I would be very happy if my parents could be in this bandwagon that the report talks about. There was no increase in percentage of people in age bracket 25-29 and 35- 39. Did the internet have nothing to offer extra to this age group in the three years? What might be the reason for this age group to have a steady usage? I really want to know why this age group with a handsome buying power did not grow substantially.
Adults and Video Games:
Older population playing games was again a surprise for me. How can a generation who did not grow up with video games be addicted to games? What happens to all the conditioning theories? Maybe because of the loneliness and spare time that this generation now is making themselves search new modes to spend their time. Again a dispersed family might be a factor contributing to the rise in this population. Or is it the media that is targeting this age group? Educated people play more games than high school students. I was of the view that educated people would be more busy with jobs and professional goals and high school students have all the time in the world. This Myth of mine was shattered. Students play more games than non students. What might be the reason? Is it peer pressure? Or is gaming an alternative to Social Networking? If the time spent on Social Network increases, will the time spent on games by this population decrease? Income and affordability was not a factor as all income groups participate equally. But I surely expected rural population to be more active than urban population. I believed that urban centers have more outlets for entertainment like pubs and shopping centers and thus urban population will rely less on games as compared to rural centers. This myth too of mine was shattered by this report and I now feel that I come from another part of the world.
Writing, technology, and teens:
This report shows that students and parents view writing with technology differently. Students do not think e-writing is real writing, and it does not substantially improve their writing in the coursework. They feel that additional writings should be given to them to increase their creative writing abilities. Parents on the other hand feel that with technology, students can better reflect on their writing and thus will improve their writing as a whole. Is the help with spelling and grammar in a Word pad spoiling our spelling skills? Are we becoming better writers? Or is the SMS culture getting into creative writing? Can FYI be a part of a technical paper? I really don’t know if technology is helping creative writing and would like the class to discuss on this.
