August 14, 2008
"For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three," --Alice Kahn
Who wants to be left behind when it comes to mastering the latest electronic gadgets?
Not baby boomers.
Think again in case you believe in the prevalent myth that baby boomers are techno phobic and cannot master high tech electronics.
Truth is we boomers love our gadgets so much that we are actually becoming good at them.
Evidence supporting this trend is all around us.
For instance, I recently observed a high-tech 80-something couple at the outlet mall. They were walking through a store talking to each other on their blue tooth earpieces. Quite the sight, and yes, I have to admit hip.
Hip octogenarians! Who knew?
Additionally, there are a growing number of savvy baby boomers that can text, surf, YouTube, iphone, Blackberry, IM, and GPS with the best of them. Even the Wii is hot for seniors.
Baby boomer Steve practices golf on the Golden Tee video game in arcades. He enjoys the exercise except for one time when he swung the wand a bit too hard and dislocated his thumb. We won't count him.
Seriously though, there is a little game of golf that actually fits in your smart phone and may be safer than playing it in the arcade if you get into it as much as Steve. The game unbelievably holds four complete 18-hole golf courses in a handheld device.
Beautiful scenery. Blue skies. Mobile relaxation. No green fees!
My friend Beth has a new Blackberry, and let me tell you she can text message using predictive text like a 13-year-old. My sister Pat has mastered IM (instant messaging) lingo.
Even my technologically challenged husband can maneuver his way through a cell phone menu, most of the time that is. Granted he cannot retrieve voice mail yet, but soon. We are hopeful.
I am impressed with this cool, "chichi" (trendy) technology. Might as well learn the techno slang while we are at it.
Thus, after battling indecision for months, I joined the throng and bought an iphone.
I uploaded my contacts, set my voice mail, and located the included GPS. I have not actually tried to navigate with it yet.
Side note: there are iphone "gestures" one must master, and the terminology is strange and new to boomers. We are told to flick, drag, tap, double tap, stretch and pinch, and touch and drag.
I am working on these skills, but once I get my email account set up, Katy bar the door! For prior generations, this term is an American expression meaning get ready for trouble.
Could it be, however, that we are in love with these amazing gadgets because they seem magical, enchanted, mysterious, and thrilling. As Arthur C. Clarke once quipped, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
And certainly as we boomers age, we can be assured that we will never get lost when we take our daily walks using magical "advanced lifestyle tools" such as a GPS-equipped walker!
I don't want one of those yet.
