Is the internet valubale for people of all ages?

Interviewing three different generations of people about their internet use taught me how important technology has become for our culture. I talked about the internet and technology with my girlfriend who is twenty-five years old, my mom who is on the upper end of the 35-60 spectrum, and my dad who is seventy-one. I was able to learn how between each age group there were some similarities but also some vast differences in how these people integrate the internet into their lives. One of the the most surprising differences was between my mom and dad; although they are fairly close in age,their use of the internet was very different. I also found out that not all twenty-five year old people use the internet as much as our culture may assume. My girlfriend is a good example as her use of the internet is very minimal, which I will discuss further. Most importantly, everyone from each age bracket realized and understood the importance of the internet in our culture today. We truly have become an Information Society as Wood and Smith mention in chapter seven of the text. The internet has become an integral part of how we live our lives and is something we must learn to adapt with.

The first interview I conducted with my girlfriend. She is probably more technologically impaired than I am, which is saying a lot. Her use of the internet extends to checking her online banking, reading email, looking up show times, and doing online assignments. She never seems to use the internet unless it is completely mandatory. Her most frequent online activity consists of submitting assignments online for either school or work. When I asked her whether or not she felt technology has changed our lives, it was difficult to get a straight answer. She feels the internet has not made our lives easier, just more confusing. However, technological innovations have without a doubt improved the quality of our lives. She is definitely behind the internet curve in a couple of ways. She has never used an instant messenger system, and quite frankly is intimidated by the concept. She has a Myspace page but rarely checks it. She will be lucky to log on to Myspace once a month. She recently purchased an iphone and does not fully utilize it. Although her internet patterns may not be typical for a twenty-five year old, this still goes to show that not all young adults are completely in tune with technology.

My mom, on the other hand, is fairly capable in her internet and technology use for someone her age. In some ways I believe her to be more computer savvy than I am, personally. I remember a while back we were having a discussion and Skype came up. She had to explain to me what Skype was and how it worked. She notices that her use of the internet seems to evolve and become more habitual everyday. Her main internet use revolves around checking email. However, there are many other things she uses the internet for as well; looking for airplane tickets, accessing work files and submitting grades, searching for travel info, buying books and movies off of Amazon.com, and integrating youtube.com into her classroom are all examples of how she uses the internet. She is fairly comfortable and confident in her online capabilities but still is hesitant in certain areas. Because she will be teaching a semester abroad this coming fall she felt it was important to have access to online banking. This is something she is very nervous about and would most likely not have done if it wasn't the fact she was going to be away from home for four months. She mentioned she has some privacy and safety concerns. Making sure she keeps her files clean and updating the anti-virus software is a must. Technology has undoubtedly made things easier. She can access work files and submit grades from home or on the road. Although she is somewhat resistant to technology innovations she feels it is important to be able to adapt. This is what Marshall McLuhan describes as the idea of "the medium is the message" and the concept of a "global village"; if you do not adapt and jump on the technology bandwagon there is the fear that you will be left behind.

Someone who is left behind from the technology bandwagon is my father. He has been retired now for about fifteen years, just as the internet boom was starting to gain momentum. He can check email and send email. For him those are two completely different things. He mentioned the majority of his internet usage revolves around checking consumer reports online. He will log on to consumer reports if he wants to buy a new car or see what people are saying about his new 3 Wood. His internet use is sporadic as he may be online three days in a row and then not for the next two months. He does not fully understand how the internet works and says he is fine with that. It has improved our culture but is not something he would have a problem living without.

Seeing how three different age groups use the internet was insightful and helped me realize how it has become something our culture cannot live without. My girlfriend uses at work, my mom uses it for submitting grades and to enhance the classroom learning environment, and my dad has fallen off from the technology bandwagon but sees the internet as valuable tool in society. The one thing all three people had in common was their concern about privacy and safety. As Wood and Smith discuss in chapter seven, it is important for people to be aware of cookies, voluntary data submission, and data mining. All three are examples of how employers and companies can track your online activity. The more information we put out there, the easier it is for us to be vulnerable to this type of surveillance. There is also the issue of identity theft which my mom brought up as a reason she tries to minimize shopping online. Although online surveillance is inevitable, we should still take proper precautions when spending time online.