The Acceleration Curve Meets The Generation Gap

Growing with today's technology can sometimes be a bit harder for those stuck in the middle of the curve. I admit it. I was a geek from the early days of computers. While most kids were playing football, I was working on my various home computers of the day. Back then it was all about tape drives, floppy disks that were actually floppy, and computers that took up way too much room. Changing with the times has never been too much of a problem for me, but it has been a little bit of a challenge to be between the generations.

I didn't notice the generational challenges until I started getting caught in the middle of technology challenges between the two. I recall giving a computer lesson to a four-year-old many years ago. These days, that four-year-old is now a high school graduate and has some decent computer skills that rival many people my age, and can easily supersede many people in the generation before me. I found this article to be pretty amusing, as it did seem to capture some of my current challenges. While the article doesn't highlight generational differences, it does define one of the things that ironically binds me to both generations -- being labeled the "computer guy."

Don't get me wrong. I really don't mind the responsibility of being the "computer guy." It's just that sometimes there are other roles in life that I would like to play. With the current generation that seems to be constantly connected in a Borg-like state and the missing links that are the hallmark of my generation, I sometimes find myself a bit lost in the transition, not being able to totally identify with either. So, maybe the lesson here is that riding the technology acceleration curve can cause one to fall into one of the chasms of the generation gap. It's an interesting ride, to be sure. See ya.