My first age generation interviewee; I used my roommate Claire she is 20 years old and is constantly on her computer so I assumed she would be a good candidate, my second generation internet user I chose to be my father he is 49, and I chose him because I know that he is on his computer a lot at work and home, and finally my third generation interviewee was my grandfather who is 71 he is always calling my dad to get help with his computer so I gather he too would be a good person to interview.
Claire’s primary purpose for using the internet is to communicate through online networking programs with friends and family (facebook, myspace) and using email. She also said that she equally spends time online to do homework and look up information about her major, childhood education. She informed me that she is more than comfortable using the internet although when it is not working she feels helpless, meaning she doesn’t know the mechanics of how to fix the router. She said that she enjoys having the internet and doesn’t know how people did it before computers and the World Wide Web. She continued to say that we as a society are so technological that it would be strange to see what it would be like if the internet no longer existed or we were all to cut usage for a day or a week. Claire says that technology makes her life better, well actually easier. In a sense to some easier is better, and she enjoys having the instant connection to any information the internet offers at the click of a button. Claire’s issues with comfort when the internet is not working is similar to all of us in society when something is not working and we can’t instantly fix it we become uneasy. For example, if a stop light isn’t working, traffic gets backed up and people begin to get frustrated, this is a type of technology that we are used to having and when things break, life slows down. It is also not uncommon for people to not understand the ins and outs of their internet and its connections because we have people come install it for us. If we were to do this on our own I think that insecurities such as these would decrease and make us more independent.
My father, Craig uses the internet at work to exchange emails with co-workers, and his family as well as sending files to different departments within the organization. At home however his internet usage he says is much more diverse, he is able to pull up information from work at home and monitor systems, he again exchanges emails but mostly with family and friends, and also is car fanatic. He currently is reconstructing a ’79 Mercedes SL and goes online a lot to get parts or advice if he is having difficulties. Mostly the at home internet usage is for entertainment, he said he mostly uses it for his hobbies and fun. When I asked him if the internet made his life better or worse he had mixed feelings, he said that the internet only continues to make us move at a faster pace with life and sometimes he doesn’t like that. He said that overall it is better than worse but that there are different reasons at work and home why he enjoys having the internet. It was funny to me that when I asked him why he enjoyed having the internet at home he began talking about having it to look up car information, and find out about SWAP meets, this information would also be available in the paper but he said he enjoys being able to see the pictures people post, and also having the ability to have discussion boards with people. His overall feelings of the internet expressed liking but also wishing for the old days when he could come home from work and not have to think about it until the next day. His job now keeps him on call basically 24/7 since the systems are accessible through the internet.
Lastly my grandpa, Calvin now retired my grandfather volunteers at the Portland Zoo three days a week for about 5-7 hours a day and enjoys working outside in the yard. He told me he only uses the internet because everyone else has is and uses it. This was very comical to me just because he started out with such a different view and feeling toward his computer and the internet. He went on to say that, “I only got it when people stopped sending letters and calling me wanting to know my email address, and I didn’t know what this EMAIL was.” He talked with my dad and they got him a computer and access to the internet, to this day he uses the slowest internet connection possible and when I am over there it drives me nuts! This shows the difference in generations because he is much more patient and willing to wait for the page to load but with me I just give up. He uses the internet to exchange emails with family and friends and past co-workers that he stays in touch with, other than that he uses the internet to play online games. He still gets his information from the daily newspaper and again this just shows his old fashioned sense of comfort. He said that although he feels comfortable using the internet he feels most comfortable using those things he is familiar with, games and email. He said that he doesn’t think the internet makes is life better or worse it is just a convenience and that he could live without it.
Between all three of my interviewees it is obvious which one comes from which age group even if I didn’t state their ages previously. As people get older their familiarity with technology gets further and further from their comfort zone and it is also interesting that my grandpa doesn’t feel that he even needs that internet. I would also like to make it a point that the first two generations I interviewed Claire and my father both have cell phones while again my grandpa does not see this as necessary and continues to use his land line phone. This assignment goes to show me that growing up in such a technologically advanced world changes our values and what we feel is important drastically from each generation. I can only imagine how electronically dependent future generations will become, seems kind of scary but it is the way our world is headed because we are so caught up in the pace.
