New Seniors Must Face Up to the Digital Age
Life has changed faster since the millennium than in the first 224 years of this nation's history.
What can we expect in the next decade and beyond? Pre-boomers (those born between 1930 and 1945) have seen so much happen in our lifetimes know it's impossible to fathom, let alone predict, what developments the future holds.
We're simply trying to adjust to living in the world of technology.
We've come a long way from the start of television to hand-held calculators, from video tape to DVDs, from party lines to cell phones, from typewriters to personal computers, from road maps to GPS and so much more.
It's hard to believe these advances all took place in our lifetime.
In the early days, we looked at each breakthrough as something that would make our lives easier and, therefore, better.
But along the way, most of the folks from our generation let high-tech get ahead of us.
Were you one of those like me who had help at work (you know, an assistant of some sort, an accounting department, a research staff that kind of help)? When I started in business, I did some of the heavy lifting these people do everyday.
As I advanced, more resources were available.
Along the way, I started my own company and had to get my hands dirty for a while - it was a good feeling and allowed me to get immersed in the projects.
But once the business grew, I reverted to my old ways of letting someone else attend to the details, which I continued doing until retirement.
Selling my share of the company left me totally on my own.
I had no choice but to learn about the technology I took for granted and totally ignored during my final years in the business world.
The company had all the latest hi-tech stuff.
I even had a computer on my desk, but rarely turned it on.
And, when I did I needed help for fear of erasing any messages someone might send.
Towards the end, however, I did master the email function pretty well.
After a few of months of decompressing from over 45 years in the ad agency business, I starting working on the novel I had been ruminating about for years.
This got me to using the Internet for research and Word for the document.
With two novels completed, both yet to be published, I started investigating social networks.
This led me to developing the Pre-boomer Musing site and later the launch of the New Seniors online magazine.
I also surf the Net use Twitter and Facebook as well as visit YouTube for my work as well as for pure enjoyment.
These efforts sped up my learning curve.
Nonetheless, I still consider myself technically challenged, but I see continual improvement.
The mere fact that you are reading this article online indicates you have mastered the fundamentals of the computer.
There are so many opportunities to learn about hobbies, develop new interests, connect with like minded people and expand your group of friends.
So put technology to work for you; it will make the retirement years richer and more enjoyable.
What can we expect in the next decade and beyond? Pre-boomers (those born between 1930 and 1945) have seen so much happen in our lifetimes know it's impossible to fathom, let alone predict, what developments the future holds.
We're simply trying to adjust to living in the world of technology.
We've come a long way from the start of television to hand-held calculators, from video tape to DVDs, from party lines to cell phones, from typewriters to personal computers, from road maps to GPS and so much more.
It's hard to believe these advances all took place in our lifetime.
In the early days, we looked at each breakthrough as something that would make our lives easier and, therefore, better.
But along the way, most of the folks from our generation let high-tech get ahead of us.
Were you one of those like me who had help at work (you know, an assistant of some sort, an accounting department, a research staff that kind of help)? When I started in business, I did some of the heavy lifting these people do everyday.
As I advanced, more resources were available.
Along the way, I started my own company and had to get my hands dirty for a while - it was a good feeling and allowed me to get immersed in the projects.
But once the business grew, I reverted to my old ways of letting someone else attend to the details, which I continued doing until retirement.
Selling my share of the company left me totally on my own.
I had no choice but to learn about the technology I took for granted and totally ignored during my final years in the business world.
The company had all the latest hi-tech stuff.
I even had a computer on my desk, but rarely turned it on.
And, when I did I needed help for fear of erasing any messages someone might send.
Towards the end, however, I did master the email function pretty well.
After a few of months of decompressing from over 45 years in the ad agency business, I starting working on the novel I had been ruminating about for years.
This got me to using the Internet for research and Word for the document.
With two novels completed, both yet to be published, I started investigating social networks.
This led me to developing the Pre-boomer Musing site and later the launch of the New Seniors online magazine.
I also surf the Net use Twitter and Facebook as well as visit YouTube for my work as well as for pure enjoyment.
These efforts sped up my learning curve.
Nonetheless, I still consider myself technically challenged, but I see continual improvement.
The mere fact that you are reading this article online indicates you have mastered the fundamentals of the computer.
There are so many opportunities to learn about hobbies, develop new interests, connect with like minded people and expand your group of friends.
So put technology to work for you; it will make the retirement years richer and more enjoyable.
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