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Under 30s not happy as oldies invade social media
news.com.au — The older generations are moving in on the hi-tech, online world and the under-30s are not impressed. Increasingly young people are feeling uncomfortable about their elders encroaching on what many young adults and teenagers consider their technological space.
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- cyberwiz01, on 01/31/2008, -5/+155How could this be a bad thing? I am 24 so I fall in the under 30 crowd. But I think it's a good thing that people of all ages are embracing technology. It provides additional perspective from different points of view on sites like digg. We should be welcoming them, not feeling uncomfortable around them.
- axiomflash, on 01/31/2008, -6/+45You clearly haven't had your boss and coworkers add you on facebook...
- Nitesmoke, on 01/31/2008, -7/+37From what I can see in the article, the biggest complaint have younger people have is they don't think its "cool" to have older people on their friends' list and they don't want adults to see their drunken photos. I had almost forgotten how shallow younger people are. They don't want people to do the things they do because of their age, but as soon as you put any age restrictions on them, they get all whiny. How many teens won't drink simply because they are below the age limit? Also, to young people: If you put any unflattering pictures online, they are not private, whether your profile is or not. No one but you thinks you're cool because you have pics of yourself being drunk. As you get a little older and wiser you will see that people judge how "cool" you are by how much you can drink without acting like, well, a teenager.
- grungefan, on 01/31/2008, -11/+5I think this is why the younger generation feels uncomfortable about the older generation being on the internet.
- hellotyler, on 01/31/2008, -12/+4Actually, drunk pictures are great. I don't think it's "cool" to be drunk but a lot of the stuff that happens when you are drunk is cool and I wouldn't want to have to censor myself just because I had been drinking earlier and didn't want a parent to see.
- incandescent, on 01/31/2008, -1/+7So what are you trying to say? That you don't feel the need to censor yourself, or that your parents shouldn't be allowed near these websites? And you might think drunk pictures are cool, but will your future potential employers?
- hellotyler, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Exactly, they are kept private for a reason. If my boss or (hah) parents wanted to befriend me on MySpace or Facebook I would patently decline because you act differently around your friends vs parents or potential employers. There should be a site strictly for family and business social networking that was all squeaky clean, then people could have the best of both worlds.
- satanswetnipple, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0hellotyler, you have lived a sheltered life if you are scared of what the older generations may think of you. My own mother would laugh her arse off when girls and women would gang up on me and strip me completely naked. She did things when she was young that would make many teens nowdays scream and run in fear. i did things in my teens that would make many teens leave the room... when it comes to my children... I am not going to get the least upset at a few drunk photos online. In fact you will find that behaviour is becoming less radical every generation since the sixties. Teens are not doing anything their parents and grandparents did not do. The parents and grandparents have just learned to hide their past well.
- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -5/+24Here's a trade. Those of us over 30 (very much over 30 in my case) will stay off of your kiddie sites (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) and in return you stay off of what we started....the Internet.
- nicko68, on 01/31/2008, -1/+18Using technology developed when WE were teens.. the PC and Mac.
- smackhero, on 01/31/2008, -0/+7i agree with you for the most part. teenagers _are_ shallow, and are dumb to think drug consumption makes one cool--or just being overly concerned with "looking cool." however, i have to disagree about their having no right to be uncomfortable with adults encroaching on their technological space.
one of my good friends' parents are cool with her smoking weed, and her mother actually smokes weed with her sometimes (she is very progressive and an ex-hippie herself). she has a very open & honest relationship with her parents, and her parents are generally very reasonable and open-minded. thus, even though there is a generation gap, there exists enough understanding/respect--and therefor trust--between her and her parents that she would have no reservations about adding her mom as a friend on her facebook account--as they really _are_ friends.
however, her parents are very atypical, and this kind of open parent-child relationship is extremely rare. the sad fact of the matter is, our mainstream adult culture holds certain irrational prejudices against teenage behavior and youth culture.
most animal species have an intoxication instinct. humans are no exception. historically every human society has had its own intoxication rituals as part of their social or spiritual customs. and even though studies have found that teenagers who completely abstain from drug use are on average less socially/emotionally healthy than those who do experiment with recreational substances at some point, our society still condemns drug use and persecutes young people for this natural inclination to explore altered states of being or partake in a healthy social/bonding activities.
so it is not hypocrisy on the part of teenagers that they do not want adults encroaching on their technological space, it is merely a response to the reactionary culture that many adults are a part of. it is a culture which forces young people to censor themselves, to project a fabricated personal image, and to hide their private lives from adults to escape persecution. if it _were_ alright in the eyes of adults of high school students to act like high school students, and college students like college students, then there would be no problem with teenagers and adults sharing the same social networks.
if kids shouldn't associate drug consumption with "being cool," then neither should adults directly associate drug use with being bad or immoral.
- theOster, on 01/31/2008, -7/+16my biggest irritant is trying to explain open source to my bosses - "how do they make money?? it can't be possible, we better just stick with microsoft"
AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!- Rahodeb, on 01/31/2008, -2/+8Then try doing something grownup, like explaining the return on their investment, or creating a feature matrix comparing similar open source and Microsoft offerings. There's nothing I hate more than someone extolling the virtues of open source without being specific on the benefits to the business. In the end all your bosses will care about is DOES IT WORK?
- bacon_skoda, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2not having the ability to see it from the other guy's point of view...
definition of a teenager
- wattersm, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2Actually I have, we even have a Facebook group. Most of our company is in their 20s and we're just a bunch of geeks any way
- Jomwilli, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2Your company sucks, are they hiring? I assume catered bagels and coffee?
- Nitesmoke, on 01/31/2008, -7/+37From what I can see in the article, the biggest complaint have younger people have is they don't think its "cool" to have older people on their friends' list and they don't want adults to see their drunken photos. I had almost forgotten how shallow younger people are. They don't want people to do the things they do because of their age, but as soon as you put any age restrictions on them, they get all whiny. How many teens won't drink simply because they are below the age limit? Also, to young people: If you put any unflattering pictures online, they are not private, whether your profile is or not. No one but you thinks you're cool because you have pics of yourself being drunk. As you get a little older and wiser you will see that people judge how "cool" you are by how much you can drink without acting like, well, a teenager.
- incandescent, on 01/31/2008, -2/+107Over 30s embracing technology? Believe it or not the internet has been around for a long time and computers for even longer. I've been using "technology" since the early 80's, when presumably the under 30s were toddlers if they had even been born. Perhaps us mid-thirties techies should complain about non-techy youngsters invading *our* space ;)
- Joshuarr, on 01/31/2008, -0/+58I don't think you should have been dugg down. I'm 30 and was just thinking that there seem to be way too many 16 year olds on here these days. I feel like I own the internet, having suffered through the days of AOL 1.5 and baud rates.
- theblooms, on 01/31/2008, -1/+12Get Live with Prodigy!
Bitches don't KNOW about mah 286! - kooft, on 01/31/2008, -1/+5Not to mention other things, like: Gopher, WAIS, BBS (not PHPBB but the original BBS's), 2400 baud modems, CGA displays, Michaelangelo, 8088's, Stoned, 640K RAM, 360K floppies.
Ahh the memories... - funkytaco, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Not to mention the dreaded Error 629. Ugh, I hated supporting dial-up.
- theblooms, on 01/31/2008, -1/+12Get Live with Prodigy!
- Tazmaster, on 01/31/2008, -0/+18The younger generations sometimes think that older people should outgrow "cool" things like the internet and video games or else we are losers without lives. Sometimes it feels like I am in "The Children of the Corn", but I'll be damned if I am going to give up things that interest me just to appease some short sighted kids.
- Jomwilli, on 01/31/2008, -2/+5I am the River Raid Champion. Atari 2600 FTW !!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_2600
/34 and still pwning nwbs- bratterscain, on 01/31/2008, -4/+3I have some sentiment with you also, approaching 30. But seeing a middle aged guy use the term "pwning nwbs", ugh. /facepalm.jpg
- kooft, on 01/31/2008, -2/+3Why can't those in their mid-30's use terms like 'pwned'? It's a term used by the gaming community and if you've ever been involved in (aka, 'sucked into', 'consumed by', 'obsessed with') an online video game you're viewed as an outsider until you adopt the slang. I don't known when 'pwned' was first used but it was pre-2000 for sure. Heck, Jomwili might have actually coined the term for all you know.
- UNL1M1T3D, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Cause "pwning nwbs" is played out.
- dogstar0125, on 02/01/2008, -0/+3Nobody should use the term. It makes you look like a little bandwagon-jumping *****.
- Vodka2389, on 01/31/2008, -12/+2How do you compare 80's tech to today's? That's like comparing Pong to Grand Theft Auto IV or something.
- incandescent, on 01/31/2008, -1/+9Clearly you are technical expert... not. I suppose you think "the internet" is a recent invention that does not in any way rely on anything that happened before 2005? The point I was making was that I've been using computers for decades. I was using the internet when FTP, UseNet and gopher were all there was. I was there at the birth of the web and at the birth of "web 2.0". All built upon each other.
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Maybe if you are talking about the Sub-20s category.. caus I'm 24 and was there for all of that too. We had Commodore 64.. I remember 2400bauds modem.. I was on BBS' before the Internet too..Also remember having 5 hours of internet PER month..
- falstaff, on 01/31/2008, -1/+4Pong was 70's, but since you're just a youngster, I think we can let that slide.
- incandescent, on 01/31/2008, -1/+9Clearly you are technical expert... not. I suppose you think "the internet" is a recent invention that does not in any way rely on anything that happened before 2005? The point I was making was that I've been using computers for decades. I was using the internet when FTP, UseNet and gopher were all there was. I was there at the birth of the web and at the birth of "web 2.0". All built upon each other.
- PRlME, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3what he means by "embracing technology" is that there is alot of old people over 30 who did not get down with tech as fast as we did. I mean yea the new was around but most people did not grown on it as fast as we did...thats all
- kooft, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Well, to be fair, the mid-30's crowd can be broken up into two groups: the hobbyists (aka, 'geeks') who hung out on BBS's and grew with the technology and those that didn't pay it any mind. True, it can be a bit awkward to see someone who's been on the Internet for all of two weeks start throwing the slang around but, to keep it in perspective, those of us in our mid-30's endured the same thing when the 'kids' invaded.
- reedatschool, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4Yeah, I just turned 30 and I have a ton of tech savvy friends over the age of thirty and even as high as 60 years old. Invading? Hardly, they have always been on the Internet since its founding and even before that when there was the BBS scene.
- fluorite, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4Wrote my first program in 1969.
Played my first computer game in 1973.
Wrote my first computer game in 1981.
And I love interacting with all these whippersnappers.
- Joshuarr, on 01/31/2008, -0/+58I don't think you should have been dugg down. I'm 30 and was just thinking that there seem to be way too many 16 year olds on here these days. I feel like I own the internet, having suffered through the days of AOL 1.5 and baud rates.
- theone3, on 01/31/2008, -0/+21I think what the article is really trying to get at is that for the first time, old and young are in the same social scene, sharing social circles. Your grandfather and friends can now see each other's personal information - have discussions, etc. You can't really keep secrets about family from friends, or friends from family. It's a stupid situation and it's not really about age, I can see this problem being just as bad for.. lets say a 40 year old with in-laws who are always interfering with social groups etc. This is actually a serious architectural flaw with most social networks but it has abso-*****-lutely nothing to do with age.
I also disagree with the assertion that age has anything to do with the type of comments you see on the internet. There are articulate twelve year olds an inarticulate seventy year olds - there may be trends but age trends never seem to be as bad as people make out when you look into it with care.- Lone1, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3also, I think part of the "problem" is that some people don't want people that actually know them to see their "personal information". In quotes because alot of the time this information is just ***** and they don't want people that actually know them to see how dumb they are.
- Nougat, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2If they didn't want people to know about it, they wouldn't post it on the interwebs.
- jibii, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Or they have aspects of their life that they feel comfortable with to express to others, but not their parents or aunt/uncles. What about young gays who have homophobic parents?
Or, to use myself as an example, I'm an erotic artist. My parents would severely disapprove and their knowing may damage our relationship. But I have online friends I'm comfortable sharing that information with. People who are in their 30s and 40s. (I'm 23).
I shut down the myspace I had when I found out my mother was looking for me on there. I have my website and my sexuality up there for all to see, and that's really not the way I'd like to "come out" to my parents.
- jgzman, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I don't think it's a bad thing that social circles are mixing, but I do think it will take some getting used to. In time, everything will find a happy medium. Last place I worked, everyone had MySpace, and they all were cool with it, online and offline. Heck, we even wound up going to a performance by one of our gang, just to show support. He didn't mention it to us, and we would not have known about it otherwise. Good times.
- Lone1, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3also, I think part of the "problem" is that some people don't want people that actually know them to see their "personal information". In quotes because alot of the time this information is just ***** and they don't want people that actually know them to see how dumb they are.
- ksgant, on 01/31/2008, -2/+20Well, I'm 46 and I doubt there will ever come a day when someone younger than me will know more about the online world than I do...considering I've been on the Net before there was even a "World Wide Web". Plus I'm constantly evolving to incorporate the latest technologies. I have to as it's part of my job.
I suppose it's the same thing I felt when people were "invading" the online world back in the early 90's. Now that kids see it as just a natural thing doesn't surprise me, but they shouldn't be surprised that everyone...regardless of age....is being touched by the Internet. You can hardly do day-to-day tasks without doing something online now. So if you get a text-message from your grandmother, don't freak out...the technology is open to everyone. You're not in some exclusive club you know.
If you really want to be exclusive, go back to old technology and just pass paper notes in class. But I guess writing things down with a pen or pencil is just SO 1980's.- theblooms, on 01/31/2008, -0/+8"text-message from your grandmother"
idk my bff rose - Jomwilli, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Eh, you're still missing an element of generational technology involvement. You're not on XBOX Live sitting in a chat room with your other classmates getting your clan together, or you're not in your High School Facebook social group etc. You can't evolve without NOT being out of the loop somewhat, as I'm 34 and don't want those two previous things.
Unless you're constantly living in Second Life/ simultaneously playing World of Warcraft while updating your Facebook and Myspace pages, while texting away on your cell phone, well, that would just be sad.
- theblooms, on 01/31/2008, -0/+8"text-message from your grandmother"
- Asvetic, on 01/31/2008, -1/+5Guess that's why they're called Generation Me. http://www.generationme.org/
- satanswetnipple, on 02/01/2008, -0/+0Nah, that is what the babyboomers were called fifteen years ago. Self centred massive voting block that demanded all the benefits without any of the costs. Lets not bother getting into the heavy social costs.
- tecunx, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1TV stations release content according to age groups, for example MTV, whose main target is the teenage crowd.
The internet is not TV, that is the beautiful and dangerous part of it: It is for everyone. There is no complete control. - ArmedandDWI, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5"Young people have responded, as they always have, by searching out the latest way to stay ahead in the race for technological know-how...They customise their mobile phones with various faceplates and ringtones."
Plastic parts and 50 Cent; way to be hi-tech, young people. - nikkesen, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Another reason for the embrace of technology is occurring because many people who were raised in the 80s are approaching that age bracket. My husband is one of those, so it does make sense that people near that age are tech savvy. As for those much older, they're realising that it is now part of life and they want to use it to stay in touch.
Plus, many babyboomers are now retiring or have retired, like my dad and they have nothing to do so they are turning to the internet because they have time to get back in touch with the world, and what better way than to venture into the internet. It's better than if they stayed off and assumed that it was some kind of nasty boogyman. - Y0tsuya, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1As a 30-something person working in the industry designing logic devices and systems, you don't know computer tech unless you can tell me what each opcode in the processor instruction set does. Your average 20-something knowledge of tech is only slightly above that of a chimpanzee.
- axiomflash, on 01/31/2008, -6/+45You clearly haven't had your boss and coworkers add you on facebook...
- colonelbuckshot, on 01/31/2008, -3/+232I'd rather read the comments of the average 30-something than the average teen.
- capiCrimm, on 01/31/2008, -10/+19so my choice is grammar nazi's or LOLcats?
- aliguana, on 01/31/2008, -1/+23that should be "A grammar nazi or a lol-cat." :p
- supermajic, on 01/31/2008, -3/+1idl
- wattersm, on 01/31/2008, -0/+14At least you can understand the grammar nazis.
- Dundasbro, on 01/31/2008, -34/+5Actually you will find that 30+ and new to the internet instantly means ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME when they want to make a point, and surprisingly childish behaviour at times since they have just discovered the wonders of anonymity. Very annoying.
- mrBitch, on 01/31/2008, -3/+23Actually, you might take a minute to think about what age group uses ALL CAPS more often. Could it possibly be under 30's? Why yes, yes, it most probably could.
Another point you might want to think about is that all of this technology that you are using was conceived, designed, and created by 30+, 40+ and 50+ age groups.
If you think that under 30's created the internet, then you are not what I would call " an intellectual giant ".- Pixelante, on 01/31/2008, -5/+8"If you think that under 30's created the internet"
Many people here believe that TEENAGERS created the internet, computers and everything. Don't tell them it's not the case or they will go and cry on MySpace and slit their wrists with the Barbie Tea Party plastic cake knives.- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Hey now! Leave Britney alone!
- voyvf, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5"Another point you might want to think about is that all of this technology that you are using was conceived, designed, and created by 30+, 40+ and 50+ age groups."
They might be in the 30+, 40+, and 50+ age groups now, but in a lot of cases, they started young. Linus Torvalds, for example, was in his early twenties when he started development on Linux. That said, the absurd notion kids today have that the older generations should vacate the Internet is ludicrous. Heck, a lot of them actually think that HTTP is the entirety of the Internet, with the occasional exception of bit torrent. They're not even aware of half of "their playground".
- Pixelante, on 01/31/2008, -5/+8"If you think that under 30's created the internet"
- aliguana, on 01/31/2008, -1/+7as opposed to the megalomania of yer average 16 year-old, spouting off rhetoric like they were a 40-something world-leader? I am right, and you are wrong, even when it is plain I am talking out of my arse. iDi0Tz 4 teth WiN!
- hellotyler, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2My mom types in all caps and it drives me insane!
- MacParrot, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5My mom used to speak in all caps and THAT drove me insane
- Nougat, on 01/31/2008, -0/+6No, stupid people use all caps all the time. Much to your chagrin, there have been keyboards around for a long time, especially if you include typewriters.
- mrBitch, on 01/31/2008, -3/+23Actually, you might take a minute to think about what age group uses ALL CAPS more often. Could it possibly be under 30's? Why yes, yes, it most probably could.
- drizzlelicious, on 01/31/2008, -17/+5The older they get, the more racist comments we get
- shabumike, on 01/31/2008, -2/+6Ignorance and racism go hand in hand, you've just taken it to a higher level.
- drizzlelicious, on 01/31/2008, -2/+4No, not really. Old people are more likely to be racist. Check up some statistics for yourself.
Notice I didn't say anything about whether I want them to be on here or not. I would gladly welcome an 80 year old into our interwebs. Hell, the whole world should be online.- Y0tsuya, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1FYI, the "interwebs" is not yours.
- drizzlelicious, on 01/31/2008, -2/+4No, not really. Old people are more likely to be racist. Check up some statistics for yourself.
- shabumike, on 01/31/2008, -2/+6Ignorance and racism go hand in hand, you've just taken it to a higher level.
- paku, on 01/31/2008, -2/+9We built it, they can suck it.
- ell0bo, on 01/31/2008, -5/+3show me your boobs
- EnsGabe, on 01/31/2008, -3/+2idk my bff Jill
- MercFox1, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2Average teen agrees.
- capiCrimm, on 01/31/2008, -10/+19so my choice is grammar nazi's or LOLcats?
- allaboutdatiki, on 01/31/2008, -3/+102get the hell off my lawn, whippersnappers!
- nebion, on 01/31/2008, -2/+9This...I'm over 30, and I was certainly into tech long before those younger people.
- wattersm, on 01/31/2008, -0/+7I'm not even 30 and I feel out of touch with younger people, I've been using computers since I was 6 and the WWW since it was first started.
- Niffer, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2Get off my Internets, old man!
- nebion, on 01/31/2008, -2/+9This...I'm over 30, and I was certainly into tech long before those younger people.
- Alcor3000, on 01/31/2008, -1/+163And who invented the bloody technology in the first place?
- axiomflash, on 01/31/2008, -21/+10Zuckerman was like 21 when he made facebook...
- Nitesmoke, on 01/31/2008, -3/+21And Thomas Edison was over 60 when he invented a working lightbulb, so by that logic, no lights for anyone under 60.
- Pixelante, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2Works for me.
- BradMW, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3*stole the idea for
- EarlOfLade, on 01/31/2008, -0/+14And when he was like 5, I wrote the compilers and libraries he used (I, among many others of course), he was still suckling on his mommas ***** when I wrote GUI based programs in DR GEM!
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1No you didn't
- Nitesmoke, on 01/31/2008, -3/+21And Thomas Edison was over 60 when he invented a working lightbulb, so by that logic, no lights for anyone under 60.
- captZEEbo, on 01/31/2008, -10/+1Al Gore lawlz (you know someone was gonna say it)
- theone3, on 01/31/2008, -8/+13Alcor - you can't take credit for other people's work just because they may have been your current age once. That kind of post just proves that age has nothing to do with it. FWIW, I'm 19.
- Zique, on 01/31/2008, -1/+8I wish people would think the same about nationalities. I once tutored this German exchange student who loved to brag about how they invented the car and computer pretty much whenever you used either one. Also, Portugese really love to brag about their expedition-past. That's bloody great, but how about you do something yourself that you can be proud of.
- Memitim, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3Exactly. Just because someone happen to shoot their load in the same geographic region as your dad does not mean that you are special in any way, shape, or form. That guy who accomplished something with his life probably thought that your ancestors were worthless as well, despite being the same nationality.Quit trying to credit yourself with the accomplishments of others and go make a name for yourself.
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1And others love to use the "ancestors were slaves" argument.. etc... Just think of all the thousands of years.. All of our ancestors were probably slaves at one time or another. That's neither me or you.
YOU weren't a slave.
- Alcor3000, on 01/31/2008, -2/+5Hey I got my name on 25 patents - I hope that when you guys get to my age you will have made the same contribution - and that then some 18 year old will come and tell you to piss off because you type too slowly or don't speak his 'lingo'.
- jthomp3120, on 01/31/2008, -1/+4all you need for a patent is a course in technical writing and some money. Do the patents have any value? btw, I hold one patent and am 23.
- theone3, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3Getting your name on a patent is about the easiest thing in the world if you're in the right business. Show us a technology you've seriously been involved in and maybe you'll get my interest. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I know how large businesses work.
- Zique, on 01/31/2008, -1/+8I wish people would think the same about nationalities. I once tutored this German exchange student who loved to brag about how they invented the car and computer pretty much whenever you used either one. Also, Portugese really love to brag about their expedition-past. That's bloody great, but how about you do something yourself that you can be proud of.
- ReligionOfPeace, on 01/31/2008, -2/+38Absolutely. I was chatting via teletype terminal when the only option for "lay" users was mainframes serving BASIC. I learned to type on an IBM keypunch machine in the board of ed's basement. Altairs, CP/M, TRS-80's, Apple II, VIC-20, Osbourne's, C-64, C-128, ...
We were here first kid, so treat yourself to a sippee cup of STFU and get the hell off my grass.- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Couldn't have stated it better, especially the "sippee cup of STFU".
Do you remember Oregon Trail on the ASR33 teleprinters?
These kids need to find their own niche instead of using our Internet. I'm thinking Crayolas.- keegangrayson, on 01/31/2008, -2/+0You're old too.
- member57, on 01/31/2008, -0/+6TI-99/4A
- keegangrayson, on 01/31/2008, -4/+1You're old.
- hello2usir, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3It's for this reason I think the younger generation on average is actually less computer literate than us 30-50somethings. We had to learn computers the hard way. Kids now have grown up pampered with nice colorful GUIs and easy to understand and navigate applications.
The real heroes of the computer age are the true 'geeks' of the 60s and 70s who through a lot of blood sweat and tears provided the next generation of geek-wannabes with the springboard that many of them take for granted now. - securitymonkey, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2I regret that I have only one digg to give you, Sir.
C=64 was my favorite machine... sigh. - OpaqueMurdock, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3"We were here first kid, so treat yourself to a sippee cup of STFU and get the hell off my grass."
Clearly this should be on t-shirts, bumper stickers and in bold white type on pictures of really old cats... it is a instant classic. well done sir. - BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1You still didn't invent the Internet. You guys are talking as if all of you were somehow involved in this big Internet project.
I would have to agree that people from the 60s and 70s are the real heroes.. not mid-30s.
- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Couldn't have stated it better, especially the "sippee cup of STFU".
- arcangelgabriel, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Folks like Bob Metcalfe, you know that little thing called the ethernet?
- Marthinus, on 01/31/2008, -3/+1Hell yes, the over 30's called, they want their internets back!
- wattersm, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Yes we do. I've actually been wondering if there's a site like digg for older users.
- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Yes, it's called Dugg....since we apparently all have one foot in the grave already.
- wattersm, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Yes we do. I've actually been wondering if there's a site like digg for older users.
- peestandingup, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5I think we both know the answer to that. You guessed it...Frank Stallone.
- etandrib, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4Only a certain generation of SNL viewers will even get your comment. +1 Digg from me.
- EarlOfLade, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4Been working in the computer industry since the days of Osborne-1, so "their technological space" is really MINE and not theirs!
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1FTA: "Long gone are the days when the average middle-aged adult did well to simply work a computer." .. this is what most younger people refer to.. a lot of us have lived through those times.. where you are a computer "expert" because you can do something more than work on it..
- duggreen, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Well, my pop was one of the first few employees of DEC in western MA. He's 91 now and is critical of the direction computers have taken. Of course, he can make them jump through hoops better than most kids, but what do you expect from a pioneer?
- PRlME, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Al Gore
- axiomflash, on 01/31/2008, -21/+10Zuckerman was like 21 when he made facebook...
- ZenMojo, on 01/31/2008, -12/+36HAI! CAN I HAZ GERITOLZ? JKLOL!!!111!!!11!!!
No, seriously, anything to bridge the generational divide.- itsgotyou, on 01/31/2008, -1/+12well, I for one welcome our geriatric social overloads.
- secleinteer, on 02/01/2008, -0/+3it's "I CAN HAZ", not "CAN I HAZ" ;p
- CravenTwain, on 01/31/2008, -0/+170Especially ironic considering that these "under 30s" (teenagers in the article) are in the fourth or fifth wave of web users. It's not theirs to get territorial about. The web's earliest adopters are now in or approaching their 40s.
- iLEZ, on 01/31/2008, -13/+1Sure, but how many of the earliest adopters are there to greet the new wave of users?
- aliguana, on 01/31/2008, -0/+9Me. I would greet them, but I can't understand their twinkling black-text on black background pages :P
- mrBitch, on 01/31/2008, -0/+6Hi, I am here to welcome & greet you ( you = the new wave ). Please state the nature of the medical emergency.
- Kronos6948, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1Looks like you have to greet Andy Dick.
- itsgotyou, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0thanks. i have a swollen ankle, i can't hear well with my left ear and i can't seem to find my pen. . . oh, nevermind, stupid thermometer.
- Elliuotatar, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2On the internet, nobody knows your age. Unless you play online games, and then everyone makes fun of you if you haven't reached puberty yet and you're using the voice chat. But other than that, people still can't tell if you're 18 or 50, and you have an equally good chance of being any one of those ages.
- oldgal, on 01/31/2008, -0/+32Actually, some of us are approaching 70 and were there for the first wave of computers. We have seen a man walk on the moon and you have not - now that was cool.
- SteelChicken, on 01/31/2008, -2/+7yeah but we know better, ITS WAS A FAKE
(just kidding)- Phoenixfury, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I'm going to post a picture of my moon on your myspace page. ROFLMAO!
- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -0/+6Yeah! No more moon for under 70s!
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1computers != internet
Or else everyone before you that invented electricity, eletronics are the real owners of the Internet.
- SteelChicken, on 01/31/2008, -2/+7yeah but we know better, ITS WAS A FAKE
- alsowoldguy, on 01/31/2008, -0/+21Approaching? I passed 40 a few exits back! GEnie, then Usenet, then NCSA Mosaic.
Gotta run - "Murder She Wrote" is on!- Abominous, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1That show Murder She Wrote was kinda screwy.
I mean everywhere this lady goes people get killed >_>
- Abominous, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1That show Murder She Wrote was kinda screwy.
- Amazetbm, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I've been online when BBS systems and 300 baud modems were considered cutting edge technology.
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Except im 24 and have been there also.. I think you previous-gen people might have a few years mixed up ..
- secrity, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2We 50+ gray beards built the Internet, and the technology that made it possible.
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -1/+1You mean you heard of the Internet when it was actually mainstream in the 90s?
- iLEZ, on 01/31/2008, -13/+1Sure, but how many of the earliest adopters are there to greet the new wave of users?
- iLEZ, on 01/31/2008, -5/+16For Swedes, i wrote about this during the Swedish facebook-media-privacy-debate:
http://trastfolk.blogspot.com/2007/10/paradigmskif ...
In short this parallels "The September that never ended" in many ways. Loads of tech-uninterested people are invading the social media sites and we, as the "elders" of internet, have to manually land them and assimilate them into our masses. Simple as that. Forgive their soulless app/group invites and teach them how to behave online.
(Now let's go murder Scientology!)- iLEZ, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1Oh! And sorry about the blogspam. O_o
- warpbackspin, on 01/31/2008, -3/+1Interesting analogy. The roles are sort of reversed (obnoxious idiots invading versus obnoxious idiots being invaded) but the culture clash is the same.
-warpbackspin (AKA Dave Fischer)- Hayaemsay, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3I can see your ***** name.
P.S LOL
Yours truly
~Hayaemsay
- Hayaemsay, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3I can see your ***** name.
- thecosmicpope, on 01/31/2008, -1/+24I've tutored the elderly (over 60s) on basic and advanced PC use at a few points in my life and I think its great. I admire them for diving into a new subject and learning it from scratch, especially at there old age. Computers can be scary things to someone who has never used one.
- iLEZ, on 01/31/2008, -0/+15I agree. My GFs granddad is 85 and he recently got himself a computer and taught himself to program it and go online and import old cassette tapes to mp3 and much more. Admirable indeed.
- MrSunshine, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2How would they react if their Myspace account gets raided by the *chan/SA crowd?
- salomejones, on 01/31/2008, -0/+9My mother was introduced to computers when she was 58. Now she's 66, and writing her own shell scripts. People tend to behave exactly as how they're treated the most---if you treat someone like they're a doddering old fool for a long enough time, thats the sort of thing you'll always see.
- SheriffJWPepper, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1They're probably equally admirable of people your age learning the difference between "their" and "there" !
- rabidbob, on 01/31/2008, -1/+89I'm in my mid-30ies; I've had a net connection of one type or another for nearly a decade and a half. I could say that I'm not impressed with the under 30ies crowd encroaching on what I consider my technological space. That would be silly though; the internet is available for anyone and there are communities for all different types of people.
- TheKorn2, on 01/31/2008, -1/+17Amen to that! Hell, I've had a broadband connection for nearly a decade! So I don't know who these teens think they're fooling -- do they really think facebook was invented by a thirteen year old?
I do have to wonder what idiots are invading myspace, though... That one would voluntarily go there is beyond comprehension.- Nitesmoke, on 01/31/2008, -2/+17I can't see any real use for Myspace or Facebook at all. They just seem too 13 year old girl to me. Do I really need a page about me, what I like, etc. for the whole world to see? Often I see young people complaining how the government is taking away their privacy, then turn around and post pics of themselves smoking a joint with panties on their head. I had a gilrfriend who loved her myspace page, spent hours a day on it, updating her blog and whatnot. A blog about her and me. We did nothing, but work, sleep, eat, etc. If we wnt to WAl-Mart, she posted it. If we went to KFC, she posted it. This used to annoy me so much that I eventually left her. I'm sorry, but I'm just not comfortable with her whole friends list knowing everytime I had to tak3e a *****. But what worries me more isn't the bitch who has to blog about how she got the wrong burger at McDonald's, but the loser who reads all this *****. I mean, c'mon, why would anyone care what your favorite band is or how smart you think your cat is?
- Hayaemsay, on 01/31/2008, -5/+2You are win.
- hellotyler, on 01/31/2008, -7/+2Pretentious much ? Myspace is great for promoting music, keeping large groups of friends up to date on events, and running into old buddies. I don't know about blogging your every move of the day, that sounds a bit... boring... but it's not like it really matters to me. It's the same thing as having a public journal. If it makes them happy, who cares ?
- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -1/+8Promoting music to 13 year olds, sure.
As for keeping large groups of friends up to date on events....try email. It works and it doesn't look nearly as horrible as MySpace.
As for running into "old buddies", how many "old buddies" can you have at 13? - Nitesmoke, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4First, Myspace is terrible at promoting music. Any wannabe band with a Myspace page can get on 500 emo's friends lists just by saying they hate their parents in a song. Good music promotes itself, it doesn't need a website.
Second, I was saying my ex-gf used to update her page every time we did anything. Of course it was boring, and it made her happy, but it pissed me off. Not that I was doing anything wrong, but, I don't want anyone putting my day to day life on a website. I was commenting more on the people who would waste their time and read that *****. Myspace is the internet's *****. Every single page is crammed with so much stupid crap with everyone trying to look "individual" and all end up looking the same. No one cares if you like Insane Clown Posse, and we sure as hell don't want to hear them if we want to send you a message. I think the Myspace and Facebook fads just show how truly conceited the youngster's are these days. They really only serve two purposes, to hook up with potential sex partners, which I understand, and to show the world how cool and hip you think you are. The difference between the older people and younger ones is, we can honestly say that we've been there. We understand your hormones cloud your judgment and impair your taste. It makes no sense to have Tila Tequilla on your buddy list, but be embarrassed to include actual people you know and love. When you grow up, you will learn the most important thing in your whole life is your family, not the 500 assholes from myspace you will never meet and wouldn't piss on you if you were burning. - hellotyler, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1You people sure love to talk a lot of trash, I'm well over 18 and I use facebook AND myspace both, although for different purposes.
Facebook is great for finding out information on events such as local Swing Dances even with a built in RSVP feature so hosts can figure out the potential numbers of people coming to the event. It also allows you to send video eMail with ease, with a built in option right in the browser. No external software needed. I quite like that and have sent friends various video messages in the past. It has a great design to share photographs of you and your friends or family camping trips, hikes, trips to Hawaii, whatever. All free, with built in features like restricted viewing for people who don't know you that most other image hosting companies do not provide. On a more trivial note It also has little games built in like Oregon Trail or Scrabulous which are a fine way to kill time, and no different then Yahoo Games.
As for MySpace If you haven't been paying attention MySpace has been doing a kickass job promoting music and has already helped many artists get the exposure they needed to get off their feet and into the "real world". It exposes them to literally millions of viewers and has a built in option to upload your music so people can listen. Doing this on your own website is a faaar more tedious process. Granted, a website would be better, but that takes a lot more time, effort, and resources then throwing up a completely free site on myspace that has all the information you want people to know. I have been exposed to music that friends linked me to on MySpace that I would not have listened to at all if it were not for that link, local music that I actually enjoyed enough to go out and see live.
I really do sorry for you guys, so pissed off that people choose to use social networking sites. Isn't there better things to be pissed off about ?
- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -1/+8Promoting music to 13 year olds, sure.
- Nitesmoke, on 01/31/2008, -2/+17I can't see any real use for Myspace or Facebook at all. They just seem too 13 year old girl to me. Do I really need a page about me, what I like, etc. for the whole world to see? Often I see young people complaining how the government is taking away their privacy, then turn around and post pics of themselves smoking a joint with panties on their head. I had a gilrfriend who loved her myspace page, spent hours a day on it, updating her blog and whatnot. A blog about her and me. We did nothing, but work, sleep, eat, etc. If we wnt to WAl-Mart, she posted it. If we went to KFC, she posted it. This used to annoy me so much that I eventually left her. I'm sorry, but I'm just not comfortable with her whole friends list knowing everytime I had to tak3e a *****. But what worries me more isn't the bitch who has to blog about how she got the wrong burger at McDonald's, but the loser who reads all this *****. I mean, c'mon, why would anyone care what your favorite band is or how smart you think your cat is?
- karlthulhu, on 01/31/2008, -1/+4You basically said what I was going to say. I agree 100%!
- Kronos6948, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4Seriously. I've been online since around '94. I've only had a couple of years of darkness (while living with my ex), but in between her, I've had access in one way or another, and I'm 33. This topic would make more sense if it was about either young teens or people 50 and up.
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1I totally agree
- sfled, on 02/01/2008, -0/+1My take on it is just because someone can add a canned MySpace theme to their profile and figure out how to use iTunes doesn't make them "tech-savvy". Like the man said, "Judge not lest ye be judged."
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Same goes for the people who happened to live in the times when the internet was created..
- TheKorn2, on 01/31/2008, -1/+17Amen to that! Hell, I've had a broadband connection for nearly a decade! So I don't know who these teens think they're fooling -- do they really think facebook was invented by a thirteen year old?
- koolkelso, on 01/31/2008, -8/+1i think it's ok as the level of maturirty, will (or at least should) rise. This may have a flow on affect. Alternatively, i do find this sort of weird. 40 year old people in an anonynmous place known for having many teens? But that might just be the cynical side of me coming out. By the way i'm 15 and would have no problem if my grandma or grandpa IMed me.
and on the front page with 42 digs? WTF- Lone1, on 01/31/2008, -0/+12one day, you will realize that 40 is not old. Don't belive me? Lets revisit in 25 years.
- spider418, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2I remember at 15 I was thinking how cool it would be to make to to year 2000. I wasn't sure I would make it as I would be 38. It didn't even cross my mind to think beyond 2000 as I would have to be 40+
- chrisatwork, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4In my day a story had to walk uphill in the snow to get to the front page.
- MrDizzy, on 02/01/2008, -0/+0thank you i needed a good laugh today
- Lone1, on 01/31/2008, -0/+12one day, you will realize that 40 is not old. Don't belive me? Lets revisit in 25 years.
- zentehflash, on 01/31/2008, -3/+19Mom - "It says on your facebook status that you hate life, are you ok? And what does 'It's complicated' mean?"
Angst Teen - "When did you get facebook? Also you can't passably start to understand me."
I think the discomfort comes from where younger people who were just interacting with their pear are now filtering the content the express and upload so that they aren't looked down on by people who might view some of it as childish or immature. I think it stems from young adults not being able to be honest to their parents about who they are and what they do. But, nothing new I guess.- Pixelante, on 01/31/2008, -1/+14"Interacting with their pear"? Man, you should eat your fruits, not "interact" with it.
- Joshuarr, on 01/31/2008, -0/+9I think he meant pier.
/s- SimonGray, on 01/31/2008, -4/+1Really...?
I think he meant peers.- hoowahman, on 01/31/2008, -1/+6Really? I think he didn't with the /s.
- Smiff2, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1structure built of stone, wood or iron, projecting into water for use as a landing-stage or breakwater;
- SimonGray, on 01/31/2008, -4/+1Really...?
- sark666, on 01/31/2008, -1/+7I dunno, I saw a show once where a woman 'interacted' with a banana that was pretty wild!
- sfled, on 02/01/2008, -0/+0Pair. The kid's playing online poker with Mom's cc.
- Joshuarr, on 01/31/2008, -0/+9I think he meant pier.
- Sporky023, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3@zenteflash: you got it right. The real problem is that kids interact with two entirely different groups of people - one group that accepts them as they are, and another group that cannot help but see them as an image. I'll leave it to the reader to determine which is which. But kids want to interact via facebook with their peers, not their parents. It's just as simple as that. They say you can't pick your family ... "You have received a mother-child relationship request from Nancy Smith ... click here to accept"
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Same when we went to the park to hang out with friends.. who wants to have his parent around the park when their smoking cigarettes or drinking cans of beer?
- Pixelante, on 01/31/2008, -1/+14"Interacting with their pear"? Man, you should eat your fruits, not "interact" with it.
- aliguana, on 01/31/2008, -2/+48read as: older non-tech people are starting to use social networks en-masse, and criticising hideously unreadable MySpace pages and Zombie invites. Younger people then feel embarassed about doing these things, but instead of admitting the oldies are right, they slag them off for being there in the first place. These social network sites aren't 13-21. If they were, I could see their point.
- mt066, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2YOU JUST BLEW MY MIND O_o
- wyrdness, on 01/31/2008, -2/+2Most of the zombie invites that I get sent on facebook are from the over-30's.
- jthomp3120, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2Most of the people over 30 on myspace and facebook are looking for just looking for younger pussy. Its not about creating a network with your friends.
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1These social networks were used MAINLY by under-30s people though..
- Zorn, on 01/31/2008, -5/+78The mediocrity and narcissism of the under 30's on social networking sites is truly horrific to behold. The endless repetition of personality profiles, 'do you like me' applications, so and so who is 'hotting it up' or 'bringing sexy back' or some such ***** seems only to testify to a vacuous, self-indulgent and over-commercialized youth culture where every little sunflower and snowflake needs to be congratulated (one is never allowed to 'judge' or offer a critical, constructive point) for their 'unique self-expression' (read, pseudo-individualism) rather than engage any meaningful work on themselves and become articulate, insightful and complex beings who have something worthwhile to say.
I vote for their expulsion from the internet.
- aliguana, on 01/31/2008, -3/+18difference between young and older generations: older people talk about the software they're writing, the new car design they've made, their business, their home improvements, their trips to far off places. Younger people talk about... ME! ME! Here is a pic of ME, don't I look like a film-star? Oh, and a bit about ME! Am I hot or not? Of course I am! Poke ME! Look how popular I am, I have a million friends, bow down and worship ME! Oooo... here is another self-portrait posing pic of ME taken with the camera in one hand, at a dodgy angle, looking all moody*. ME!
* hint for self-portrait kids: it's called a timer. You set the timer, put the camera down, then get in position and bamb. I HATE half-armshots. They are silly and so is the person taking them.- sporg, on 01/31/2008, -12/+3Both examples you gave are self obsessed.
Check your front door the delivery man is there with your package of FAIL.- voyvf, on 01/31/2008, -1/+4How is talking about software that one is writing self-obsessed? Most programmers' blogs I've seen do this to invite conversation (re: comments section) about said software, and in turn often get great ideas on how to improve it. I can't even begin to count how many times I've stumbled across a solution that's been posted on someone's blog.
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Yeah, but you're our parents from the previous generation.. we just took what you left us with..
- sporg, on 01/31/2008, -12/+3Both examples you gave are self obsessed.
- freezeout, on 01/31/2008, -12/+5lighten up, grandpa
- creaulx, on 01/31/2008, -1/+9It's too bad "self-discovery" (acting like a jackass and alienating yourself from everyone who actually cares) takes up most of your teens and twenties, even thirties. What a waste of time.
- theone3, on 01/31/2008, -1/+6Zorn, you need to see this.
http://www.xkcd.com/291/ - wankelrotary, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3Yeah, those damn kids with their hair and their rock 'n' roll music records.
- keegangrayson, on 01/31/2008, -2/+0Stereotyping is fun.
- Sporky023, on 01/31/2008, -6/+1Zorn, just because you use long words and have correct grammar doesn't mean you don't suck. Testify to your own ***** culture and let the youth of this world continue to forge as pioneers into realms you cannot even imagine, as their children will do after them.
- Testiculese, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5They aren't forging anywhere. They're regressing. Their realms are easily imaginable because they are pretty weak.
- jejones, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Back in the Pleistocene when I was in college and they taught about those non-PC dead white European males, wasn't there mention of Plato saying something similar about those young whippersnappers, who wimped out and used that new-fangled "reading" and "writing" technology, so they wouldn't have to memorize?
- hummer13, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1This is when I wish I could give someone more then one 'thumbs up'.
- aliguana, on 01/31/2008, -3/+18difference between young and older generations: older people talk about the software they're writing, the new car design they've made, their business, their home improvements, their trips to far off places. Younger people talk about... ME! ME! Here is a pic of ME, don't I look like a film-star? Oh, and a bit about ME! Am I hot or not? Of course I am! Poke ME! Look how popular I am, I have a million friends, bow down and worship ME! Oooo... here is another self-portrait posing pic of ME taken with the camera in one hand, at a dodgy angle, looking all moody*. ME!
- UNDERSTAR, on 01/31/2008, -1/+8Just reading this artie, I get flashes of Grandpa Simpson in my head....bah! ;)
- alsowoldguy, on 01/31/2008, -0/+6BRING BACK MATLOCK!
- CognitiveD, on 01/31/2008, -0/+15I have had comments on my age (I'm 30) on a community-like web site and that I'm too old to be there.
Thing is that I have been there since I was in my early twenties, guess that the people that are in their early twenties now will still use the Internet when they are older.- Screwy1138, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Yeah, I'm 30, and I've been using the internet since I was 16 (AOL, gah, bbs (much better)).
What I don't like is people who use the web but don't know how it works. Unreasonable, I know, but we can all have our quirks.
- Screwy1138, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Yeah, I'm 30, and I've been using the internet since I was 16 (AOL, gah, bbs (much better)).
- macwac, on 01/31/2008, -3/+9When your grandma adds you to facebook or checks your facebook profile through your cousin's and leave a comment on your pictures from last nights club endeavors that a friend uploaded and tagged you in before you sobered up and got over your hang-over thats when you start objecting... especially when it becomes the talk at the next family get together.
- Joshuarr, on 01/31/2008, -1/+5Get this: your parents will always find something to rag on you for.. Facebook or no.
- reclusivemonkey, on 01/31/2008, -2/+1Whoops, wrong reply, bury.
- oojamaflip2006, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5This is especially true if they see pics of you on Facebook wrestling a transvestite, two porcupines and a vacuum cleaner in a vat of jelly wearing nothing but a bow tie and suspenders. Not that this has ever happened to me, I'm just saying like.
- Testiculese, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2If these kids had any brains, they would make two profiles. One for family, one for friends.
"the youth of this world continue to forge as pioneers" - Sporky
Yea..right, they can't even figure this out??- jgzman, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I expect that social media will evolve. I would alter the friends lists into two lists 'friends' and 'family' and possibly a few more. All contacts get put on a list that is invisible to everyone except the account holder. i.e., you can't tell whether you are on the 'friend' list, or the 'family' list, or the 'co-worker' list. Every list would have certain access privileges; i.e., anyone on the 'family' or 'co-worker' list cannot see photos tagged with 'drunk', 'drinking', or 'boobs.' Critically, this has to be invisible as well. Not, 'this image blocked because of your contact-type' but simply nothing at all.
This should be like a multi-user system, with various levels of access, but impossible to determine your own level of access.
Parents won't like this, but they already know that kids don't tell them everything. They will have to get over it.
- jgzman, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I expect that social media will evolve. I would alter the friends lists into two lists 'friends' and 'family' and possibly a few more. All contacts get put on a list that is invisible to everyone except the account holder. i.e., you can't tell whether you are on the 'friend' list, or the 'family' list, or the 'co-worker' list. Every list would have certain access privileges; i.e., anyone on the 'family' or 'co-worker' list cannot see photos tagged with 'drunk', 'drinking', or 'boobs.' Critically, this has to be invisible as well. Not, 'this image blocked because of your contact-type' but simply nothing at all.
- sporg, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1If a person is ashamed to have his grandma looking at his naked drunk ass, then maybe he shouldn't post those pictures for anyone in the world to see. The internet is public - it's not a private playroom for horny kids.
- monsieurx, on 01/31/2008, -1/+21im 42 and half the players on the net dont know where computers came from! we are in coz we started it!
- theone3, on 01/31/2008, -1/+17Proof that age has nothing to do with the grammar quality or ability to articulate concepts.
- mrmacky, on 01/31/2008, -0/+7You started the Advanced Research and Porn Aggregation NETwork?
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1So where do computers come from ? (..without checking Wiki)
Is the answer a country?
- Swift2, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2If it's alone and sealed off from other generations you want, don't go on facebook. (You won't run into this old guy there, anyway.) Or find private chats. I mean, facebook exists for group play, right? Nothing intimate or separate about it. You KNOW, if you're a young teen, there's going to be a lot of parents hovering around, and a lot of pervs.
And it's a new thing. Where else would an old guy find out about Ron Paul???? Oh, wait a minute. Maybe I'm better off not knowing some things.
But I know I'm not going to find too many Hillary supporters around here. - 13373h4X0r, on 01/31/2008, -1/+11Anyone, young or old, who relies on isolation or exclusiveness to feel validated or special, is probably insecure. I can understand how a teenager might be insecure, given how much more they have to learn about the world, about other people, and about themselves. So, seeking technologies of exclusion, and seeking relative isolation from their own family, or from older or younger people, reduces the threat.
I think it's humorous and ironic that people should use "social networking" tools to achieve relative isolation! LOL! Of course what they're really trying to do is find a social networking tool that will keep them in their comfort zone -- filtering out the scary world of younger/older/different-minded people, while still allowing them to maintain connections to people who fit their narrow limits of acceptability.
LOL! When will "Anti-social networking sites" appear to address this social networking problem?!
It's easy to feel insulted when other people seek to exclude you -- and the concept of using a very-high-pitched ring tone for a cell phone to avoid the unwanted attention of older people (with their diminished hearing ability) seems like an especially pointed insult -- but such things are no different than any other gestures of exclusion. It hurts to be excluded, but realizing that some people just want less challenge and stress in their lives puts the exclusion in to perspective.- MrMustard, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Good post in general.
Personally being over 30 myself I've never got into the whole myspace, facebook semi anonymous 'social networking' scene. I have my real world friends and family and use use technology to extend communication with them rather than seek attention and interaction from people I don't really know at all.
The whole number of 'friends' people crave on these type of sites seems overly superficial and shallow to me, I'd swap 1,000,000 virtual friends for one real one. - MaliciousKitty, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Maybe they're not trying to find isolation. Maybe they're looking for other people THEIR AGE who share THEIR INTERESTS. I don't know about other people, but my grandparents don't fit in that category. Thus, I don't want them part of my social network.
It's just like in real life - you hang out with your friends and I'll hang out with my friends.- MrMustard, on 02/01/2008, -0/+0Surely the vast majority have real people their age sharing their interests in their area ;) There's no harm in using social sites to a degree but some people seem to be replacing real social interaction with virtual. Is that healthy?
- MrMustard, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Good post in general.
- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -2/+45Egotistical little *****. I'm over 40 and have been on MySpace since it began. So have a lot of others around my age. Then came the kids who act like it's their own private world. I was on Friendster before that and bailed when the others did. Nothing could persuade me to join the elitist ranks of Facebook, though. I've also been online for 15 years, longer than many of the younger set have been alive.
- 22justin, on 01/31/2008, -18/+5haha your old and a loser
- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -2/+13haha you can't spell. It's you're, loser. :D
- supermajic, on 01/31/2008, -1/+12Awesome 22Justin, you're a douchebag!
- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -2/+9I would have only laughed harder if you had typed "ur" instead of "your"(sic). Douche.
- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -8/+3Good read, but I have to say, that is the whole point. What do you think the demographic of Myspace users is like? Who do you think uses Myspace, if you had to guess an age group? What those "egotistical little *****" DON'T want, is for you to be their father, uncle, or whatever, or God forbid, some kind of creepy semi-child molester browsing their porfiles and sending them messages.
So, I appologize if you only use Myspace or whatever to keep in touch with some work friends, other people you know, and maybe occasionally meet a new buddy or whatever, but for the younger generation... all I can say is, I've seen the type of social networking sites homosexuals have. They have ahd, for years. Much more technologically advanced than what us heterosexuals use, and they are much more honest and painfully get to the point as quickly as possible.
Myspace, Facebook, etc. are kind of heterosexual methods of masquerading, almost advertising ourselves to the opposite (and sometimes same, or both) sex. There really isn't much other point, besides keeping in touch with friends and seeing who-knows-who, which at some point, becomes just as useless.
I think the divide here, comes from several directions at once. It isn't your FAULT you are a little bit older than the general user of these websites. It is all about how you use them, and for what purposes. Sadly, for your age range, I doubt there are many ~40 year old females using Myspace, etc. for the same thing the 18-24 crowd is. Do I feel sorryfor you because of this? Yes. Would I accept you adding a few of my younger friends in an attempt to "hook up"? Well, only if I've already slept with them, sure, you can have them ;D hahaha
good luck- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -1/+5Wow, how to answer this. I live in Europe now and family and friends are all in the states. I really don't pay attention to demographics. Some of my family members are young and have no problem INVITING me to be their friend. Most of their profiles are private, as is mine. I wouldn't ask them, though. I do respect their space, even if I called them "egotistical little *****".
Why'd you mention gay social networking sites? I've never joined one because I'm straight and married, not because I'm homophobic. This particular part of your comment has me reading between your lines. Nuff said.
I am certainly not there to make new friends or to flirt with guys. Not much point? Useless? Like I said, I'm thousands of miles away from my family and friends and this is the best way to keep in touch with them and it will never become useless.
So what if I'm older: Age doesn't mean *****. I still feel young, no different than I ever have. You're so wrong about other women my age being on MySpace and for a long time, too. Feel sorry for me all you want. I feel sorry for you because you're obviously very confused.
Thanks for replying, though.- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2I liked this post more than the original because you explained your position perfectly. Somebody else outlined the great benefits of cost and everything else associated with internet-based communications.
Now, I'll explain my self a little better. I've had a roomate or two that was gay, and at one point, we shared the same PC. My adventures on to Myspace, AIM, etc. as a slightly younger version of myself were almost mocked, as one of my roomates ended up showing me how "they" did things on the internet.
Instead of "Oh man I know this girl from down the street and we talk online a lot and she always leaves me comments, she probably SOOO wants to get with me", it was more like "Look, here are guys with pictures of all of their parts, etc. and exact detalied outlines of who they'd like to sleep with... right now".
I'm not saying that all homosexuals are overly promiscuous or anything, but it made me think about a lot of stuff differently. Even back then (this was around 2 years ago or so), I could tell entirely from the itnerfaces that the sites had advanced far beyond Myspace or any other social networking sites that were widely used at the time.
Because of both combined promiscuity and honesty, the actual use of the site as tools, to an effective extent, was probably 20 fold increase. I mean, for comparison, my roomate probably had a different guy over 3-4 times a week. I'd be lucky to have a girl over our house once a week, until I had a steady girlfriend, in which case, I was still only having the same person over, repeatedly.
So, take it as you will. I'm just here to share opinions. :)
- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2I liked this post more than the original because you explained your position perfectly. Somebody else outlined the great benefits of cost and everything else associated with internet-based communications.
- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I like your post better, too. You explained what I thought I was reading between the lines very well. I get it now.
I've never had anyone "hit" on me on MySpace and have never received a nasty message or one with sexual overtones.
I play it safe, requiring I approve all comments and that's saved my butt from a lot of phishing attempts and spam.
Another reason I like it is because of all the bands on there. If I hear of a new band that's being talked about a lot, I check them out on MySpace. I'm a musician. Music is my life and I'm always searching for something new and good. That's about as hard as finding gold in the Gobi, but still, there's never been one I can't find.
I like to share opinions, too. We all have one ;)
- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -1/+5Wow, how to answer this. I live in Europe now and family and friends are all in the states. I really don't pay attention to demographics. Some of my family members are young and have no problem INVITING me to be their friend. Most of their profiles are private, as is mine. I wouldn't ask them, though. I do respect their space, even if I called them "egotistical little *****".
- chrisatwork, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2Myspace usage isn't something you can show off to impress people.
- Vodka2389, on 01/31/2008, -3/+1I'm sorry... but 40 year old dudes on My Space? You gotta draw the line somewhere.
- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3I'm drawing a line in the sand. Be ready. You'll need 3 toilets when I'm through with you! I'm sorry, but I'm not a guy. If I were I'd still have been on there longer than most of the under 30s. For your information, d00d, (cracking myself up) I know many, many guys over 40 on MySpace. They've been there for years and like me, get both annoyed and amused at the idk w/e set. I'm reminded of when I ran an IRC channel and young guys from another one would give me ***** about my age, even then. I give better than I get. I am legion :)
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Ok and why does that mean that under-30s are not users? Myspace was launched in 1999. Where me and a bunch of under 30s were on the Internet before then too..
You are basically doing exactly the same as the kids.. talking like you own Myspace..
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Ok and why does that mean that under-30s are not users? Myspace was launched in 1999. Where me and a bunch of under 30s were on the Internet before then too..
- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3I'm drawing a line in the sand. Be ready. You'll need 3 toilets when I'm through with you! I'm sorry, but I'm not a guy. If I were I'd still have been on there longer than most of the under 30s. For your information, d00d, (cracking myself up) I know many, many guys over 40 on MySpace. They've been there for years and like me, get both annoyed and amused at the idk w/e set. I'm reminded of when I ran an IRC channel and young guys from another one would give me ***** about my age, even then. I give better than I get. I am legion :)
- ell0bo, on 01/31/2008, -1/+2First off... i'm only 25 and having an internet connection for 15 years now is standard amongst my friends. We're on digg, so should you be suprised? Being in MySpace since it began is like saying you were the first person to board the Titanic. Sure, maybe it was great at one time, but when you look back it's really a bad situation to be in. Facebook elitist, I don't know about that, it was just where everyone from college could find everyone else from their college easily. It sucks now, but it used to be nice when it was a simple site. When you really want to talk about being an adopter, talk about how you're still hanging out int he same rooms on mIRC that you were 12 years ago, not that you were one of the first people on MySpace.
Props though making it to 40 and bragging about your MySpace profile though, I thought it was only the "To Catch A Predator" types that were on there after 30 and we're musicians.- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1IRC.. the good old days
- 22justin, on 01/31/2008, -18/+5haha your old and a loser
- dacomputerfreak, on 01/31/2008, -1/+10As an installation tech for a small wireless Internet ISP, I can say that I have noticed the trend change, as I have been getting more middle age and senior citizens online lately than ever. I would venture to say that on an average I hook up around 75% of individuals over 30. I'm 27, I don't think I've seen anything but support from the "under 30 crowd". The kids that go to college like that their family have easy access to them while their gone, and those who move a long distance from home like that it brings them closer to their family. My brother in law, who is 19 loves that he can talk to his mother and father while he's stationed in California (he's a Marine) and have access to everyone in Michigan. Long gone are the days of expensive land-line phone calls and snail mail letters. The older generations are finally seeing the value of a platform for better communication and information and embracing it.
- kneelB4zod, on 01/31/2008, -3/+8Under 30s using the internet, what ever next.
- DCGaymer, on 01/31/2008, -2/+10Someone had to raise the bar....we'd let the kids muck it up for long enough.
- ReligionOfPeace, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2LOL, No internet for anyone under 50!
- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -29/+0I dislike too many older people on the Internet. Let me defend my self. I'm a 21 year old male (well, close). What exactly is the point of social networking? It helps you connect with people who are close to being your "peer", which at my age, is pretty much perfect. The cut off, to me, for "too young" and technologically illiterate are about parallel.
Have I ever just hooked up with somebody from the Internet? Maybe once or twice, but I can say people's profiles on various sites and interaction with them using the Internet has always helped to strengthen any kind of relationship we might have, as friends or other-wise.
Now, what I'm saying is, look at me. I'm young, decently attractive, make good wages, but how the hell am I supposed to compete with some 25 or 35+ year old version of my self who is trying to aim themselves, in romantic and other ways, at females that I consider my peers? So now you see the problem. Not that I mind the competition or anything, but I know where their minds are, as well as my own, and am probably admitting something many other people my age would not even consider typing.
Even then, at the end of the day, I have to say, I've seen some girls I know, the in boxes and stuff they have and the ridiculous amounts of requests for all kinds of stuff, through IM and other manner, especially social networking sites. So you remember that one creepy guy back in high school that probably messages her once a week thinking he has even the slightest chance of hooking up with her because he randomly browsed a girl's profile? Well imagine he exists, in mass, in several generations, and the older he gets, the creepier. Graduating class of 75 creepy guy hitting on your potential future ex-girlfriend?
The point of the article though, is more about people dodging their parents. Don't give them your URL, or account, or add them to friends, none of that *****. They are your ***** parent! Not your God damn friend! No matter how "cool" your parents are (trust me, mine aren't even 40 yet), they are still your parents. None of your friends want to befriend them, and if they do, ***** them too.
This is really, at the core, more of a privacy issue. Do we make too much information available to the general public? Of course, if we didn't how would these social networking sites ever bring us any benefit? We project ourselves out on a virtual postcard saying "Hey, look, this is me! Nice to meet you." and often, this is more true to our actual selves than we behave in real life.
Instead of going, I'm anonymous and only subject to judgment by my peers, we have to think... well what if so-and-so's mom or older marine brother or aunt and uncle or WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, sees me on top friends and decides I'm no good for them, or they shouldn't be friends with me, yadda yadda
I think this is more reason, personally, to be even MORE honest. Scare away those people who can't accept reality as it is, with the fullest of truth. So yes, my main profile picture is me exhaling hydroponic weed smoke. Don't like it? Choke on the cloud... one day, when we got better technology where you can get a contact high just by visiting the wrong Myspace page.
Ohhh yeahhh- dacomputerfreak, on 01/31/2008, -1/+16Grow up and stop whining.
- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -12/+0Stop being so old and conservative ;D I'm really not whining at all, I mean, it is more of just the thoughts that ran through my head about the subject. I was honest. I know what to say to get a lot of diggs, and those are just not the things that come to my mind. I could have just said:
RON PAUL RON PAUL LOLZ CAT CAN HAZ CHEEZBURGER!!! etc. etc. and watched my diggs go up... or spit off a witty one-liner about the subject, but instead, I chose to dive deep in to my opinion on the subject, and this is why you hate me?- Pixelante, on 01/31/2008, -0/+8How can you "dive deep" in a shallow pool?
- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -12/+0Stop being so old and conservative ;D I'm really not whining at all, I mean, it is more of just the thoughts that ran through my head about the subject. I was honest. I know what to say to get a lot of diggs, and those are just not the things that come to my mind. I could have just said:
- ConeOfSilence, on 01/31/2008, -1/+11You may be 21 now but the next thing u know u will wake up one morning and u will be 30 and u will say to yourself, "how did that happen, the last thing I knew I was 21." Then u will realize that u are one of those in the 30+ age group who uses social web sites whom u were complaining about when u were 21.
U have to realize that us ppl from Gen-x grew up with technology and computers and we will always use them.- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -5/+0Yeah, I don't think I'm Gen X, am I? :o I dunno, but either way. If a futuristic jury of Mysapce's eventual users voted to exile me to some far away "old perverts" island, I'd accept my fate and slowly roll over in to my proverbial grave. Until then...
- Joshuarr, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2I used to think everyone should have to commit suicide when they turn 60 like that one star trek episode. How do you feel about that Kcaj?
- Joshuarr, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2I used to think everyone should have to commit suicide when they turn 60 like that one star trek episode. How do you feel about that Kcaj?
- Coffeedemon, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3Gen X varies by definition but is often anyone born between 65 and 77. So if you're an under 30 (your spelling indicates a "yes" in this column).... you're not gen X.
Damn boomers holding onto the jobs till they slip into the grave and now the kids are trying to steal our generation. We can't have anything nice.- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1My lawn is nice.
- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -5/+0Yeah, I don't think I'm Gen X, am I? :o I dunno, but either way. If a futuristic jury of Mysapce's eventual users voted to exile me to some far away "old perverts" island, I'd accept my fate and slowly roll over in to my proverbial grave. Until then...
- Nitesmoke, on 01/31/2008, -0/+7This was the dumbest ***** I've ever read. If you think anything you just said makes any sense you still have alot of growing to do.
- round427, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Agreed. I literally laughed out loud after reading his post.
- citizen782, on 01/31/2008, -0/+8"I'm young, decently attractive, make good wages, but how the hell am I supposed to compete with some 25 or 35+ year old version of my self who is trying to aim themselves, in romantic and other ways, at females that I consider my peers?"
I met my wife on the Internet when she was 22 and I was 30. She specifically dated me because she was "tired of boys". It's a more commonly recurring theme than you'd think. We know four couples that are separated by more than six years and in every case the woman's younger. Most often they did not meet on-line so don't blame the this on the tubes.- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -0/+6I suspect that was what he was trying to get at originally. He's afraid that these young boys cannot possibly compete with the mature men when it comes to women. We typically want something different and more meaningful than what the 20s kids want.
That was what I thought his original intent was but then he went on to say the creepy guy from class of 1976.
I suspect he is bitter since he pointed out that us "creepy guys" were hitting on his soom to be ex-girlfriend. I guess we weren't so creepy afterall. - BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1I met 2 of my girlfriends on the internet.. the latest i met at work. I am 24, she is 34.
Girl's aren't all that mature either you know...
- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -0/+6I suspect that was what he was trying to get at originally. He's afraid that these young boys cannot possibly compete with the mature men when it comes to women. We typically want something different and more meaningful than what the 20s kids want.
- shabumike, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Need a tissue?
- absurdist, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Jesus ***** a ***** souffle... you really think your generation invented smoking weed too? Are you really that ***** stupid? Can ANYBODY be that ***** stupid?
- dacomputerfreak, on 01/31/2008, -1/+16Grow up and stop whining.
- MrSunshine, on 01/31/2008, -5/+22I hope these "oldies" somewhat bring morality to the internet. Less "LULZ" and instead more "STFU, NOOB".
- supermajic, on 01/31/2008, -1/+5Less Lulz?? YOU MONSTER!!
- Emused, on 01/31/2008, -1/+21I say , ***** them , who do they think ,created all this cool ***** in the first place, snot nose little punks, get off my porch and stop pissing in my garden.
- synyster, on 01/31/2008, -12/+2is good for old people to learn new technologies, however when it come to social network stuff, you just wouldn't want to add your mum as friend, that's just so uncool, it just like you wouldn't go to a party with your mum, or post some embarrassing messages on your wall. communication with parents is important, but sometimes is good to have your own space with your friends of similar age.
the solution is very simply for social network site, they have to let users to create 2 types of friends, one is normal friends, other is for family friends, so you can control what people can see(in the case you have some pics that are too embarrassing for your parents to see).- Nitesmoke, on 01/31/2008, -0/+7Or you couls stop posting pics of yourself drunk on the web, it doesn't impress nearly as many people as you think it does.
- spectecjr, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1If she was still alive (Cancer, 10 years ago, she was 36... ouch), hell yeah I'd go to a party with my mum. She was awesome - slightly gothy chick, good laugh, great friend, and smart as a whip. My friends all loved hanging out with her. Why? Because she wasn't an overprotective dick, and she talked to everyone as if they were peers.
The one thing she taught me that probably makes this possible?
Respect should be automatic. You get a quantum of respect when you meet someone. That's yours to do with what you will. You can either snowball it, or abuse it and lose it all. Your choice. But until you prove otherwise, you get that respect from the get go as a courtesy.
A lot of people (usually older "get off my lawn" types) assume that you need to prove yourself /before/ you get any respect at all. Which is frankly stupid, and probably causes half of these griefs. That and a bad memory for what they were like at that age.
- shavenlunatic, on 01/31/2008, -1/+14errr.. i turn 30 this year and I was 15 when I started using the internet (i remember when all this was just fields).. so when I hit 30 am I all of a sudden an internet invader? Or is it a case of "I was here first and you kids don't respect the blah blah blah"
- theone3, on 01/31/2008, -2/+3I think it's a case of a loud minority getting angry at groups of people they don't regularly interact with so that they can offload their anger at the world on others en masse. None of this stuff is really age related, just as none of racism is really race related. The proof is on your screen right now. I'm 19, and I'm making a well articulated comment. There are much older people right here typing absolute nonsense into their keyboards and there are much younger people making even clearer points. For most people, the internet really opens ones eyes to how ageless and timeless wisdom is. And the truth is you are always going to have to seek it out, because the people who have it won't usually bother with those who don't.
When it comes to social networking, the issue is the intrusion of compartmentalised parts of our lives into other parts. For example, in real life I would not explicitly prevent my mother from talking to my friends. I would also not prevent her from keeping up to date with my life, but I would prefer that she didn't seek out all my friend's daily dealings on the web - check out the photos from the party I went to last night to see if I was drinking, or with someone, or read status updates which are directed at my peer group - asserting or acknowledging something we can all relate to about events occuring in all our lives that might anger our parents. You may not like this kind of talk, but like all supposedly age-related matters its demonstratably not age related. When you complain to your friends about parenting your kids, or give them advice, or ask for help, would you like your kids to know about it? Well, what's the difference?- Lone1, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4the difference is public vs. private. You can't put things in a public place and then complain when somebody looks at or reads them.
- trongod05, on 02/01/2008, -0/+1Amen!
- Lone1, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4the difference is public vs. private. You can't put things in a public place and then complain when somebody looks at or reads them.
- keegangrayson, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0Pick a side, this is Digg.
- theone3, on 01/31/2008, -2/+3I think it's a case of a loud minority getting angry at groups of people they don't regularly interact with so that they can offload their anger at the world on others en masse. None of this stuff is really age related, just as none of racism is really race related. The proof is on your screen right now. I'm 19, and I'm making a well articulated comment. There are much older people right here typing absolute nonsense into their keyboards and there are much younger people making even clearer points. For most people, the internet really opens ones eyes to how ageless and timeless wisdom is. And the truth is you are always going to have to seek it out, because the people who have it won't usually bother with those who don't.
- Klydethegreater, on 01/31/2008, -1/+14Get off my lawn ya little bastards
- keegangrayson, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0You're dead to me.
/never trust anyone over 30
- keegangrayson, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0You're dead to me.
- fefu, on 01/31/2008, -0/+51You're finally an adult when you don't give a ***** if your mom wants to be your MySpace friend. If it bothers you, it's an indication that you have still not grown up.
- dacomputerfreak, on 01/31/2008, -1/+21You know you're finally an adult when you have better things to do than wasting time on myspace. :D
- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -5/+0I agree with both of you, but I also think, at the same time, that will be the first sign that I've started to fit the moulds laid out for me. The first step towards total zombification. I really just don't see it happening. The only thing social networking sites really did for me, was bring the people I was talking to "on the internet" a lot closer to home.
Back in my day, long before all this jazz, I'd frequent IRC servers and befriend far away Swedes and Norwegians. Now? You'd be lucky to see me add somebody outside of the three digit telephone code that prefixes numbers in my immediate area. Either on AIM, or otherwise.- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1You need to be more rebellious. Molds laid out for you? You can only be zombified . if you allow it. I don't give a flying f-word what people think- I've defied convention all my life and I will continue to do so.
I wonder why no one has commented on older people using Digg. hmmmm???
What a coincidence about IRC. I had a lot of Swedish friends as well as German and French. The Americans were, well Americans. The worst being Texans. I went through efnet, dalnet, undernet until I got my own server. Like you, I'd never add anyone I don't know . I have friends on MySpace from both sides of the Atlantic. I know them all, though having lived in Europe for over a decade. It makes for an interesting mix.
- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1You need to be more rebellious. Molds laid out for you? You can only be zombified . if you allow it. I don't give a flying f-word what people think- I've defied convention all my life and I will continue to do so.
- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -5/+0I agree with both of you, but I also think, at the same time, that will be the first sign that I've started to fit the moulds laid out for me. The first step towards total zombification. I really just don't see it happening. The only thing social networking sites really did for me, was bring the people I was talking to "on the internet" a lot closer to home.
- dacomputerfreak, on 01/31/2008, -1/+21You know you're finally an adult when you have better things to do than wasting time on myspace. :D
- eatsushi, on 01/31/2008, -0/+6Under 30 users to me are spoiled with the technology (more like 20 and under), but you can't blame them. Web sites nowadays just work, and the younger crowd uses without being curious to know what's under the hood. For that reason, I keep my angelfire.com account in my history book to remind me of how far I've come when I get stressed on developing web applications :)
Makes you more appreciative, and that's what we should educate the younger crowd on, instead of myspace layout tutorials.- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0I think they all just use editors anyway... haha. Just like we did back when we were hosted on Geocities, etc... I just don't think there is as much push... for example yeah I started there, but it wasn't long before I was running my own Linux servers and learning PHP/MySQL. I think everything is so spoon-fed now...
I can say it is like, we were some of the first people to drive cars. So when they broke, we learned to fix them. Now we are the mechanics, and everybody else driving a car just knows to check certain gauges to make sure they don't break down; luckily for them, cars don't need to be Flinstone Footed around like we had to do any more, and float around Jetson's style (excuse the metaphor).
I seen a lot of kids go from the same age I started learning to program and run servers, etc. with similar itnerests, just get somehow INCREASINGLY computer illiterate. I think there was a really good window, some years ago, where it was absolutely amazing to be a youth on the internet. I'm sure it was that way long before I jumped on the ship with the other pirate ninjas.
I think that window, however, has long been closed, and is developing more locks and bars as the years tick by. As someone who is in the IT industry, I don't feel even the least bit threatened by my protege's these days. The guys a bit older than me? Yeah, I probably took some of their jobs. The guys a bit younger than me? Filling out McDonalds applications. Go figure. - keegangrayson, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0More stereotyping! Yay!
- Kcaj, on 01/31/2008, -1/+0I think they all just use editors anyway... haha. Just like we did back when we were hosted on Geocities, etc... I just don't think there is as much push... for example yeah I started there, but it wasn't long before I was running my own Linux servers and learning PHP/MySQL. I think everything is so spoon-fed now...
- SLiMKRaZy, on 01/31/2008, -1/+8Age is irrelevant, that article is about people not being comfortable with their parents and their parent’s friends adding them. The clue is in the title "Social Networking" I love my parents and would happily have a drink with them but I wouldn't say that constitutes as socializing with them.
- dragonseye, on 01/31/2008, -1/+3I personally have been working with pc hardware and software for over 13 yrs now on a professional lvl and find it rather amusing that the "under thirty's" have a prob with me LOL..... If it's something new that youngin's want, stop whining and pick up a volt meter and some screening mats and get started or better yet, stop and take the time to remember if it weren't for old folk like us you'd not have a tech society to blame your whoas on.
- keegangrayson, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0Probably because you still use "LOL".
- notrub225, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0lol
- LokitheComplex, on 01/31/2008, -0/+17"Teenager treats the internet like he owns it"
Is this news?
I expect the next headline will be "Area Teenager treats this house like a Hotel"- cdahlkvist, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Area teen who leaves doors open WAS born in barn.
- jesterselv, on 01/31/2008, -1/+5Oh *****, here we go....young adults and their ever expanding narcissism again.
- matsyes, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5I think its less that the under 30's feel uncomfortable with adults on the net but rather feel uncomfortable with the adults intruding upon an aspect of their life that they would rather keep separate from their home life. I think its true at any level, adults wouldn't want their kids present when they joke around with their friends and kids don't want adults around. However you cant say no for a friend request, without seeming rude and saying yes is the equivalent of going to a bar with your friends and parents. Some may be able to handle it but most cant.
- Lone1, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1well, thats the thing, you should be able to handle it. If a person is over 18 then they are legally an adult and they might have to interact with other adults. If you don't want to accept a friend request then nothing is forcing you to accept.
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Just like adults hiding about having an affair.. or "protecting" the children by telling them its "Uncle Ted", and "Uncle Bob"
Everyone has stuff they like to keep to themselves or select few...
- crash331, on 01/31/2008, -1/+25Funny, I hate that young people are invading the Internet.
Idiots got to grow up with it so they don't appreciate it. Anyone else remember the times of 9600 baud modems instead of 10mbps cable, geocities gif-fests instead of narcissist blogs, antennas that you had to aim and got about 3 channels instead of cable with its hundreds of channels, etc.
Oh, and I walked to school.....in the snow.....uphill....both ways.- Pixelante, on 01/31/2008, -2/+49600 baud modems? Try 300 baud on an unexpanded VIC-20 because the darn modem took up the cartridge port, dude, and then we'll talk.
- crichards7, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1http://www.davidpbrown.co.uk/jokes/monty-python-fo ...
- pbrooks100, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2Compuserve, Procomm and XModem transfers; ah, those were the days...
- cozb, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4I liked Zmodem transfers better...
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Definitaly
- cozb, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4I liked Zmodem transfers better...
- elementfire, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3Who are you people, and what have you done to Digg?
- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm digging it. I can't get enough information and like to read other peoples opinions and takes on things.
- plainOldFool, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I started out rock'n the 300 baud on my C64 for Quantum Link. Club Caribe ... the orignial Second Life.
- Maluka, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2I have several working Spectrums in a room of old computers and modems The Amiga was sold during hard times. Bummer, I miss it. At the rate technology is going, my current quad-core will have a place in my museum. Were any of you into BBSs?
- AzBats, on 01/31/2008, -0/+11200/75 on a 48k thinking I was cool :) - eventually graduated up to a A1200 with SCSI interface with built-in .faster than the motherboard's serial port, RS-232 chip - sweet!
- AzBats, on 01/31/2008, -0/+11200/75 on a 48k thinking I was cool :) - eventually graduated up to a A1200 with SCSI interface with built-in .faster than the motherboard's serial port, RS-232 chip - sweet!
- secrity, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Try 110 baud and a Teletype machine.
- Pixelante, on 01/31/2008, -2/+49600 baud modems? Try 300 baud on an unexpanded VIC-20 because the darn modem took up the cartridge port, dude, and then we'll talk.
- jivz, on 01/31/2008, -1/+12My first encounter with the internet was in 1989, when browsers weren't even invented. As a 38-year old I'm claiming our space, because it was ours to begin with.
- Pixelante, on 01/31/2008, -0/+7Well said. I'll bring the guns. Let's shoot and shove those emo teens out of the Net.
- Antibland, on 01/31/2008, -6/+3The concept of experience is now once again valid. I'm 32, but am not "lost in the mix" to emerging technology break-throughs like my parents' baffled colleagues. Ten years ago, the average 30-year-old didn't know much about tech. The field was owned by youth (under 25). The playing field has leveled for the X and Y generations to the point that youth doesn't automatically help you get a tech job. My 9+ years of field experience is usually more attractive to possible employers. They feel safer hiring me because I've seen more.
- citizen782, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1"Ten years ago, the average 30-year-old didn't know much about tech. The field was owned by youth (under 25)."
So I can go kick the ***** out of a 1994 collage grad for bursting the dot com bubble? Ten years ago I was 26 and surrounded by nothing but 30 somethings at SAS Institute. I felt like one of the youngest SA's in the field. Actually, From 1990 to 2000 I'd have to say there were far LESS college students and teenagers on-line. This is primarily because there was little available in terms of residential broadband. No matter how I try to rationalize it, this statement is off.- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Ok but you guys are not the majority of people.. do not make it seem like everyone your age was in the same position...
These days though.. its fair to say that 90% of the kids in N/A know about computers or at least have used one before. Probably the same as you guys with televisions.
- BearinG, on 02/05/2008, -0/+1Ok but you guys are not the majority of people.. do not make it seem like everyone your age was in the same position...
- jessethouin, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I was part of a company that helped install cable modems in 1997. Granted, our market was an early adopter, but by 1999 we had nodes in all parts of our metro area (Nashville). So I'd say the broadband was available. What I would say wasn't available was the technology to make social networking viable. Well, the tech was there, but no one knew how to use it until the marketing term "AJAX" came about.
My point is, I think we're not far enough into this new world to make calls about why it does or does not work, and who's responsible and who's not.
- citizen782, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1"Ten years ago, the average 30-year-old didn't know much about tech. The field was owned by youth (under 25)."
- Elliuotatar, on 01/31/2008, -1/+11I'm 33. I was here first. Now get off my internets you hooligans, before I hit you with my cane!
- hollowex, on 01/31/2008, -5/+1It's not computers that the older generations don't understand, it is the modern operating systems. My parents have been operating and programming computers since the 60's in high school. They however were using punch cards and eventually dos-like operating systems for work. Computational technology isn't new. Now recreational use on the other hand.
- AzBats, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Isn't there a Linux distro for that?
- mt066, on 01/31/2008, -0/+4This is dumb. Where is the proof of this? Did they just keep asking people until someone said what they wanted to hear? I'm 25 and don't really care what my parents think of what I put on facebook because they don't treat me like a small child.
- DCstewieG, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2I think it's more under 20s than 30s.
- captZEEbo, on 01/31/2008, -0/+5"It's nice that adults know some things!"
- adamd9, on 01/31/2008, -6/+1I don't mind people of any age using social networking sites; I jus