Post: #1

I have friends that are completely clueless when it comes to technology. They don't know shit about their computers or cellphones or anything. They have some kind of aversion to technology.

Do you think technology will be dumbed down and ubiquitous to the point of anyone being able to use it? Or will these people always be lost and asking for help?

Post: #2

(05-06-2015 01:31 PM)Parlay44 Wrote:  I have friends that are completely clueless when it comes to technology. They don't know shit about their computers or cellphones or anything. They have some kind of aversion to technology.

Do you think technology will be dumbed down and ubiquitous to the point of anyone being able to use it? Or will these people always be lost and asking for help?

I currently work in an IT support role and surprisingly the number of IT illiterate people is declining significantly. If someone is under the age of 30, they most likely know how to do 85% of the stuff I do to assist more elderly users. The last round of layoffs put the axe on a bunch of people who should have retired but didn't. As more and more of those people get removed, the less tech support i'll have to do. I am in the process of getting out of such a role because lets be real. There won't be nearly as much of a need for this role when all of the older folks leave the work force.

As for the few millennials that are tech illiterate, they most likely will be unable to find work. Computers are a requirement to do business. If you're too stupid or unwilling to use a tool that increases productivity you will be replaced by Amit or Jose who is willing.

Adapt or die.

Post: #3

I think I'm going to turn into one of those people. I have a love/hate relationship with technology. Yes, it is extremely beneficial and necessary at times, it can also be extremely detrimental. I wish we weren't so dependant on it.

Some find it absolutely insane that I only use a smart phone. I have no computer/laptop/tablet. If my phone gets destroyed, I basically disappear. Which is kinda awesome.

But in the future I know I'm basically fucked since I don't have the slightest clue how to do even basic programming. Figuring out security settings and basic settings, I can do. Other than that I try staying as off the grid as I can, just so I can avoid the headache of technology and the problems that come with it.

Post: #4

I'm not really that tech savvy but I got motherfucking charisma, and that gains me friends who are that always help me out when I need something done.

So I expect nothing to change or happen to me in the future.

Post: #5

(05-06-2015 01:43 PM)Cr33pin Wrote:  I'm not really that tech savvy but I got motherfucking charisma, and that gains me friends who are that always help me out when I need something done.

So I expect nothing to change or happen to me in the future.

He's talking about the kinda guy who couldn't even make one post here on his best day.

I was that guy. The game changer was when the auto trader stopped selling those books at gas stations and they fired the guy who came to take pictures of the cars to put in there.

I said "What? Online? It'll never work" but then before too long I was posting my shit on CL etc.

Post: #6

I used to love autotrader when they had the books... that was like my news paper.
Damn you technological advancement!

Post: #7

They'll be made into soylent green.

Post: #8

(05-06-2015 01:59 PM)Cr33pin Wrote:  I used to love autotrader when they had the books... that was like my news paper.
Damn you technological advancement!

Read it on the toilet on a smartphone like the rest of us.

Post: #9

I have one friend that's always one step behind. When everyone had pagers he swore by his answering machine. When everyone started getting cellphones he finally got a pager. Now everyone is on smartphones and he's on the old school flip phone. It's comical.

Post: #10

(05-06-2015 02:07 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  

(05-06-2015 01:59 PM)Cr33pin Wrote:  I used to love autotrader when they had the books... that was like my news paper.
Damn you technological advancement!

Read it on the toilet on a smartphone like the rest of us.

Now everyone is a dreamer/appraiser deals are harder to get.

I sold a convertible top pump today with install the 70 year old guy brought me a printed page off ebay and showed me a place that has it cheaper.

Pain in the ass. You can't do this job professionally on ebay parts.

I'd love to take my phone and computer and throw them in the river.

Post: #11

What happens to any person that cannot adapt to changes society undergoes? Simple. They will be slowly phased out and left behind.

Post: #12

The same thing that happened to non tech savvy people is what happened to illiterate people. Tech is a new and easier form of communication. Reading and writing was an easier and more durable form of communication than just talking to people. When literacy took precedence in modern society, observe what happened to the illiterate. Did they get phased out or did they cope?

A friend of mine's father is illiterate but is a multi millionaire. He lets his wife read documents for him. He's an old school wolf who used street instincts to read situations and make business decisions.

Post: #13

Depends on what you mean by non-tech savvy? If you mean people, like some older professors I have had in the baby boomer or early Gen X categories, who don't know how to use Blackboard, PowerPoint, or similar things or who don't know how to hook their laptops up to a external monitor for a meeting or presentation or how to use a tablet or smartphone. Well, in those cases I think most will be retiring soon. However, at least where I am, most people seem to have a functional understanding of computers even in that age bracket but it may just be my social circle.

On the other hand, if you mean being able to change the registry in Windows to create read/write access to a USB drive or to make a program or use SQL to search a database or something like that. Then I think those jobs will still be around in the tech industry. Even though most people these days know how to use a computer they don't know how to do a whole lot in my experience.

On the other hand, programs are getting more user friendly with better GUI's so it might get to the point that even the more technical stuff is easier for the common person. But I kinda doubt it.

While people know how to put together a document or PowerPoint presentation or how to use Facebook or Twitter, most people don't learn stuff beyond that.

Post: #14

(05-06-2015 05:44 PM)Troll King Wrote:  Depends on what you mean by non-tech savvy? If you mean people, like some older professors I have had in the baby boomer or early Gen X categories, who don't know how to use Blackboard, PowerPoint, or similar things or who don't know how to hook their laptops up to a external monitor for a meeting or presentation or how to use a tablet or smartphone. Well, in those cases I think most will be retiring soon. However, at least where I am, most people seem to have a functional understanding of computers even in that age bracket but it may just be my social circle.

On the other hand, if you mean being able to change the registry in Windows to create read/write access to a USB drive or to make a program or use SQL to search a database or something like that. Then I think those jobs will still be around in the tech industry. Even though most people these days know how to use a computer they don't know how to do a whole lot in my experience.

On the other hand, programs are getting more user friendly with better GUI's so it might get to the point that even the more technical stuff is easier for the common person. But I kinda doubt it.

While people know how to put together a document or PowerPoint presentation or how to use Facebook or Twitter, most people don't learn stuff beyond that.

I'm 24 and exactly as you describe. I can do all the basics and have no interest in learning anything beyond web browsing or Microsoft Office. Tech savvy guys will always be a minority and have a high demand in the marketplace.

Post: #15

If you plan on a tech based career, it makes sense to be an innovator or early adopter of both business and consumer technology to remain close to the leading edge of comprehension. It can be an expensive burden of both time & $.

If you plan on a career that is embellished by technology, which will be all the rest, save your money on gadgets and software, let the bugs get ironed out by others, and be an early-majority adopter.

I waited a few years to buy a smart phone after many started to get them because the previous decade building a recording studio taught me how quick expensive equipment becomes obsolete. But like the old stock trading lesson says:"Don't buck the trend."

There's plenty of millennials who stumble around MS Office and Widows functionality and even their phones. I'm a late GenXer and I was frequently asking savvy GenY guys what different hot key commands were, and various short cuts.

The most difficult thing to make stick in the non-savvy groups minds is basic Boolean search methods for finding the answers you need to learn tech problems on your OWN, and NOT always pestering others. Teach a man to fish. There's a tutorial online for just about everything.

Tech savvy people will pay the gov't to foot the burden of the non-tech savvy people in the future.