Interview three people from three different generations, 18-35, 36-60, 61 and up. Discuss with them how they use the internet. What are their primary uses of the internet? How comfortable are they with communicating on the internet? Has technology changed the way they live their lives, for the better or worse? In general, what do they think of the internet? Summarize your interviews on your blog. These may be posted as one blog or three separate blogs (though this still only counts as one week’s worth of entries). What do you learn from comparing the three generations. Due August 1.
18-35
I decided to interview one of my roommates about how he used the internet since I already have a general idea and it would be quick and easy. As for the majority of college students our age, we use the internet for EVERYTHING, and that was no different than my roommate Brian. When I asked him what he uses the internet for, his answer was simple, everything. He went into a little more detail of what exactly he did use the internet for. Brian uses the internet to pay his bills online, entertainment, school, informational use, etc. He explained that he uses the internet mostly for entertainment purposes. He browses through many different websites everyday to keep up on different topics. He uses the internet to connect his xbox 360 so he can play multiplayer games online with his friends. Our townhouses have the option to pay our rent bill seperately on their website, which makes it very convenient for all us to pay rent without having to collect money and give it to one person to pay. Technology has obviously changed the way he lives his life, because a lot of his entertainment comes from the internet, and some aspects of his life would be much more complicated. It would be a very big lifestyle change if for some reason he didn't have internet access, as it would be for the most of us.
I thought it was pretty interesting how his answer to how he uses internet was EVERYTHING, which states how dependent we are. The topic reading in Wood and Smith talked about how our employers are monitoring what we are doing online. Our employers aren't dumb, they also understand how internet has impacted all of us, especially the younger generation. It gives them more of a concern to monitor what we are doing because we do use the internet for everything, and it is so easy for us to get distracted from our work to browse the internet for our own reasons.
31-60
I interviewed my mother for this generation. When I asked her what she used the internet for, she had to think about it for a moment. She finally said, "Personal stuff." After getting some more out of her, she really uses the internet for communicating with family and friends as the main purpose, and she also uses it for practical purposes such as banking. She expressed the ease of shooting an e-mail to her sister in Florida rather than spending money and time calling or writing a letter. She is also somewhat skeptical about the internet. She has been a victim of identity fraud twice. Once was due to her sending her personal information over an e-mail, and once from someone hacking into her bank account. Although she enjoys using the internet, she keeps it to a minimum for security purposes. The internet has not impacted my mother nearly as much as it has my roommate Brian.
61 +
My grandfather was the my interviewee for this generation. Although I called him for other reasons, I quickly threw this question out there, although I pretty much already knew the answer from previous experiences with my grandfather. He strictly uses the internet for e-mail. He likes to keep in touch with his relatives in Germany, and e-mail has become the easiest way for him. He has tried to use the internet, and his computer for other reasons but it has become so advanced that it is just too difficult for him. He gets very frustrated when he doesn't learn things quickly, and this has become his biggest frustration. He doesn't have too many opinions about the internet because of the limited use. Although it has made his life easier in some ways, it really hasn't impacted him too much besides giving him a headache from time to time.
2 comments:
It is interesting how what we post on internet, such as on myspace, that we think only our friends will see, does not always turn out that way. Now it seems employers are using myspace like pages to find out the true character of people before they hire. I think this is a brilliant idea. People expose everything on myspace pages and it truly is, more commonly than not, a great way to research a person's true self.
I laughed when I read your review of your grandfather. My grandfather merely uses internet for email as well. I think other than email it is a bit initimidating and overwhelming for them. When they talk with their friends it is usually not the case that they have explored further and can help others along. It seems the majority in that generation hold similar feelings.
I think you bring up an excellent point about employers having knowledge of how technology and internet have consumed us. Most people who have access to the internet enjoy all the recreational activity it has to offer. This is definitely incentive to monitor people at work. If you are getting paid to do a specific job, then recreational browsing is not appropriate.
I think that in the case of your grandfather there would be little worry about internet activity unrelated to work. He, like most of that generation, uses the internet for practical uses like staying connected with family and friends. It is too difficult for them to have fun on the internet, ha ha. Of course that is not true for everyone that age.
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