Boomers are still struggling even with the modern, simplified UI. They would likely continue to struggle if we had Idiocracy style UI on things (big, bright colored buttons with pictures of what they do).
I know it’s fun to rag our boomer parents and grandparents but it was boomers who designed the older, “complex” UI for usage by other boomers. Since boomers are now dropping out of the workforce (25% of it right now) it seems likely that the UI is being dumbed down for the much larger Gen-X/Millennial/Gen Z workforce.
Yeah, there’s now a lot of people who have actually never used a desktop OS, and the only OS they’ve used being a phone or tablet. Those people are more having an influence on dumbing down the OS now. It’s pretty crazy how compute illiterate newer generations have become due to shift in what is considered their primary OS. Some people don’t even have laptop or desktops.
I see both kinds of Boomers. My dad, a boomer, is in the tech industry. He is a software engineer. My grandpa was also a software engineer. Everyone I know from his side of the family has been in tech.
And then there is every boomer I know that isn’t my own family and they are practically luddites. I know the former can exist. But it seems rare.
Apparently a large portion of the population, regardless of generation, proudly announces their tech illiteracy. I’m IT, and these people don’t even remember their personal email passwords.
LoL, tell that to every fucking child and teenager who have been using an iPhone, iPad and MacOS for all their lives. It’s unbelievable how stupid you can get when you’re locked into a walled garden and the OS you’re using is designed for three year olds. I have a buddy who’s mainly a Mac and iPhone guy, and I fuck you not, he doesn’t know how to use anything else. He’ll just stare at the screen and simply don’t understand what to do.
Agreed. I have been working so hard to get my young kids to understand file systems, directory structures, keyboard shortcuts, etc; all that stuff that just never gets learned anymore with all the iOS/Android interactions.
I’m building a new PC for myself in the next few weeks and if they want to continue playing Genshin/Starcraft2/BeamNG/Trackmania on my older PC as it becomes the “Family PC” they will need to sit with me and learn how to reassemble it, install Windows, attaching peripherals, and setup a few basic things.
That’s the price and that’s the reward.
Many of us grew up in a world where you had to figure this shit out or simply not have a working computer/piece of software.
That, and stop dumbing down the UI. Gradeschoolers in 1999 could operate windows, it doesn’t need to get dumber
Gradeschoolers, yes.
Boomers are still struggling even with the modern, simplified UI. They would likely continue to struggle if we had Idiocracy style UI on things (big, bright colored buttons with pictures of what they do).
Not so much anymore. Gradescoolers all grew up on iPads and are probably worse off than boomers.
Boomers struggle period, its hard being stupid
I’m amazed they can sort of navigate an iphone
I think they mostly just tap around until they get where they need to go, something in between a parrot and a monkey with a typewriter.
Er, it’s not the boomers who are struggling. They’re barely even in the workforce anymore.
https://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/grow-google-2019/smartphone-generation-computer-help/3127/
I know it’s fun to rag our boomer parents and grandparents but it was boomers who designed the older, “complex” UI for usage by other boomers. Since boomers are now dropping out of the workforce (25% of it right now) it seems likely that the UI is being dumbed down for the much larger Gen-X/Millennial/Gen Z workforce.
Yeah, there’s now a lot of people who have actually never used a desktop OS, and the only OS they’ve used being a phone or tablet. Those people are more having an influence on dumbing down the OS now. It’s pretty crazy how compute illiterate newer generations have become due to shift in what is considered their primary OS. Some people don’t even have laptop or desktops.
https://www.theverge.com/22684730/students-file-folder-directory-structure-education-gen-z
I see both kinds of Boomers. My dad, a boomer, is in the tech industry. He is a software engineer. My grandpa was also a software engineer. Everyone I know from his side of the family has been in tech.
And then there is every boomer I know that isn’t my own family and they are practically luddites. I know the former can exist. But it seems rare.
Apparently a large portion of the population, regardless of generation, proudly announces their tech illiteracy. I’m IT, and these people don’t even remember their personal email passwords.
LoL, tell that to every fucking child and teenager who have been using an iPhone, iPad and MacOS for all their lives. It’s unbelievable how stupid you can get when you’re locked into a walled garden and the OS you’re using is designed for three year olds. I have a buddy who’s mainly a Mac and iPhone guy, and I fuck you not, he doesn’t know how to use anything else. He’ll just stare at the screen and simply don’t understand what to do.
Agreed. I have been working so hard to get my young kids to understand file systems, directory structures, keyboard shortcuts, etc; all that stuff that just never gets learned anymore with all the iOS/Android interactions.
I’m building a new PC for myself in the next few weeks and if they want to continue playing Genshin/Starcraft2/BeamNG/Trackmania on my older PC as it becomes the “Family PC” they will need to sit with me and learn how to reassemble it, install Windows, attaching peripherals, and setup a few basic things.
That’s the price and that’s the reward.
Many of us grew up in a world where you had to figure this shit out or simply not have a working computer/piece of software.
1999 gradeschoolers not today’s Gradeschoolers with win98