4 votes

Internet literacy atrophy

1 comment

  1. Gaywallet
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    I think the issue with older adults who can't adapt is one of conceptual understanding. I think the author almost hits upon this when they realize that by keeping up with new technology they will...

    I think the issue with older adults who can't adapt is one of conceptual understanding. I think the author almost hits upon this when they realize that by keeping up with new technology they will learn to figure out how the world is adapting and the UI changes that are shifting... but there are transferable skills even from the ancient internet to modern tech. Having an issue logging into hbo max isn't an issue of ignoring how the world is progressing, but being unable to understand the concept behind why you would need to log into a website, how one might go about logging into a website and being unable to find guides on how to do things.

    Keeping up with new technology even though you hate it isn't necessarily the skill that one needs in order to think in a conceptual manner. It's really about being able to take a step back and understand the reason for a process. It took me zero time to learn tiktok. Sure, I may not interact with the app in the same way the younger generation does, but that doesn't mean I don't have basic conceptual literacy and don't need someone else to help me.

    There's also a set of skills around how to find more information and how to troubleshoot. Anyone who's worked in tech for any reasonable amount of time since approximately 1994 has probably learned, fairly quickly, that the internet is a fantastic resource for troubleshooting. If I don't know how to do something, I can go to google and with a few basic skills in finding data I should be able to find a half dozen tutorial videos on youtube, plenty of websites with guides which include pictures, and all sorts of other informational material.

    I've successfully trained many of the people in my family who are not super tech literate into learning how to solve most of their own problems - but it's a process in teaching them the skills they need to help themselves. Just like the saying about teaching a man to fish rather than fishing for him, the same applies here. You need to guide them through looking up information and how to find what they need rather than just simply solving their problems. After you've done that enough times that it's clear they can see this is how you resolve the problem they are having, you can start to ask them what they've found when they come to you for answers - what websites did you find and what did they tell you to do? Did you try what they have said? If so, where are you still getting stuck? And slowly progress the learning curve. Teach them how to keep searching, how to search better, how to sort, categorize, and filter data.

    I still get the occasional email, call, or text asking for help, but my family has learned how to become self sufficient. This isn't an issue of atrophying literacy, it's an issue of not understanding how to find the right resources to learn or not being receptive to learning. Reaching out to someone for help and choosing to do so instead of spending some time to learn yourself is a choice and you shouldn't mix up that choice with the ability to be self sufficient or whether you are using an app in the same way as people in another age range. Being entirely unable to use an application or learn a new skill is either a choice one makes, or a lack of the ability to figure out how to get access to learn how to use the app. This isn't about atrophy so much as it is about conscious decisions about how to live one's life and whether or not you possess the skill set to be self-sufficient.

    6 votes