Ah would ye look! It's the......
My kids hate me having the TV remote control. They reckon I haven't a clue how to use it and I take ages to change channel / volume or record / recall a TV show! As for my smart 'phone, they just despair at the thought …"like what's the point, you haven't a clue". When it comes to social media the level of their embarrassment hits the stratosphere at the thoughts of their parents "liking" or "sharing" posts. If I ever ask for help on how the latest device or App works, they just say, "give it here & I'll do it – you wouldn't understand"! Bottom line is that in their opinion, we're just too old, too slow and we just don't get it! They sit watching the TV or laptop while plugged into their 'phones, thumbs working away furiously texting, (r shud dat b txtn? - after all, let's not waste time typing extra characters)! For them, everything needs to be "on demand, always on and available everywhere". They can't wait, their attention span is short, they want it, they want it now, and once consumed, it's "next"! According to an article in The Telegraph in May 2015, a Microsoft study of 2,000 Canadians showed that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000, (around the time the mobile revolution began), to eight seconds. Goldfish, meanwhile, are believed to have an attention span of nine seconds. So what does this mean in the context of going to college as a mature student? Well, I think that to survive in the environment of working and studying with people that may be a lot younger than you, it is important to understand that they do things in a way that is natural to them but which might seem alien to you. For example, the first time we were presented with a task in class, I saw my fellow students racing off typing, texting, tweeting and posting like mad yokes, I thought to myself... oops, I'm in the wrong place here because I cant keep up with that pace. But you know what? When the exercise was finished, we had all ended up in more or less the same place. So don't get intimidated by things that are new or different. Things are different – that doesn't always mean that they are better, and it doesn't mean that you can't cope. Keep an open mind, keep trying, have faith in your ability and you'll get there. P.S. I still haven’t mastered the remote control, ... but I've hidden it on the kids!
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As a member of the younger generation I am both offended and intrigued at the same time by this post. Having spent considerably longer than the 9 seconds that my attention span is supposed to last reading this post I think you have hit on a failing of our education system and our wider society. There is no doubt that the Snapchat generation have learned to think in 15 second intervals due to the pace of modern communication. But I wonder are we encouraging our students of whatever age (18 or 58) to pause and consider the bigger picture before starting a task. If not why bot? My experience through education and in the workplace is that people very rarely pause to consider the "big" questions. Why are we doing this? What does success look like? Before they start a task. The failure to take this time can lead to people acting too quickly and backing themselves into a corner or down a blind alley when very often more haste and less speed would lead them to the right answer. The real value in business, education or any other field is added when people have the ability to think both strategically and tactically at the same time. I think that the idea of pausing to reflect on the question and the reasons for the the task is something that far too few people (young or old) do in our modern society. So despite the sweeping generalisations and blatant ageism I agree wholeheartedly with the @grumpe1! That being said you are useless with the remote control and your smartphone use is nothing short of embarrassing. From a grumpy young fella 😀
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AuthorsBrendan, Alan and Aoife met at the National College of Ireland and are studying Digital Marketing together. They are all 35 years plus and this is their guide to coping being a student again as an oulwan! ArchivesCategories |