this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
1481 points (97.9% liked)

Technology

60029 readers
2832 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 66 points 1 year ago (3 children)

That, and stop dumbing down the UI. Gradeschoolers in 1999 could operate windows, it doesn't need to get dumber

[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 year ago (5 children)

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).

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Boomers struggle period, its hard being stupid

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm amazed they can sort of navigate an iphone

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Gradeschoolers, yes.

Not so much anymore. Gradescoolers all grew up on iPads and are probably worse off than boomers.

[–] atzanteol 13 points 1 year ago

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/

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

1999 gradeschoolers not today's Gradeschoolers with win98