Having grown up with baby boomer parents, there is a distinct difference in our generations when it comes to technology. Being a millennial, I have grown up using computers, the Internet and have easily evolved with the changes in the digital world… my baby boomer parents are definitely the opposite.
While my parents choose to wait to get their news in print or on television, I rarely (okay, let’s be honest) ever pick up a newspaper and prefer to get my news instantly and digitally from credible new sites. Until recently, my baby boomer parents were baffled by the concept of social media, smartphones and don’t even get me started with text messaging.
As a millennial, I have embraced the Digital Age, but it has been an uphill battle to get my parents to do the same. Getting them to understand the importance of consumer technology was pretty painful in the beginning, but this is slowly changing as my mom has joined the world of Facebook and actually kind of gets it. Dad, on the other hand… it will never happen.
Okay, maybe one day, when pigs fly, he will take the Facebook plunge. To his credit, he has started using Linkedin and it has actually helped him in his line of work. Becoming active on Linkedin, has not only allowed him to connect with past business relationships, but it has empowered him to build new relationships with individuals he wouldn’t have connected with otherwise.
Although at the beginning of the social media craze it seemed like my baby boomer parents were hopeless and would never “get it,” they are slowly starting to adapt and embrace the Digital Age. As it turns out, my parents aren’t alone with their recent interactions with social media. According to a recent story on Mashable, “How Baby Boomers Are Embracing Digital Media,” social networking use among baby boomers has nearly doubled to 42 percent over the past year. So it looks like the baby boomers are figuring out (finally) what they have to gain by keeping up with the changing times.
