Introduction to the wonderful world of computing

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

—  It was when I was a college student in the 1970s that my direct interaction with computers began. Line commands on a small monochrome screen tied into a dumb terminal tied to a huge mainframe computer, I tried my hand at BASIC, a programming language. I also took a data processing course and learned a little FORTRAN programming language by writing programs on a keypunch (see the photo above), then taking my stack of punched cards to a computer operator, who placed it into a card reader. I waited patiently for the results that were handed to me on wide, sprocketed paper. The crude dot matrix characters more often than not highlighted errors I had made. I was pretty sure at the time I wasn’t going to be into computers.

Well, that was short-sighted logic on my part.

Not many years after college, I would purchase my first computer. I also bought a dot matrix printer and a box of floppy discs to store my work. I spent over a thousand dollars and was a bit stressed - afraid I’d break one of the biggest purchases I made at the time. But, armed with floppy disks that held the operating system and software, I opened up the thick manual and followed the directions. I was in business! I was on a steep learning curve for a little while but things became more clear the further I went. At first to me it was little more than a glorified word processor, but I did have a simple drawing program and some bookkeeping software to keep tabs on some freelancing I was doing.

While I was in my thirties, I saw advances. A 20-megabyte hard drive, I was told, would hold about 10,000 pages of text. Now, what was I going to do with all that storage? A few years later, I bought my second computer, which had a CD-ROM! I popped in an encyclopedia CD and was dazzled by a seemingly limitless storehouse of information, images and even short video clips! Then, miracle of miracles, I got a modem and entertained myself by dialing into the public library and perusing their online catalog. I could also dial into a handful of bulletin boards I knew about. Pretty soon the Internet came along and I could pull up websites from around the world, and, if patient, could view a picture as it came into view line-by-line until the whole thing was on my small CRT monitor.

Fast forward to 2020.

It’s kind of mind-blowing considering the power of technology sitting in my pocket is much more powerful than any dream computer system I might have imagined before the new millennium. Although it’s called a phone, it’s also a calculator, a collection of musical instruments, a camera, a compass, a fluid level, a map, and I can watch TV shows on it, as well as record audio and video as my cassette deck and VCR gathers dust in the closet.

Based on my observations of the last 20 years, here are some takeaway points:

— Cybersecurity is no longer just the domain of a few highly-trained IT pro’s. Now your doorbell, thermostat, and maybe even your toaster has the potential of being a target for hackers.

— You might not consider yourself as being insecure, but what about your passwords? And as our minds age, and thus our ability to remember more recent information, so is our ability to remember usernames and passwords for about 100 different online accounts we’ve opened.

— I am much more hesitant to answer phone calls than in the past.

— Despite what the woman on the recording says, I rather doubt that my call is important to the business I’m calling.

— When going on social media, I often feel like the kid sitting in the living room of someone else’s house watching as they show their personal vacation slides.

— I can now embarrass myself much more quickly and efficiently, simultaneously to more people via Facebook or Instagram. Even more dangerous, I can embarrass others with the same level of effectiveness!

— Tweeting is no longer an activity only engaged in by birds.

— I look really old in selfies!

Okay, well, maybe on that last point I’ve aged more gracefully than I give myself credit.

Though I’ve attempted being a blogger in the past, I am determined to make it stick this time, energized by a mission to help others of my generation (and those a bit older) navigate this “brave new world” of apps, IoT (Internet of Things) and other stuff. Keep looking for more blog posts to come and check out the Facebook group as well!

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Just an immigrant learnin’ the language

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

—  Marc Prensky, internationally acclaimed thought leader, speaker, writer, consultant, and game designer in the critical areas of education and learning, coined an interesting terminology in 2001, describing those born before 1980 as “Digital Immigrants,” and those born later as “Digital Natives.”

Prensky published his findings nearly 20 years ago, raising awareness of a pronounced contrast between how older adults who adapted to computers and other digital technology later in life and digital natives - younger individuals who never knew a world with no Internet. And since 2001 when this dichotomy was first identified the divide has changed exponentially with smartphones and social media, becoming more pronounced as GenZ comes of age.

And since this article came out, Prensky and others have fine-tuned their assessments a bit. My takeaway is this - not all digital immigrants are hopeless Luddites, and not all of the generations after 1980 live their entire lives online. There are varying degrees at which all people embrace technology in their lives.

For this Baby Boomer, I find much of the technology useful, but I’m not going to feel as if my oxygen’s been cut off when I can’t get a wifi signal or cell service.

Working at a university, I can recall not so long ago asking someone younger than me for their cellphone number. As he was getting ready to give it to me I was fumbling around for a pen and slip of paper. He responded, “just tell me your cellphone number and I’ll text my number to you. I felt like a fossil but since then have found this to be helpful when networking with others.

Let’s face it. If we’re in our 50s, 60s or older, our brains are wired differently from younger generations. We’re methodical and linear, while younger generations can be totally random and nonlinear. They live for the current moment; we draw from years of memories.

Granted, there are things I really like about having a smartphone. I might be at a meeting and there’s info printed on paper (sometimes paper’s still in use) that, instead of copying information down, I simply snap a quick photo on my phone (remember those neat little spy cameras in the movies?) and retrieve the information at my convenience or air drop it to my computer at home or work.

A student can study with the TV or music on, while his Boomer Generation college professor can’t see how that’s possible. Yet at the same time these same students experience a disconnect when someone gives a lecture. Spoken words alone aren’t stimulating enough, so they zone out and check their phones.

When working on a project with a younger colleague, I might advocate for a well-written article, when the younger colleague responds “let’s just produce a short video.”

Does it make me right and him wrong? Not really.

Immigrants to a new land must learn the language and customs of the people with whom they must communicate. That’s why the “immigrant-native” metaphor coined by Prensky makes a lot of sense, and helps us learn to relate to one another.

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A Digital Immigrant can survive and thrive!

— I'm interested in exploring the joys, as well as the trials and tribulations encountered by digital immigrants (older individuals who grew up without computers and the Internet) and how they relate to current technology, such as social media, emailing and texting. I have a passion for helping older citizens such as myself to gain knowledge in these areas. Knowledge is power! Knowledge is also essential for safety in a world full of nefarious characters intent on doing harm for their own selfish gain. I hope to pursue collaborations with others, blog a bit and look for other avenues to be a force for good. Stay tuned!

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