If you’ve ever puzzled over a young person text messaging the friend sitting beside him, you’ve joined the generation gap.
In fact, if you’re reading this newspaper, some would consider you on the aging side of that divide. Younger people, it seems, don’t read papers.
The concept of a generation gap in America is nothing new. The term was defined back in the 1960s, but differences in attitudes between the young and old go much farther back than that.
For the most part, however, the generation gap has mainly been defined by conflicting attitudes, ideas and interests. And while that’s still true, you can add something else to the mix.
Technology.
Some will argue — correctly — that technology’s impact on the generation gap is scarcely a new phenomenon. Young people tend to embrace new products and advancements more readily than their parents or grandparents. How many adults have depended on the know-how of a child to program a video cassette recorder?
But let’s face it, technology — particularly in terms of the way we communicate with each other — is morphing at an explosive rate. Adults who prided themselves in learning how to surf the Web and establish an e-mail address are faced with such terms as text messages, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, blogs and — well — you get the idea.
These new forms of communication are a mixed bag. Much has been made of the fact that street protests in Iran have been covered mainly through bursts of quick messages from Twitter and from images captured by cell phones. This was after Iranian authorities shut down more traditional modes of media.
But here’s an interesting tidbit from a broad-ranging survey of generational activities and attitudes released by the Pew Research Center. Analysts found that 87 percent of adults under the age of 30 text message with cell phones. By comparison, just 11 percent of those 65 and older do so.
In other words, the traditional generation gap is being exacerbated by the mere fact younger and older people aren’t speaking the same language. How can they communicate if the technologies they use to talk to one another are completely different?
By the way, the Pew survey found that the generation gap is expanding. No surprise there.
The way we see it, much of the generation gap is forged by ignorance. People who don’t understand their counterparts of a different age will invent stereotypes or embrace preconceived notions in order to fill the informational voids. And the less the generations have to do with each other, the wider the gap will grow.
We have no solution to the technological divide, other than to ask people to recognize it. Technological advancement and change will come regardless of the consequences. But it doesn’t have to reinforce barriers to communication that already exist.
Editorials
EDITORIAL: A growing gap
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Postal service’s financial woes not of their own making
It’s no secret that the U.S. Postal Service is experiencing financial troubles. One of the consequences of a deficit in the billions of dollars soon will become apparent in New Castle, when the city’s mail processing facility on Cascade Street is shut down.
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Our Opinion: UPMC, Highmark tangle for dominance. But what about the public?
Health insurance recipients in western Pennsylvania received some good news recently. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Highmark Inc., the two local behemoths of the insurance and health care industry, reached an agreement to extend their contract with each other. The 18-month extension will be good through 2014.
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Our Opinion: Annual Jack Butz Award honors community involvement
During his lifetime, Jack Butz was known as someone who donated much to the community. And even now, years after his passing, Butz continues to give. We refer to the annual Jack Butz Award, where a local citizen is recognized for his or her contributions to New Castle and the surrounding area.
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Our Opinion: Why would New Castle weaken architecture standards?
There are times when communities must decide what they want to be. For New Castle, one of those times is arriving later this month. New Castle City Council is considering changes to the municipal zoning ordinance that will have the effect of seriously weakening standards for the North Hill Historic District.
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Our Opinion: A box from 1914 says something about the past — and today
The former Elks building in downtown New Castle was demolished months ago, but one bit of business remained. And city officials addressed that last week, when a time capsule from 1914 was opened.
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Our Opinion: Awareness campaigns protect generations of children
The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that it exists. That was a major factor behind the recent Walk for Justice at Cascade Park, organized by the Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County.
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Our Opinion: Secret Service scandal symbolizes breaches of public trust
There are a couple of pieces of good news regarding the Secret Service sex scandal. The first is that an investigation has determined the women hired as prostitutes by Secret Service agents in Columbia apparently were just that.
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Our Opinion: Municipalities save money with shared services
In difficult financial times, finding ways to use tax dollars more efficiently is an essential government task. That’s why we were pleased to learn that Shenango Township and South New Castle Borough have agreed to share police services.
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Our Opinion: State politicians use campaign funds in criminal cases
If you want to wage a spirited defense against criminal charges, you need money. A good attorney, after all, isn’t cheap. But if you are an influential elected official in Pennsylvania facing trial, this problem comes with a ready solution. All you have to do is tap into your campaign funds.
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Our Opinion: Resignation in Neshannock highlights leadership issue
With Neshannock Township now seeking a new manager, we hope the supervisors have learned something from their experiences so far. That’s because their efforts to date on selecting a manager for the municipality haven’t gone very well. Ironically, the questionable practices and decision-making displayed by the supervisors demonstrate the need for sound management in the township.
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Postal service’s financial woes not of their own making
