The Internet vs Boomers

The internet. When the internet was first created, Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) were in their 30s and 40s. Boomers learned how to use typewriters in school and some could probably remember how to write in shorthand when the internet made its appearance to the public in 1993.  

"Growing up in a time when print newspapers, radio, and television were the primary sources of news, Boomers may be more likely to trust information presented in such format" (Saadeh, 2023). The saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" holds true for some of the Boomer generation. Society expects the younger generations to understand social media platforms and the internet in general but not the older generation because digital media literacy is something that some Boomers lack.

People say that the younger generations always have their noses in their phones but it's also the older generation. "48 percent of Baby Boomers spend between 10 minutes and one hour on social media per day, and 24 percent either spend less than 10 minutes on social media per day or don’t have social media at all, according to a study by McKinsey & Co" (Taylor, 2023). 

References:

Saadeh, A. (2023, June 19). Baby Boomers and their trust in the internet. Inside Telecom. https://insidetelecom.com/baby-boomers-and-their-trust-in-the-internet/

Taylor, A. (2023, September 26). How social media created a generation gap between Genz and baby boomers. Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/how-social-media-created-a-generation-gap-between-genz-and-baby-boomers