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Bridging the Technology Gap Between Boomers and Gen Y
During my generational diversity workshops, I often ask my Baby Boomer participants to state their greatest challenge when working with the younger generations. One response I hear is the younger generation's addiction to technology. Examples include their need to communicate primarily through texting and social media. Email and voicemail are now considered too slow for this instant gratification generation. In other words there is a large gap between the Boomer's view of and need for technology compared to Generation Y. As Boomers we often see technology as a subset of our lives....almost a necessary evil. Generation Y sees technology as a thread that is woven into most aspects of their personal and professional lives.
More often than not the complaint from Gen Y is that the Baby Boomers are too slow when using technology and they are afraid of the constant changes in technology.
So how do we go about closing the technology gap between these generations?
While hotly debating this issue recently with my Generation Y daughter, Lisa, we both decided to create a list of ideas and strategies that may help others work more effectively together.
What Bugs Gen Y About Boomers:
- Speed of Usage: Let's face it, Gen Y is super fast with technology and would often times rather work the computer or phone themselves than watch a Baby Boomer slowly figure out exactly what they are doing.
- Fear of Technology: It is difficult for a Gen Y to understand the Boomer's fear of technology. They see new programs, bells and whistles on a computer or cell phone as an exciting new journey that allows them to do things much more efficiently.
- Discounting Technology/Social Media: Baby Boomers often ask Gen Y why Facebook or Twitter is so great, or teasing them for wanting a new phone only months after purchasing one. Generation Y believes both technology and Social Media are as essential and a part of their daily routines as breathing.
What Bugs Boomers About Generation Y
- Technology is just one more thing we have to learn: Baby Boomers have spent much of their work lives without technology and have found success without it. Now that the world is moving faster and change is coming so much sooner, it can be overwhelming to learn a new computer program or phone system every 6-10 months.
- Sometimes technology is inefficient: ManyBoomers believe that sending a response to an email more than 3 times can be inefficient compared to speaking face to face or over the phone. Sometimes the nonverbal aspect of communication, i.e., voice inflection and body language are more important to the message than the words being typed or spoken.
- Social Media and technology are like a black hole: To Boomers, the jury is still out regarding the purpose and effectiveness of Social Media. Like a black hole, it can easily suck up your work and family time.
Tips from a Boomer to a Gen Y:
- Be more patient: When we are using a piece of technology for the first few times it is important to acknowledge that we need to go slow to go fast which leads us to the second tip...
- Understand our history with computers: Many of us did not experience computers until the early 1990's, and the computers we used often did not work effectively. We have suffered the loss of many documents through the" blue screen of death", and we are extremely afraid of this happening again.
- Show us how it is done: If you want to lower your frustration as a Gen Y, respectfully show us how to do what you are doing and let us practice so that we feel competent. This is also a basis for great team building.
Tips from a Gen Y to a Boomer:
- Show appreciation for technology: Technology is here to stay and you can either embrace it and ride the wave or let it crash down on you. It has been created not to frustrate you, but to use as a tool to work smarter, not harder.
- When possible, get a tutorial: There are a plethora of places to go to learn about the latest technology and how to use it. Once you get your new gadget, or even with the one you have now, sit down with a professional in that field and ask them ALL the questions that you might have about it. If you mess something up, they are right there to fix it for you.
- Change fear into excitement: Once you change your mindset from fear to excitement, suddenly the technology turns into a new world that you get to explore. The possibilities are limitless; you just have to be willing to let it help you.
Question for You:
Do you find yourself frustrated with different generations and their usage of technology? Well, you are not alone!
Action for You:
Some helpful tips in dealing with a Boomer might be to slow down, be patient, show them how to do it and then let them show you. Some tips for dealing with Gen Y might be to show appreciation for the technology and get help from a technology wiz which will change your fear into excitement!
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