Obviously, there are millions of people older than me who are exceedingly comfortable with all kinds of technology, though I'm starting to think they're the exception, not the rule. Many of them started working with computers in the 1970s and early 1980s when they were middle aged. I've been fiddling with computers since I was a teenager, and I'm lucky to be inside the industry—close enough to it all to learn about and try out pretty much every major new product. Kids today—and those born today, tomorrow, and the next day—will be touching technology far earlier. It will happen during their formative years, and technology will be permanently imprinted on their minds. For the youngest generations, technology will be as hardwired into their brains as their own mothers' faces. At the other end of the spectrum are people who've spent their entire lives ignoring or sidestepping technology. They've comfortably reached their late 50s, 60s, 70s and even 80s without ever once touching a keyboard, using a cell phone, or snapping a photo with a digital camera. Technology is as alien to them as rock 'n' roll was to parents in the late 50s and early 60s. Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain falls into this last category.
Obviously, there are millions of people older than me who are exceedingly comfortable with all kinds of technology, though I'm starting to think they're the exception, not the rule. Many of them started working with computers in the 1970s and early 1980s when they were middle aged. I've been fiddling with computers since I was a teenager, and I'm lucky to be inside the industry—close enough to it all to learn about and try out pretty much every major new product. Kids today—and those born today, tomorrow, and the next day—will be touching technology far earlier. It will happen during their formative years, and technology will be permanently imprinted on their minds. For the youngest generations, technology will be as hardwired into their brains as their own mothers' faces.
At the other end of the spectrum are people who've spent their entire lives ignoring or sidestepping technology. They've comfortably reached their late 50s, 60s, 70s and even 80s without ever once touching a keyboard, using a cell phone, or snapping a photo with a digital camera. Technology is as alien to them as rock 'n' roll was to parents in the late 50s and early 60s.
Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain falls into this last category.
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Some questions and concerns for you, Senator McCain: If you're not online, you certainly can't understand Net neutrality or why Comcast could be at fault for allegedly blocking certain kinds of traffic. If you're not online, Senator McCain, how can you truly understand the multitude of threats that face our children? If you're not using a computer, how can you understand the devastating effect of spyware to individuals, businesses, organizations, and even nations? If you're not reading e-mail, how can you understand the way millions of people spend their days and nights? If you're not using a computer, how will you understand the role computers play in energy consumption and, potentially, conservation?
Some questions and concerns for you, Senator McCain:
People often make light of Al Gore's assertion that he played a pivotal role in the creation of the Internet. Perhaps he overstated the point, but at least way back in the early '90s he could answer the question, "What's the Internet?" I wonder how John McCain would have responded back then. There are probably enough people in this country that aren't comfortable with technology to give McCain a pass on this one. But he won't get one from me. Whoever is running this country and dealing with our global, digitally connected economy, the network of Internet-connected terrorist organizations, and the legions of increasingly techno-savvy third-world nations had better eat, drink, and sleep technology. I don't know if that's Obama, either, but it's clear from McCain's own words that it certainly isn't him.
People often make light of Al Gore's assertion that he played a pivotal role in the creation of the Internet. Perhaps he overstated the point, but at least way back in the early '90s he could answer the question, "What's the Internet?" I wonder how John McCain would have responded back then.
There are probably enough people in this country that aren't comfortable with technology to give McCain a pass on this one. But he won't get one from me. Whoever is running this country and dealing with our global, digitally connected economy, the network of Internet-connected terrorist organizations, and the legions of increasingly techno-savvy third-world nations had better eat, drink, and sleep technology.
I don't know if that's Obama, either, but it's clear from McCain's own words that it certainly isn't him.
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