In the regular reunion of former colleagues in the first bank that I worked for, I am the youngest and the oldest is already in his 80s. Almost all of those who attend the reunion are from the IT department (at that time it was EDP - Electronic Data Processing department because the term IT was not coined yet). It's ironic that now they are left behind by technology. Half have no social media, not even an email account. They can only use their phone for texting and not for internet. It's really sad to see former computer people who seem not to be able to grasp the leap of technology. Several of those I asked said that they have no more time to learn. Get that? No more time to learn the gadgets as if they are derelicts already. There is a saying that you only stop learning when you die for learning is a continuing process. When my husband was conducting computer workshops for adults, he usually say that fear is the main reason for resistance of technology. So before the session starts, participants were asked to condition their minds that the computer is just a tool. It's really sad that there are some people who are contented with what they have regarding technology. Do you feel resistance when you encounter a new technology like the smart phone?
I'm more of a "techy" type person than my wife is, although we both installed more memory in our computers and have installed a CD/DVD Player-Recorder in the desktop Tower. About every six months, I will unhook all the cables/USB's from the rear of the desktop Tower, take off the cover and spray the dust out w/a can of compressed air. I made a diagram of which cables/USB/s go where, so I don't have a problem hooking them back up after dusting the inside of the Tower. Every Monday I do an anti-virus computer system scan, get rid of some not-needed crap on the hard drive and run defrag. Wife and I use our computer for many, many things. Sometimes, instead of turning on the computer to research something on the Internet, I will do it on my iPhone.
I don't always buy the latest thing, particularly when the thing I have is working fine. One of my computers, I bought in 2008, the other in 2011. I do have an iPhone 6 but, to be honest, I think I preferred my Android. There was a time when I enjoyed learning how to use new things. I bought my first computer at a time when it was necessary to learn to program in order to do anything with it, and I enjoyed learning to code. I began creating web sites when everything was coded in a text editor and it might take a month or more to complete a web site. I spent two weeks just figuring out how to create a mouseover effect in the menus of a site because a client wanted that. Buying a new computer, I enjoyed learning how to use it, this despite the fact that it might be obsolete by the time I figured out everything about it. Now, while I am not afraid of new technology, I would rather spend the time that I have left doing something with what I already know, and I am not likely to buy a new gadget unless it will help me do that. Facebook was around for years before I joined it. I'm glad I did, but I often consider that maybe I could be doing something more productive with the time that I have spent on Facebook. My wife gets upset because I barely use my iPhone, and seldom do anything with it other than using it as a phone or for texting, and my Droid X did a better job of it, since no one seems to be able to understand anything I say with my iPhone. I have spoken to Siri only a couple of times. I often think that I'd be happier if I threw it all away and lived in the woods, and I'd probably do that if I wasn't married. I think that's the case with a lot of people. At some point, we've learned enough.
I feel a resistance to paying what I consider the high cost of new technology more than I feel a resistance to learning how to use it.
I am working in the IT department of a bank. But I have to admit that I am somewhat stymied with new technology. Maybe I lack the motivation to learn new things regarding technology because I have not much use for it. So I am seeing myself in the future to be contented with what I know and probably would be left behind by technology someday. My husband is in the same boat, he refuses to change to a smart phone, he's still using the old phone which is good only for texting and call but no internet. So maybe that is the trend when people get older as what @Joe Riley said about being different when you are over the hill. It's not the learning that stops but the motivation to learn. That's why I was kind of glad when Microsoft had slowed down with their upgrades where before they have new upgrades twice a year. Even their operating system now takes years for a new one to come out. It's just sad that the technology invented to serve us will leave us behind someday.
I try to imagine how it was in the 30's when a house was wired for electric, to replace the gas lights and kerosene lamps, candles etc. Did they fear it....or stay up all night? I can't imagine.
I'm just an old dog. I know about chasing rabbits, but I have to let the young pups learn the parlor tricks.
Any resistance comes from myself. I would never consider myself even close to a "techy". To me, smartphones have more gadgets than I really need. And it isn't that I can't learn new technology, I just don't have the desire to learn it. I would rather spend my time learning something else. And yes, I realize that it makes me vulnerable to being left in the proverbial "technological dust".
The "Information Age" is, sadly AFAI concerned, here to stay. The biggest hurdle for me is my "have to know and understand how it works, why, how to fix it, etc". This drives me nearly nuts, sometimes (all the way, according to my wife!). So, I wind up second-guessing the thoughts of those writing the programs, for example, for the computers running our cars. 20 years ago, the electronics and approaches to running those engines were straightforward and made sense. Now? Computer thinks there is a serious issue, like Antilock Brakes System not functioning, it shuts the thing completely down. Saves your life......Ha, ha. Frank
Technology can become a form of addiction. We like to think we live in the"connected" age, but people become so overwhelmed, that they don't read their e-mail, or talk on the phone. The texting fad is like replacing the telephone with the telegraph...a step backwards.
I don't think people who resist technology are necessarily "afraid" - what's there to be afraid off? It's not going to abuse, maim or kill anyone. I think - in fact I know - that some people are just not interested. My old man for example refuses to use a computer - he has no desire to learn. He's not afraid of it. Same with my brother - he eventually got a tablet because he needed to use email for his freelance work as a north-sea supply boat captain. He didn't want to get a full computer - just because he didn't want to. He's not afraid of them or their technology. Both Dany and David accept that computers are a permanent fixture in our lives and that banks, shops, railway stations etc etc etc use them - but they have no need of technology in their personal lives. I admire people who don't get caught up with new technology that they don't actually need - they are brave .... and the shameful thing is they are often penalized. My brother used to pay more for his flights because he went to a travel agent to book them - he has had to start booking his flights (to work) online because the various companies he freelances for would only reimburse the cost that he'd have paid by booking online. Dany, here in France, pays slightly more tax (well, an "administration fee") because he pays his taxes by post rather than via the online portal.