Welcome to the Digital World

If I did not have 2 kids who use internet on a daily basis, I would probably be totally intimidated by the digital world. It is amazing to me that even Kindergarteners can navigate around a computer, while I myself struggle to relearn even the basic skills.  But today it is sooooo essential to understand and embrace digital media to be current. When I went middle school and high school in the 70s, typewriters, pagers, CB radios, landline telephones, television with 13 channels and the radio were as high tech as it came. You had to wait for someone to get off the phone to use it, you had to watch a TV show when it aired because you couldn't tape it, and you had to retype your entire 15 page essay over if you made a mistake, like a spelling error. Just by these examples you can see how the world can pass you by today if you do not stay current. So what does the older generation need to do to keep up? Admit we don't know, and ask. It may sound easy, but not so for those with an ego, those who resist change, or those who are easily confused. This is why I am grateful to be in college now as an older student. Learning at an older age requires you to let go of old learning styles and embrace the new. I now understand that how we communicate affects my generation even more than the content we pursue, because if we don't reach out to learn the universal mode of connecting, we run th risk of isolating ourselves from the younger generation. Therefore, I will continue to be on the look out and open to learning the latest apps, software and digital devices, because I know that by the time I finish writing this passage, there will be yet another form of communication created that I will need to be ready to use!