GRAND Magazine - July/August 2018 - 13

tech talk

What kind of technology tourist are you?
BY DEANNA SHOSS

f I asked about new technology two years ago, you would have
lamented (or relished) diminishing face-to-face connections,
with the growth of Facebook and LinkedIn. A year ago you
would have cried (or celebrated) the intrusion of mobile devices
into everyday life. Today you might tell me how you shout out
loud (Hey, Alexa!) that you are out of toilet paper, and more
appears on your doorstep overnight.
For us non-digital natives (people age 50+ who grew up without technology), living in the US today is like living in a foreign
land. Driverless cars. Sunglasses with facial recognition. Robotic
playmates...in both adult and child models.
Indeed, our world gets more alien every day.

What kind of technology tourist are you?

How are you exploring this strange new world in which we live?
Do you hide inside, afraid to come out? Do you hold your nose
and take the plunge? I decided to collect some scientific data. Not
the Big Data way of spying through your cell phone, but the old
fashioned way: With a focus group. With my girlfriends. At the bar.
"I may have to drink a glass of wine or two but it's all in the
name of science," I said to my husband as I headed out on this
important mission.
Here's what I found:
We are a continuum of Adopters, Adapters, Analyzers and
Avoiders.

The Adopter

If I want to talk to my 82 year old mother, I pick up the phone. My
sister, on the other hand, never answers her phone. For her I have to
text. The best way to get a response from my 17 year old nephew is
on Snapchat. For family in Brazil, I probably wouldn't talk to them
13 GRAND

MAY JUNE 2018

at all if it wasn't for Facebook. Instagram? Perfect for fashion ideas
to stay hip IRL (In Real Life). Twitter offers a surprising back door
into major corporations, for Customer Service or to talk to the CEO.
Adopters are those who dive in and embrace new technology.
For me, that's fun. I'm an interculturalist. I like speaking other languages. I take the same approach to technology.

Late adopters watch for a bit before taking up a new technological platform. Let others uncover the initial glitches and wait
until they are fixed. Or pause to see if a particular technology that
is trendy today, is actually going to stay.

The Adapter

The Adapter signs-up for things, tries things, and adapts them to
their need or level of understanding. This approach says "I'm not
a-scared to try it, but strategy and real life need comes first. It says
you know who you are and technology is there to serve you.
"My husband takes a screen shot of every snap the kids send
him," says Trish, referring to Snapchat. The lure of snapchat-which
has young people leaving Facebook by the millions-is that messages disappear after a short period of time, leaving no trail.
By the time you find your reading glasses, and then remember
where you put your phone down while you were looking for your
glasses, the snap has disappeared. Voilà the screenshot solution.
"He wants to save them to read for later," Trish explains.
Adapters may also know when and where to get help. They
"gotta guy" (or gal). In fact this is most often how I help my marketing clients, who are almost exclusively 50+. They are building a
business or finally saying yes to their big dream or idea, but find
the world has changed a bit.

Click here to continue reading
Deanna Shoss is CEO of Intercultural Talk, Inc. which
provides Digital, Intercultural & In Real Life Marketing
for non-digital natives--entrepreneurs, dreamers and
business owners age 50+ who didn't grow up with
technology and who won't grow old without it. She's
also a writer, professional speaker and certified fitness
and Body Pump instructor.

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine/ https://www.twitter.com/grandMmagazine https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-quit-young-people-social-media-snapchat-instagram-emarketer-a8206486.html http://www.grandmagazine.com/2018/06/what-kind-of-technology-tourist-are-you/ http://www.interculturaltalk.org/deanna-shoss/

GRAND Magazine - July/August 2018

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