I was watching Newsnight and a woman made a point that young people should be employed in large companies because they understand technology better than older people. I just think this is rubbish though, firstly who exactly designed all these technologies in the first place, largely people over the age of thirty and secondly most young people I work with don't know much about using a computer beyond pretty basic stuff. What do people here think?

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Lexus Manson - The Worst Blog on the Internet or your money back!!!

Because the designers are the only people who ever operate that software, right?

Generally as a rule, older people know gooseberry fool about technology. There are exceptions of course, but I witness it at work everyday

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I find that most young people know gooseberry fool about computers either. Ok, they can load up a web browser or send an e-mail but when you get a bit beyond that they quickly drown under the digital sea. Most people I've worked with struggle with the concept of local folders and network folders.

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Lexus Manson - The Worst Blog on the Internet or your money back!!!

Fixed to be more appropriate to my experience

Young or old, most of them just can't get their heads around it. My parents just can't get the hang of online shopping, and my younger brother has no idea how to even sign up to Netflix, let alone go through the simple steps to get the US one on his PS3

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Yeah not just computers though, younger people obviously have the ability to learn and take things on board quicker, older people just can't seem to take things in. TV's and the recent switch to freeview is probably the best example I can give

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Hence all those adverts lately that basically say "Hey old people, you're too stupid to do this yourselves! Phone this number and get a nice young man to come out and do it for you! DERP!"

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My nan did that just for the free freview box she got given, then she sold it and got me to retune her TV. She is a con artist.

You're right though, most people wont listen and just come into store with a gormless look on their face.

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My entire family tends to use my as a helpdesk now I think about it

Not just for anything computer related, but anything electronic at all. TV's, Blu-Ray players, Mobile Phones, anything.

I need to start charging them my hourly employment rate. It'll either put them off or net me some extra cash....either way I think I'll be better off

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I tuned my nans tv in, she gave me £20 Nan, it took me 30 seconds I dont want your money

My family do the same, thing is most of them take my advice, do the complete oppposite then come to me when they realise theyve made a mistake

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My Girlfriend and Brother both struggle with my BT vision box.

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Lexus Manson - The Worst Blog on the Internet or your money back!!!

I'm sure part of it is that older people are better at getting people to do things for them when they can't be arsed. It works brilliantly as the 'bright young things' think they are running rings round the oldies, when really they are just being manipulated by lazy old people who have learnt to only do things they are interested in. Life's too short to know everything about everything etc.

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My late nan used to turn to me for everything. I sorted her out every time for nowt. She always trying to stuff £20 into my pockets. Always said, "Nah, you're ok, just hang around a little longer"

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1 > 2 > 3 >>>>>>> 4 >>>>> 5

lex-man are you a bit bumpain that some whipper snapper can do your job more efficiently but for less money?

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This. I know far more about IT than any of my nephews or nieces - they might know better how to use a Facebook account, but I seriously doubt they could put a .css page together, or create a Flash animation in a couple of hours. It's bollocks that teenagers are somehow imbued with this kind of technical insight just by virtue of being born into world already filled with digital gadgets. Anyone can use an iPod on a surface level; how about coding up an app?

This myth about 'digital natives' is put about by clueless morons in the corporate recruitment sector and broadcast media.

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It's far more likely that young people with have experienced modern technology from an early age, when their brains were still in the development phase. Thus, their brains are better wired to think in technological terms and are quicker to pick up on the incremental advances that technology makes.

Young people are also far more likely to have been taught at least a basic level of IT at school.

lol describe well !

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I doubt most teenagers could even tell you what www stands for....or that they're even aware it stands for anything to begin with

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Coding a webpage, creating an app or making a movie are far beyond what I would consider standard computer competency. Same for knowing useless computer theory - why would average joe creating reports in excel need to know what HTTP stands for or how data is transferred with packets or how excel is using low level functions on the cpu to calculate =SUM($A$1*B3)? Protip: he doesnt.

Ability to use a computer effectively should be treated as much as a key skill as reading, writing or mathematics these days when appying for a job. Which means that they should be able to use the general functions and understand how to use applications etc to do their job.

I wouldnt expect an end user to be able to strip down and rebuild the machine, or nuke and reinstall to a previous state etc - much the same as I wouldnt expect the standard car driver to be able to correct most mechanical issues.

Now onto the initial point, I do think that younger people seem to be a bit better on the PC in general, primarily because 99% of older people I see with PCs flat out cant be arsed trying to use them.

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My dad (nearing 60) is perfectly capable of doing what he needs to on the computer with a bit of thought but he just panics and freezes and phones me. He lacks confidence, I think if he had used them more in his working life etc he'd be much more comfortable with them and better generally. It's not a question of being able to pick it up (for him), it's more the fact he is worried about strawberry floating it up. Whereas I don't know a vast amount about how computers actually work but I know my way round Windows and Office or whatever enough to know that clicking on most things won't make the whole thing implode on the spot so I can relax and mess about and try things out with relative confidence.

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