@ Marelisa, blogging definitely puts us in the path of new things, sometimes when we’re not ready for them! But I’d definitely rather keep learning things than stagnate.

@ Patricia, what great examples you’ve shown us in your mom and yourself! Doing new things is usually a challenge for everyone, but then there are those who go way beyond the norm, even when they have excuses not to try.

Seniors seem to manifest one or the other style and they practice this over a lifetime..so when they are older they may not be able to make changes.

At 93, before fractured spine, my mom was on her computer email every Thursday and Sunday to check in with the Grand children ( some of them were not very on line) but she tried to know them all and share in their lives. She loved helping me pay her bills on line and the print outs I would make of her Quicken stats were fabulous to her crippled writing hand….My father was always exploring new technology to help people learn and keep learning…

I can not believe all the folks my age who would rather have magazines come in the mail than read them on line/ or stumble upon/ or blogs…and will not shop on line or pay bills They would rather destroy the environment than learn something new…they are sure they will be ripped off on line…

I have dyscalcula and I forced myself to learn how to drive, pay bills and learn everything I can about the computer world….I am on twitter but not very good at it and have no buttons on my blog yet! But you just watch me – I will.

Patricia´s last blog post..Thinking About My Dad

Marelisa´s last blog post..Free Ebook – “Step-by-Step Tutorial: Write, Publish and Market Your Ebook”

Hmmmm. You’ve got me thinking.

I see people of all ages engaged and not. So I don’t think it has as much to do with age as it does our curiosity level.

I remember the first time I saw some relatives of mine with a cell phone. They are in their 70’s and it almost seemed out of character for them. When I asked them how they liked it, they really didn’t, but were convinced having one is a great convenience.

As for being online. In my “circle”, I’m the only one who blogs and uses Twitter. Now when they talk on TV about Twitter, friends will say, “Do you follow Him/Her?” “What do they Twitter about?” Although they are curious enough to ask me, they’re not curious enough to join themselves. And blogging-they all think it looks like too much work, plus they really don’t understand the concept.

RE: Facebook. I’ve looked at it, but haven’t joined. I’m thinking it’s another time suck. But then, I thought Twitter was too. And, look at me now? Thanks to you, Hunter.

Barbara Swafford´s last blog post..When The Conversation Moves Off Of Your Blog

@ Mark, I guess it’s nice if you know what the benefits are, but I’m not sure we need to be aware of them. Some things, like SEO, have an obvious payoff. Other things are more subtle. As an example, most people say that education is important, but very few people can say why.

@ J Grants, I’m sure Facebook has uses beyond what it’s known for. Sometimes we find unexpected benefits when we branch out into new things.

It’s still better off to learn (and play around) new things because technology can have practical applications in just about anything.

I would think ‘learning for the sake of learning’ is different from ‘learning because it enhances your life. The former means you learn something because you think it’s good to learn something, but you don’t exactly know what are the benefits. You just THINK it’s good simply because you’re learning something.

The latter means you know why you’re learning what you’re learning. You’re not learning just because you THINK it’s good to be learning something. You learn with a conscious purpose or goal in mind. You know exactly what are the benefits learning what you’re learning.

I think this makes a whole lot of difference.

Cheers~

Mark

Mark Foo | TheBigDreamer.com´s last blog post..Don’t Lose Focus On What Is Already Working For You

Jim Gaudet´s last blog post..Costa Rica Sunset

@ Hayden, music is a great example of where people stick to what they know. I also think it’s an area where it’s OK to do so, because newer isn’t necessarily better, just different.

@ Sarah, I think finding what works for you is definitely a big part of it. Is having a Nintendo a Gen Y thing though? I think the tail end of Gen X was into that big time. And before that, the Atari 2600.

@ Alex, what an interesting contrast between your grandparents. I guess tech is just one aspect of “staying young” – the bigger picture is connecting with new things.

@ Glen, I agree the test are irrelevant as far as measuring what they proclaim to – I get very different results on all of them. At the same time, I hope I never stop wanting to learn new things.

@ Jim, so you were stuck in the 90s, but at some point you decided to let Facebook into your world? Sounds like a good plan: stick with what you like, but keep the door open.

@ Mark, sounds good, though I don’t see much of a difference between “learning for the sake of learning” and “learning because it enhances your life.” For me, they’re almost the same.

@ MiscBytes, that sounds like a good balance. You don’t need to be on top of every possible internet thing in order to compete with teenagers.

@ Vered, when competing in the workforce, staying on top of new things is often essential. People who enjoy doing that naturally have an advantage.

@ Mr. Self Development, I think that could be right – it’s a problem if it interferes with your life’s objectives and priorities. However, I think it most likely will interfere unless the objective is stagnation!