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[miauw62]

A question i had in my head.
I'm just going to guess that you all know that old people and new technology dont combine. At all.
The thing is, will the same be true for us when we are 70 years old?

[Yoink]

Uhm... Not all old people are necessarily "technophobic". Of course, if it's something they didn't have growing up and they've never been taught how to use it, then yes, they won't have a clue about technology.

That doesn't mean they don't see it as a good thing. Also, a lot of the time their lack of ability with various gadgets could stem from deteriorating motor control or hand/eye coordination. It probably won't be much different for us.

[MrWiggles]

I think the question how is stated is done poorly.

I think a better question would be; 'Will the old people of the future be as hesitant to keeping up with technology as some seem to now?'

Or something along those lines. I dont think its that old folks are actually afraid of technology, I think its more a case that at a certain point it no longer becomes important to them to keep up with the technological growth so you let things slide. Like, I can see myself no longer caring for the hotness in video games, because I wont be able to play it as well, or I'll be embittered as some gamers are now toward the industry or myriad of other reasons.

Old folks no aways are all the different from what they were in the past. You eventually get set in your ways and grow used to certain stuff. Being 26, I can see some of it already. Like my Ipod Nano, is the fuckin shit, 6th generation. Black. Fuck the new smaller ipod nano.

[10ebbor10]

It's not really technophobic. More like resistance to chance, which in this case is the advancement of digital technology.

[scriver]

It's not hesitation or "resistance to change". It's inability. As we grow older we loose the ability to learn, and when we become really old it has become really hard to get to know new technology. And yes, it will happen to every single one of us. Also your way of dressing will look completely ridiculous.

[LordBucket]

will the same be true for us when we are 70 years old?

That depends. How flexible is your worldview? Somebody 70 years old grew up knowing that the human race was incapable of space flight. Grew up knowing that to communicate with someone you sent a letter and waited for a reponse, because there wsa no internet and they probably didn't have a telephone in their home. Grew up knowing that cooking meant boiling water on a stove because microwave ovens weren't avialable. Grew up thinking of playing ball outside as "fun" because things like video games hadn't been invented yet.

Technology changed many of their basic "truths" about what was possible and how things were done. So...

 * Will you be comfortable having brain implants to allow you "telepathic" communcation with the devices in your home?
 * Will you be comfortable when primitive things like email and cellphones have been replaced with real-time global telepathy?
 * Will you be comfortable when your son or daughter wants to marry an alien? Or a robot? Or a non-human genetic construct?
 * Will you be comfortable having friends invite you to neighboring solar systems for lunch?
 * Will you be comfortable having your physical body destroyed and your consciousness uploaded into a machine? Will you be comfortable interacting with others who have done so?
 * Will you be comfortable having sex with people who were the opposite gender of a different species a few hours ago and simply had a new body constructed to wear for the night?

Technology might make all these things possible. And these are just a few things we can easily conceive of. Will you be comfortable if and when your daily 'truths' are so far removed from your current life that we can't even conceive of them?

How well will you adapt?

[Loud Whispers]

* Will you be comfortable having brain implants to allow you "telepathic" communcation with the devices in your home?

Woah, singularity. AWESOME.

* Will you be comfortable when primitive things like email and cellphones have been replaced with real-time global telepathy?

Woah, telepathy. AWESOME.

* Will you be comfortable when your son or daughter wants to marry an alien?

Woah, space sex. AWESOME.

Or a robot?

Woah, robot sex. AWESOME.

Or a non-human genetic construct?

Woah, Japan? AWESOME.

* Will you be comfortable having friends invite you to neighboring solar systems for lunch?

Woah, intergalactic spehss lunch? AWESOME.

* Will you be comfortable having your physical body destroyed and your consciousness uploaded into a machine? Will you be comfortable interacting with others who have done so?

DESTROY ALL HUMANS

* Will you be comfortable having sex with people who were the opposite gender of a different species a few hours ago and simply had a new body constructed to wear for the night?

Eh, better uses for stuff like that. Like ocean exploring! Become best bros with Lovecraftian beings, at least you'll already be insane.

I think as long as I don't go stark raving mad the future should be terrible.

[Svarte Troner]

If the future becomes a huge telepathic inter-species alien robot orgy, then I'll stick to being a senile old man who still plays Dwarf Fortress.

[kaijyuu]

I'm totally cool with the alien orgies, myself.

[Hanslanda]

I'm totally cool with the alien orgies, myself.

Sigh. To the OOC quotes thread.

[Frumple]

If the future becomes a huge telepathic inter-species alien robot orgy, then I'll stick to being a senile old man who still plays Dwarf Fortress.

You misunderstand post-singularity! In that future, there's no need to choose between those two. You can be an orgy-jiji who plays Dwarf Fortress as you roll six species-changing extraterrestrial sexbots in like, seven different physical locations. At the same time.

Computer enhanced personal multitasking and semi-autonomous consciousness recepticles is going to be great.

[Moghjubar]

You damn kids and your multi-dimensional hyper-virtual communications arrays!  Get your trans-genic asses off my self-sustaining eco lawn!

[Aklyon]

@Title

Depends. Will the RIAA/MPAA still have no clue about how the internet works by then? Because as far as I've seen its less technophobic (except in the above case) and more annoyingly obnoxious that they do indeed have no idea how their computer/OS/browser works and that you need to fix it anyway.

[Urist_McDrowner]

Uhm... Not all old people are necessarily "technophobic". Of course, if it's something they didn't have growing up and they've never been taught how to use it, then yes, they won't have a clue about technology.

That doesn't mean they don't see it as a good thing. Also, a lot of the time their lack of ability with various gadgets could stem from deteriorating motor control or hand/eye coordination. It probably won't be much different for us.

This. My 80 year old Grandpa loves computers. He puts them together all the time and was one of the pioneers in computer technology when they began to shift from warehouses to smaller and smaller things.

[Hubris Incalculable]

Lordbucket's questions:

 * Will you be comfortable having brain implants to allow you "telepathic" communcation with the devices in your home?
No. I prefer physical interaction with devices, and I'd be really hesitant to install any sort of BCU into my body.

 * Will you be comfortable when primitive things like email and cellphones have been replaced with real-time global telepathy?
Maybe. So long as there's still a market for technological anachronists.

 * Will you be comfortable when your son or daughter wants to marry an alien? Or a robot? Or a non-human genetic construct?
I'mma be a bit of a Xenophobe if we ever make contact, I think.

 * Will you be comfortable having friends invite you to neighboring solar systems for lunch?
So long as space transport works for that, yeah.

 * Will you be comfortable having your physical body destroyed and your consciousness uploaded into a machine? Will you be comfortable interacting with others who have done so?
When I'm old and I've had my fun, yeah. So long as it's not merged with everyone else's and I'm still my own man/brain/SAI/thing.

 * Will you be comfortable having sex with people who were the opposite gender of a different species a few hours ago and simply had a new body constructed to wear for the night.
Ehh.... That's a bit too squicky for me, thanks.