Technology Adaptation By the Different Generations

A Lexis-Nexis survey conducted in 2008 revealed the following attitude differences among the generations and technology:

There are divergent ideas about what is and is not an appropriate use of technology and software in the white-collar workplace. This divergence could contribute to in-office tensions and even harm teamwork and productivity.

• While a over two thirds (68%) of all Boomers agree that PDAs and mobile phones contribute to a decline in proper workplace etiquette, less than half (46%) of Gen Y workers think so.

• While over two thirds of Boomer workers think the use of a laptop or PDA during in-person meetings is “distracting” (68%), less than half (49%) of Gen Y workers think so.

• While only 17% of Boomers think using laptops or PDAs during in-person meetings is “efficient,” over one third (35%) of Gen Y think it is.

• While only 28% of Boomers think that blogging about work-related issues is acceptable, 41% of Gen Y do.

• While almost half of Gen Y workers (47%) think it’s acceptable to befriend a client on a social networking site, only 24% of Boomers do.

• While only 38% of Boomers think it’s appropriate to befriend a colleague on a social networking site, over three quarters 76% of Gen Y workers do.

Further research according to the http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com New Media Trend Watch 2011, nine out of 10 of Gen-Ys (people age 18-34) are online, and nearly as many are social network users. They’re ahead of the digital curve by almost any metric.

Internet use: 91 percent of population in 2011 (94 percent by 2015)
Social network use: 86 percent of Internet users in 2011 (89 percent by 2015)
Online-video viewing: 84 percent of Internet users in 2011 (90 percent by 2015)
Mobile Internet use: 62 percent of mobile-phone users by 2011 (76 percent by 2015)

And the rest of the population isn’t so far behind. Research shows that Gen-X and early boomers are increasing their use of tablets, such as iPads, to access the Internet and are integrating mobile Web browsing, though at a lower adoption rate than the Gen-Ys.

Past predictions were that it would take three Gen Y’s to replace every Zoomer or Baby Boomer who retires as planned. Now with the increasing speed and ease of technological solutions it would appear as though organizations are finding ways to increase the use of technology to solve labor shortage issues.