My Dad just got an Iphone. Let me repeat that, my father, the technophobe, jut got an Iphone. In fact, he did not want this Iphone, it was a condition of his new job. He is the type of guy who gets scared, not excited, when someone hands him a new piece of technology. I told him I wanted video of him trying to turn it on for the first time, for some good laughs. For an example, this is how my dad types on a keyboard:
The underlying current here is related to all things economy, unemployment and jobs, jobs, jobs. It is remarkable that a company would take a risk on my father. I am glad they did, and he will be a great employee for them, but it is hard to imagine someone as technically unsavy as my Dad around MY office. The fact that he is willing to learn how to use an Iphone is noteworthy, but I know he would rather not. The sad part is that there are usually lots of people who already have these skills. I can bounce between browsers and operating systems like nothing, and most people my age are the same way. older people face a severe disadvantage in this area of work expectations. When my Dad was in his frist job there were not even fax machines, and now those are obsolete.
My father faces an increasingly complex work evironment. There are Iphones, online systems and people expect constact connectivity. TPS reports abound, and if you cannot keep up, you sadly, just get ran over. I know he will do well, but I expect we will continue to see older workers puhed to the margins of the employent picture, unless they are very highly skilled in current technology, there is just too much competition out there.
