I interviewed three people from my family since I already knew them and it’d be more comfortable asking them questions. For the first generation, I interviewed my brother. He’s a sophomore here at Oregon State majoring in business. He uses the internet for many different things and it’s a big part of his lifestyle. He checks up on sports scores and information throughout the day and he’s active in a few car and tech forums. And since he has an iPhone, he’s online even more so than most other people. He’s really comfortable using the internet, primarily since it’s been a part of his life for so long and he grew up with it. Also, being in a family that has a lot of interest in working with computers, he’s been around them for quite some time even when he was younger. He said that technology has changed the way he lives his life, mainly because he can do a lot more now, than he could in the past. It’s much easier for him to communicate with friends and to complete tasks than if he didn’t have his computer or phone. And with a number of TV shows being brought online, he mentioned that he watches more shows on his computer than on the actual television. He thinks the internet is a great resource for whatever your need is and that it’s an essential part of life in our current generation.

For the middle generation, I interviewed my dad. He studied computer science back in college and has followed the movement since back in the early days. He uses the internet for a number of things as well, but email was his main draw. He also uses eBay and Craigslist on a regular basis to buy and sell things, as well as purchasing items from many other online stores. He also mentioned that he uses the internet for his billing, saying that it’s much easier to use the bank’s online service than having to drive in and talk to them. I asked him about watching TV shows online, but he said he doesn’t really do that since he can just use his DVR. The phone he has also doesn’t work very well with the internet since it’s so small and doesn’t utilize the 3G network. He’s pretty comfortable with the internet, but he said that he still goes to the phone book or newspaper for some information. When asked about how technology has changed his life, he said that it’s really made things a lot simpler than in the past. He mentioned how in the past he’s had to make a number of phone calls just to find the right manufacturer for a car part he needed, whereas now he can just go online, do a search, and find a retailer fairly easily. He thinks the internet has come a long ways from where it was over a decade ago, and that it will continue to grow and become more useful in our everyday life.

The last person I interviewed for the final generation was my grandfather. He’s been in the business world for quite a while and is used to computers, but they weren’t as big back then as they are now. He said that his main purpose for going online is to check his email. He said they only have dial up where he lives, so going online isn’t as convenient as it is to others. At his work, he uses computers, but he doesn’t go online for much since he’s just mostly just working with internal software. It seems like he’s fairly comfortable using the internet, but it’s not his main way of communicating or getting information. It sounded like he’d rather just use a phone to get what he needs. He said that having the internet has changed his life a little bit, but that it’s not really a big influence on his lifestyle. He said the internet is a good tool if you understand and know how to use it. But sometimes it can be a little difficult to figure out certain things, limiting how you’re able to use it.

When comparing these three generations, it’s pretty obvious that the older you get the less interaction you have with the internet. Although, I bet if the internet had been around, in the state it is today, back when my dad and grandfather were fairly young, it would have had more of an impact on their lives and they would probably have incorporated it into more of the things they do. In Postman’s latest chapter, he talks about how people become used to a certain method and fail to expand their way of thinking. But if he had seen how the internet has shaped into the way it is now, he would probably take back what he said and think about what he was actually saying. The internet gives us new ways to do stuff. It breaks the habit that we’ve become used to and adds new meaning to anything affected by it. My brother’s openness to the internet and latest technology shows how we can adapt to new methods of communication fairly quickly and that we aren’t always stuck in a rut when it comes to devising new ways to accomplish our objectives.

Looking at all three generations, each individual had their differences, but all were in agreement that the internet is something that has had at least some kind of beneficial impact on their lives and that it will continue to shape our future in the years to come.

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