Old Before I Die

I have a lot of learning to do, but then don’t we all? I believe that when you stop learning you cease being useful to yourself or anyone around you, so I love new things – new experiences, new inspiration, new ways of working.

In an age when “new money” or a “new face” seem to be the only target for some people, new learning has to be shouted about a bit more. I gratefully appreciate recommendations to try new things. A particular book, Sophie’s World, was suggested by a friend recently and has helped me learn a lot and question things I take for granted. Mind you new things take effort and Sophie’s World was about as easy to read as an upside down wardrobe assembly leaflet written in Russian by someone with a tremor and cataracts, but perseverance gave me loads of rewards.

We all need to keep on learning and I was delighted to be invited this week to a debate about how we make sure older folk continue to learn. The comments from the audience were very instructive and turned the stereotype of lazy youngsters and hard working oldies on its head. Most of the older people there seemed to believe that if anyone wanted them to use computers they had to make it worth their while. A bit of a reversal of clichés there. The tone seemed to be that they want special treatment and don’t want to get off their backsides and seek out learning. It has to come to them.

One lady even said she didn’t want to be taught computer skills in a “class full of nineteen year olds” and, although I sympathise that she may feel overwhelmed, it struck me as being a bit precious, sad and dare I say it sniffy.

So has the older generation become selfish or are they just terrified that they’ve missed the boat?

One problem that wasn’t discussed at the debate was that the threat for anyone older who doesn’t become a silver surfer is that they will fail to understand how to communicate with anyone younger. In fact it’s already happening. I’m not talking about the slang of the street like my teenage daughter saying something is “sick” when she means good, I mean that younger people actually have differently wired brains now thanks to the digital revolution. It means they have little patience and want the message you’re giving them to be passed on quicker and in a more pointed way, but it also means they retain less information. In other words, ironically, informing youngsters is a bit like talking to really old people where you have to repeat your message over and over again for it to sink in. This is not their fault but is due to the quick, sharp, overloaded digital age they’ve grown up in.

Another emphatic reason to sit up and realise things are changing occurred this week when only three songs in the Top 40 charts sold any CDs whatsoever. Sounds trivial? All the other 37 sold not one single tangible disc that you can hold in your hand or put on your shelf. It’s all downloads. In years to come these digital songs will have been wiped from iPods everywhere to make room for new stuff, meaning kids won’t have CDs or singles to look at, to hold, cherish and bring back memories.

These downloads, and the demise of discs with their beautiful album covers, are also the reason HMV is going to the wall, graphic artists are unemployed, sales assistants are being made redundant, record companies are scaling back or going bust, and so it goes on. No point the older generation doing an impression of King Canute because you cannot hold this back. Adapt or be run over. If the silver surfers don’t waken up soon they will be sleeping all the way to obsolescence – a bit like vinyl and CDs.

Perhaps, though, there is hope. In making an appointment with two of the much older speakers on the platform, I reached for my diary. One of them put the appointment in his iPhone, the other used his iPad.

The revolution started a long time ago Oldies. For God’s sake get on board.