Accepting the role of technology in our lives | Akarsh Verma | TEDxYouth@BIS
Summary
TLDRAkos Verma's presentation highlights the pervasive influence of social media on daily life, particularly among younger generations, and contrasts it with the limited engagement of those over 60, where only 20% use platforms like Facebook. Verma emphasizes the widening communication gap due to technology's rapid advancement, leaving the elderly behind. He refutes the stereotype that seniors are disinterested in learning technology, sharing personal anecdotes of teaching elderly individuals to use iPads and smartphones. Verma's grandmother's transformation from no technology to active social media user illustrates the potential for seniors to adapt. He concludes by encouraging the audience to help bridge the gap by teaching older family members to engage with technology.
Takeaways
- 📱 The speaker humorously notes that checking phones is a common first activity in the morning, followed closely by other daily routines.
- 👴 There's a significant generational gap in social media usage, with only 20% of people over 60 using it compared to 60% of those aged 20-29.
- 🚀 Technology, particularly social media, evolves rapidly, potentially leaving the elderly behind and creating a communication gap.
- 🌐 Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become powerful tools for communication and even organizing large-scale events like the Egyptian protests.
- 👵 The elderly are often stereotyped as uninterested in learning new technologies, which the speaker refutes with personal anecdotes.
- 👴 The speaker shares an experience working at an old age home where residents were eager to learn about technology but lacked opportunities.
- 📚 The speaker's grandmother, initially with no technology experience, quickly adapted to using a basic phone and later a smartphone, demonstrating willingness to learn.
- 👶 The speaker encourages the audience to teach their older relatives about technology, emphasizing it's not difficult and can be a rewarding experience.
- 🌟 The presentation ends with applause, indicating the audience's positive reception of the speaker's message about bridging the digital divide.
Q & A
What is the main topic of Akar Verma's presentation?
-Akar Verma's presentation focuses on the impact of social media and technology on different generations, specifically highlighting the communication gap between younger people who use social media extensively and older individuals who are less familiar with it.
How does Akar Verma describe the typical morning routine for many people in relation to technology?
-He explains that for many people, the first thing they do in the morning is check their phone, followed by tasks like brushing teeth and eating breakfast while still engaging with their phone or thinking about it.
What does Akar Verma say about the use of social media among people over 60?
-He notes that only 20% of people over 60 use social media, which contributes to a growing communication gap between generations.
What comparison does Verma make between technology usage 10 years ago and today?
-He mentions that 10 years ago, communication platforms like AOL Messenger and Gmail chat were primarily used for chatting, whereas today, platforms like Facebook and Twitter offer more diverse features, such as event organizing and sharing life updates.
How does Verma highlight the power of social media in organizing significant events?
-He references the Egyptian protests, explaining that the main platform for organizing these mass protests was Facebook, showing how social media can mobilize large-scale movements.
What is the stigma around older people and technology that Verma addresses?
-He discusses the stereotype that older people are unwilling to learn about technology, which he argues is false, sharing examples of how the elderly are open to learning when given the opportunity.
What personal experience does Verma share about teaching older people technology?
-He shares his experience working in an old age home where he taught elderly individuals how to use iPads, and he also mentions teaching his grandmother how to use a phone, who eventually became an active user of Facebook.
How does Verma’s grandmother's experience with technology change over time?
-Initially unfamiliar with any technology, Verma’s grandmother quickly learned how to use a basic Nokia phone, and later, she became adept at using a smartphone and started sending Facebook messages and posting status updates.
What does Akar Verma encourage the audience to do at the end of his presentation?
-He urges the audience to teach their grandparents or parents how to use phones and social media, emphasizing that it is an enjoyable and beneficial experience.
What point does Verma make about volunteer activities in old age homes?
-He mentions that while many volunteers visit old age homes to entertain the elderly with music or readings, few take the time to teach them about technology, which is something that could be more valuable and impactful for them.
Outlines
📱 The Impact of Social Media on Generational Communication
Akar Verma discusses the pervasive influence of smartphones and social media in our daily lives, highlighting the stark contrast in usage between younger and older generations. He points out that only 20% of people over 60 use social media, compared to 60% of those aged 20 to 29. This disparity leads to a widening communication gap as technology advances. Verma reminisces about older communication platforms like AOL Messenger and Gmail chat, which have evolved into more complex social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. He emphasizes the power of these platforms, citing the organization of the Egyptian protest on Facebook as an example. Verma dispels the myth that the elderly are unwilling to learn about technology, sharing personal experiences of teaching elderly individuals to use iPads and smartphones. He concludes by encouraging the audience to teach their grandparents and parents about technology, as it can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Social Media
💡Communication Gap
💡Technology Boom
💡Elderly and Technology
💡Generational Divide
💡Teaching Technology
💡Smartphones
💡AOL Messenger and Gmail Chat
💡Digital Literacy
Highlights
Phones and social media have become integrated into daily life, especially for younger generations.
People over 60 have lower social media usage, with only 20% using it compared to 60% of those between ages 20 and 29.
A communication gap between generations is growing as technology advances faster than older adults can adapt.
Social media has evolved from simple chat platforms to complex tools for family updates and event organization.
Social media platforms like Facebook were central to organizing significant movements, such as the Egyptian protests.
There is a stigma that older adults are uninterested in learning about technology, but this is often false.
The speaker's experience working at an old age home showed that many elderly individuals are eager to learn how to use new technologies.
One resident expressed frustration that volunteers often focused on entertainment rather than teaching technology skills.
The speaker’s personal experience teaching their grandmother how to use a phone demonstrates how quickly older adults can learn.
Initially, the speaker taught their grandmother to use a basic Nokia brick phone, which she found fascinating.
The next year, the speaker introduced their grandmother to a smartphone, and she now regularly uses Facebook.
The speaker encourages others to teach their older relatives how to use phones and social media.
Older adults may find great enjoyment and connection through technology once they learn how to use it.
The speaker notes the importance of bridging the communication gap between generations through technology education.
Teaching technology to older adults can be a rewarding experience for both the learner and the teacher.
Transcripts
our next speaker for tonight's event
will be akar Verma who will be giving a
presentation about the connection back
so everyone please welcome
[Applause]
akos let's be honest the first thing we
do when we wake up is look at our phone
the second thing I do is brush my teeth
while looking at my phone the third
thing I do eat breakfast while thinking
about my
phone phones and social media have
become such an integrated part of
society that it has taken over my
morning and the rest of the day however
this isn't the case for
everybody um people over the age of 60
only 20% of them use social media
whereas a large um 60% of people between
the age of 20 and 29 use uh social media
such as Facebook and this creates a huge
uh communication gap which only uh which
only widens as technology uh advances uh
faster than people can catch up of
course 10 years ago um when I didn't use
uh when I wasn't able to use social
media I assume some of you will remember
AOL Messenger and Gmail chat where uh
you could you could chat uh with
people you could chat with people that
was the only only function that was
there and now it's evolved into Facebook
walls where uh you can figure out about
your family's life and uh that your
sister gave birth hopefully not the
first time you're hearing that and uh
and and you can go on Twitter and uh and
read your Twitter feed and you know read
about Justin beaver's daily life and Kim
Kardashian's new dog or you know
whatever you want to whoever you want to
follow on Twitter um of course there's a
lot more important things on uh Facebook
and uh uh and Twitter uh the
capabilities of organizing huge events
such as the Egyptian um protest and what
you when you realize that the Egyptian
protest was um organized entirely over
Facebook this was thousands of people
that revolted against the government and
the main um main organization platform
for this was Facebook um so these social
medias have have evolved and have gained
a lot of power in in the in in this uh
technology boom uh booming age and
leaving out um the elderly has has
created a huge communication
gap and um there's this really terrible
stigma um going around nowadays that you
know the the elderly don't want to learn
that uh they would rather sit around and
and read their books or whatever people
think um but this is not the case so a
couple years ago when I was back in an
arbor um I used to work at UH an old age
uh home and I I used to teach people
people actually um how to use iPads um
the the elderly there and um one of the
guys Mr pels uh he he told me that
people would come they would play
classical music they would they would
come entertain with uh uh songs and and
read them books usually mostly for
volunteer hours but um they would uh do
this and but nobody would ever come and
teach them about technology and he found
it interesting because it's such a
fascinating thing you know um uh just
you can have a small phone and you can
access um such wide platforms such as uh
Facebook and it he told me that people
people would never think of this um
additionally uh my grandmother uh four
years ago had absolutely zero contact
with technology she's from a much more R
uh rural area uh of India and um I went
and I decided uh you know what I'm going
to teach you how to use a phone this
it's really important to use phones
nowadays and you know I gave her a FR
Nokia brick phone which is basically a
brick and um it has you know the 10
buttons nine of them are numbers one of
them is an okay button um and she was
utterly fascinated by the fact that you
could call relatives across the world
and keep in touch with them you know
while I was in Germany or at the time I
was in um an Arbor Michigan and she
quickly picked it up you know with
somebody with zero um zero knowledge of
Technology she she picked it up um very
quickly and um later on I came the next
year and I taught her how to use a
smartphone and now when I wake up the
first thing I see is her Facebook
messages and her status
updates so I I urge you guys to go out
and uh teach your grandparents or your
parents um how to use phones and uh
social media it's not that hard and it's
it's an enjoyable experience so please
go out there and uh and try it out thank
you
[Applause]
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