The "dialect not hierarchy" reframe is the useful one here. Most of these generational tech pieces end up scolding one side or flattering the other, but treating it as vocabulary that got set during a specific window takes the judgment out of it entirely. Nobody chose their formative tech, they just absorbed whatever was around at 18.
The actionable step of matching your message to the person instead of your own default is the part people will actually skip, though. It's simple advice, but doing it requires remembering to override your own comfort every single time, which is harder than it sounds after the fifth unanswered call.
Do you find people resist matching the other generation's method because it feels like they're the one who has to adapt, even when they're not wrong about phone calls being more personal?
Possibly the most helpful post I've read in...well, a very long time.
I might add that for those that are neurodivergent, emojis are useful for conveying facial expressions that are missing in (sometimes hurried) text messages. They help avoid misunderstandings. 😊
The "dialect not hierarchy" reframe is the useful one here. Most of these generational tech pieces end up scolding one side or flattering the other, but treating it as vocabulary that got set during a specific window takes the judgment out of it entirely. Nobody chose their formative tech, they just absorbed whatever was around at 18.
The actionable step of matching your message to the person instead of your own default is the part people will actually skip, though. It's simple advice, but doing it requires remembering to override your own comfort every single time, which is harder than it sounds after the fifth unanswered call.
Do you find people resist matching the other generation's method because it feels like they're the one who has to adapt, even when they're not wrong about phone calls being more personal?
Overriding my comfort definitely gets harder and harder!
For me too!
Possibly the most helpful post I've read in...well, a very long time.
I might add that for those that are neurodivergent, emojis are useful for conveying facial expressions that are missing in (sometimes hurried) text messages. They help avoid misunderstandings. 😊
Thanks, Erika - glad you enjoyed it! 👍
I forgot to add that it’s Week 7 of the “Across Generations” series. I’ll fix that on TheSeniorTechie.com.