Since the 1960s, there has been the idea of the “generation gap”. It has always existed, characterized by the differences in child to parent to grandparent. These gaps are becoming even more evident as technology increases, providing more separation between generations as they struggle to keep up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_gap

Technology is moving at such a rapid pace that even the latest tech savvy generations can find it hard to keep current. The older generations find it even harder, especially if they did not receive some sort of technical schooling early in life.

As technology increases, the world becomes smaller. Ideas and thoughts are spread faster. The people from the latest generations can interact with each other in unheard of ways compared to the older generations. Most of the latest generation are no longer separated geographically from each other. The west coast can interact with the east coast. The US can interact with European and Asian countries without delay. Technology for the latest generations has obliterated barriers that existed for earlier generations.

The early generations have all the present technology available to them, but it is entirely different from what they grew up learning. Grandparents today can still remember when they finally put a telephone in their house. The current generation has grown up being able to have a telephone in their pocket. The technology curve is so steep that for some generations, it simply is not worth the climb at this point.

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