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Dads can’t keep up with techno-sons

Many British fathers are struggling to keep up with their sons when it comes to the latest technology

LONDON: A third generation feel more at home with portable radios than with CD, Minidisc and MP3 players, according to a national survey commissioned by Stuff Live.

In comparison, sons aged 16 to 24 are more likely to try out new technology and think broadband internet is the greatest invention of the 21st century. The most techno-savvy young men in the country live in the Midlands, with MP3s topping their list of favourites. But when it comes to entertainment, dads joined sons in citing Sony’s PlayStation 2 as their preferred games console. Some dads still cling to hazy retro memories. The survey found that the Sinclair ZX Spectrum was their third favourite gaming device, even though it is long extinct.

Have a play: Tom Dunmore, editor of Stuff magazine, is not surprised by the results. He told BBC News Online there has always been a generational divide with technology: “In the last 10 years there has been a real digital revolution from digital radio to TV,” he says. “The younger generation has grown up with it while it’s happening but for their dad’s generation, it’s a lot harder to get to grips with.”

He thinks dads should make more of an effort to find out about new technologies because they are not as complicated as they might think.

Get over it: The easiest way to get dads familiar with new technology is to put the toys in their hands so they can have a play. “Once there, they realise how easy they are to use. If we take VHS video recorders as an example - which lots of dads say is one of their favourite bits of technology - they are actually really hard to use. “The latest personal video recorders are incredibly easy to use,” says Mr Dunmore.

Part of the problem seems to be “geek-speak” and acronyms, which often do not mean much to your average dad. Manufacturers need to de-mystify products and make more of the “retro cool” which evidently still appeals to the older generation. They also need to show them what new technologies can do for them, says Mr Dunmore.

The message for dads is clear, says Mr Dunmore, look at technology like quick-changing, disposable fashion. Have fun with it and move away from the slippers and pipe. The independent survey of 119 young men between 16 and 24 and 354 dads aged 35 to 45 was commissioned ahead of September’s Stuff Live 2003 exhibition in London. —BBC

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