Thursday, May 29, 2014

A new technology? No thank you – ICI.Radio-Canada.ca

          The story of Catherine Dulude
     

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         Digital technology is gradually gaining ground in all fields of activity. Never mind, some seniors and younger, refuse to take this turn.
     


         The Manitoba farmer Gilles Sabourin, who has spent his life on the family farm, said that if he had not passed the torch to his son Gilbert, he would have struggled to adapt to new working tools. “It has changed a lot in five years, he testifies. I am no longer able to “setter” a machine, it was Gilbert who does. ”
     


         Learn how to use a cell phone is one thing, but knowing how to use an electronic seeder is another. “Maybe I could learn, but I do not want,” admits Mr. Sabourin.
     


         ”The less I know, the better it is, sometimes. But [if I worked] hard, I could learn. But I leave that to the young. ”
          – Gilles Sabourin
     


         For his part, the doctor Philippe Lagacé-Wiens refuses to buy a mobile phone. Still far from retirement age, he still relies to a pager. “It’s a little moral judgment,” he admits, particularly about the owners of smart phones. “I do not know if you’ve seen it, but you’re in a cafe, there are four or five people, but not talking to each other. ”
     


          When you have no choice
     


         Not everyone has the luxury to refuse new technologies. For many industries, “alternative [option] is to adopt the technology or close shop,” says sociology professor Ken Fish, from the University of Winnipeg. “The adoption of any technology in an industry exerts competitive pressure on all other players in the industry to adopt the same technology in order to remain competitive,” said Mr. Fish.
     


         Professor warns against generalizations. It reminds historically older generations were resistant to technological change. He adds, however, that some refractory Instead the impression that these changes rob them of power.
     


         ”Over the generations, there is less need to acquire knowledge, notes the university. Know we had to learn and integrate is now programmed into a computer “that, moreover,” [is produced] by a large corporation with its own interests. ”
     


          constant learning
     


         The radio host Suzanne Kennelly had to learn to use many new software during its 30 years on the airwaves of Radio-Canada Première HERE. “I think that over time, the ability to adapt is less elastic,” she says.
     


         ”It becomes more and more an effort too, can be a source of worry, constantly adapt to these new technologies there. ”
          – Suzanne Kennelly
     


         Now retired, it is a relief for her to not have to worry about being aware of the latest gadgets. She did not abandon her smartphone so far. “My children communicate that way, so if I separate this technology, I somehow separated from my children. ”
     


         ”In today’s society, if the technology is denied, it may be excluded from a number of social relationships,” adds Mr. Fish.
     


          With reporting by Catherine Dulude.
     

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