Will the same happen to us?
Or will we stay young forever?

It has only been on my mind again this morning...
I was visiting my Grandma when she asked me if I could explain to her again, how to add a contact on her phone (the iPhone 7).

Of course, I explained it to her and right after I told her that she had to tap on the + on the top right corner, she remembered a lot again and was able to do it on her own.

That got me thinking and also a little scared...

Because since we are all "digital natives"¹ (generation Y, millennials, ...) we got born into the digital world or at least grew up in it sooner or later, it means that we will always have a head start into digital stuff.
We already have this kind of common knowledge about digital interfaces etc.
To us applies what they call the design law of experience².
The law explains, for example, how we don't need the exact same interface in every app because we use the experience and knowledge from other apps to get along in the new app.

An isolated + isn't just a lonely, red plus in a corner; it's a symbol that tells us that we can add here something.

A ☰ in a corner isn't just a random accumulation of lines, it's a symbol that tells us that we can find a navigation here.

But the law of experience doesn't only apply on interfaces... it also applies on hardware – on everything.

When we get a new phone we automatically know: the isolated button is to turn it off and on, two buttons (mostly on the opposite side) are to change the volume.

What is more important today, in a generation that is only getting older? To give hard- and software a high affordance³ for everyone or to make them look good?

I notice almost every day that older generations don't have all this experience... they're what they call "digital immigrants"¹, people that weren't born into a digital world, but were instead introduced to it when they were already adults.

That scares me a little because it makes me think of what I might become when I'm old... probably not a digital immigrant, since I grew up with the internet etc., but what if I become an "augmented" or "virtual immigrant"? Those technologies have been around us and in development for years, even decades⁴ but I never really used or cared about them since I don't have the required hardware or money to buy the needed hardware.

I don't really want to become an old grumpy person who doesn't know how to use the latest or in some decades even the most normal technology... because who knows what'll be available and cheap and completely common to use?

That, of course, is only one possible direction. The possibilities are endless!
What if software and interfaces actually become so user-friendly that really everyone can use them without any problems? Or what will happen when the last generation that didn't grow up with something digital from a young age dies out in some years? I know it sounds harsh but we both know that it will happen eventually.

Will it speed up the development of technologies? Will it slow them down or will everything continue like now?
Maybe someday we will all wear "Smart Lenses"⁵ which will be able to display whole Interfaces in front of us, which we will then control with our hands or maybe even with our sheer thoughts?

At least right now, that generation is slowing things down, if anything... according to reports⁶ more than 70% of over 70-year-old persons are still without an internet connection and feeling discriminated by businesses because of that, since a lot of offers nowadays are no longer available if you buy them "in person" but are instead online only. It is because of this generation that businesses can only grow so slowly in the digital world.

The opinions on this topic are very different. On the one side, there is the argument that businesses should adapt and be more cooperative with "offliners", because internet and computers or smartphones cost a lot of money and the pensions are so incredibly low.
On the other side is the argument that old people should adapt to modern times because statistically speaking, old people are the most eager consumers in Germany⁶ since they are "the richest pensioner generation ever"⁷.

Personally, I will stay with the last argument. The internet isn't a luxury anymore these days. You can get it for little money if you choose the right provider.
And smartphones or computers can also be really cheap. You don't need a 2000€ MacBook Pro to browse the web.

I asked a lot of questions in this entry but I guess to really know, how the future will evolve, we all just have to wait, observe and try to stay updated to find out!