42の壁
Internet Journal『11/30 ハイテク・ガジェットについていけなくなるのは、きっかり42歳から！』(cache)
元ネタと思えそうなものを検索して見つかったのは、PayPal UK Media CentreのLatest News『‘I DON’T NEED ANY HELP!’… UNTIL I’M 42 YEARS OLD』(25 May 2007)？ずいぶん古い話だな。
「年をとるのは知識や経験が増えること」とよく言われるが、コンピューターやMP3プレーヤー、カメラや携帯電話などの最新ガジェットを使いこなすのが困難になるのは、きっかり42歳からであるという興味深い調査結果が報告された。
「PayPal UK」の依頼で、テクノロジー教育のウェブサイト「www.whatisyourtq.com」が消費者1,000人を対象に行った調査によると、42歳になると最新の電子機器を自分でうまく使いこなせなくなり、53歳には状況がさらに悪化して、マニュアルを見ながら自分でなんとかしようという意欲すらも失せ、即座に助けを求めるようになるという。
PayPalのサイトと細かな数字などがかなり違うのであんまり信用は出来ないが、取敢えず面白い結果である。……って面白くもねーよ。最近ちょっと思い当たらんでもないような…。
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英語のほうでの記述のうち、いくつかの興味深い節を引用。
Who we turn to for help with technology problems varies hugely depending on our age.
While a third of Brits (33 per cent) surveyed* rely on ‘trial and error’ when setting a video, DVD or other tech device, at the age of 42 the satisfaction of conquering a gadget through personal ingenuity declines as consumers turn to relatives for help, according to tech education website www.whatisyourtq.com.
By the age of 55, reading a manual loses its appeal and consumers prefer to turn to relatives for help overcoming technology stumbling blocks. Similarly, while the younger generation ask friends for help with new technologies, at 32 years of age more people go to relatives than friends.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the research also shows that more men (40 per cent) than women (26 per cent) are too stubborn to ask for help and would rather persist until they’ve ‘cracked it’. Even when men have thrown the towel in, they won’t ask anyone for help and prefer to work through the manual in search of an answer. In contrast, women are much more open and almost half (45 per cent) will seek guidance from a relative – compared to less than a quarter (23 per cent) of men.
The research also revealed that consumers with children are more confident with technology. A quarter (27 per cent) of Brits without children described themselves as being ‘clueless’ when it come to technology, compared to only one in ten (9 per cent) of those with kids.
