More than 40 percent adults learn to use technology like smartphones and computers from their children, University Diego Portales researchers found.
Adults are no strangers to technology. Just about every one of them handles a phone or uses a computer. However, findings of a new study suggest that it's most likely that they've learnt it from their children.
University Diego Portales researchers interviewed 14 parent/kid sets and surveyed 242 parent/child sets and found that more than 40 percent of adults learnt to use technology from their children, according to a press statement. It also noted that a lot of self-experimentation also went on among the parents.
Teresa Correa from University Diego Portales found that parents don't always recognize the influence but they constantly turn to their children for help in handling a new device or discovering something new about technology.
Researchers also noted that this was more common among mothers in lower socioeconomic families and it is somewhat similar to what happens in immigrant families where children act as the bridge to the new language and culture
"The fact that this bottom-up technology transmission occurs more frequently among women and lower-SES families has important implications," said Correa in a statement. "Women and poor people usually lag behind in the adoption and usage of technology. Many times, they do not have the means to acquire new technologies but, most importantly, they are less likely to have the knowledge, skills, perceived competence, and positive attitudes toward digital media. These results suggest that schools in lower-income areas should be especially considered in government or foundation-led intervention programs that promote usage of digital media."
Earlier studies on computer and Internet usage reported the presence of a similar bottom-up influential process between younger and older family members.
Findings of the study were published in the Journal of Communication.
