“Ladies and gentlemen, I salute you. I stand before you to discuss the various reasons why aged people are inhibited from learning new things related to technology. When we grow older, our brains have been conditioned to believe in the old cliché that ‘you cannot teach old dog new tricks.’ Unfortunately, the saying has been proven to be true with time. The older generation is not on par with the current developments in technology and as a result, may lack interest in trying to adapt. This would explain why the majority of the older adults in nursing homes prefer engaging in real-life activities such as playing a game of chess, scrabble, and drafts rather than listening to music on their phones. Many older people find it difficult and tiresome to engage in technology-related matters, not because of their age but because these individuals made a rational decision to stop learning.
Scholars such as Janacsek, Fiser, and Nemeth (2012) elaborate that the right age to introduce people to sports and technology is at a younger age of about 12 years. The authors used a sequence of learning to gather pertinent information from five groups of ages ranging from 11 years to 39 years. The total number of people used by the study was 288 people (Janacsek, Fiser, & Nemeth, 2012). The method was efficient in proving information required within a short period of time. However, the sample used was small and data collected may be prejudiced. The reason is that, during such a young age, the children are still developing and have an inquisitive mind that is eager to learn as compared to an elderly individual who has seen the hurdles of life and is mentally exhausted (Janacsek, Fiser, & Nemeth, 2012). The article elaborates that new skills such as music and art are also best taught at an earlier age. Therefore the article further proves that it is difficult for older people to grasp new information especially one that he or she is unfamiliar with the concept. Therefore, it not advisable to impart new knowledge unto age people because unless the specific individuals are familiar with the skills or information shared, they will not absorb any concept
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Additionally, Clark, Freedberg, Hazeltine, and Voss (2015) argue that old age is greatly associated with a decrease in the ability to learn and maintain new information. The article concludes that learning technical tasks better conducted when the individual is at a younger age that is between 10 to 24 years and not during their old age. The method of study was adequate in providing sufficient information although due to the large number, a lot of time was consumed (Clark, Freedberg, Hazeltine, & Voss, 2015). The reason is that the part of the human brain responsible for remembering and grasping new data in a senior has been suppressed and made inactive by the years’ worth of information already obtained. The rationale also explains why older men and women tend to forget easily and are susceptible to partial or even full-blown amnesia (Clark, Freedberg, Hazeltine, & Voss, 2015). Thus, one may conclude that feeding the elderly with new information can be equated to almost burdening them with a new task which mentally exhausts them. The journal efficiently advices that nurses should refrain from burdening their care patients with relatively new and complex technical information as the process is strenuous.
In summary, authors Boulton-Lewis, Buys, and Lovie-Kitchin (2006) emphasize further on the matter stating that although learning is an important activity to human beings, it should not be used to create discomfort to people especially the elderly persons. The research method they used was a survey which was conducted on a group of 2620 Australian nationals between the ages of 50 to 90. The article researches employees of various working places and concludes that during training, the younger and rejuvenated workers portray a higher rate of understanding as opposed to the elderly employees present (Boulton-Lewis, Buys, & Lovie-Kitchin, 2006). This is because as people age, their brains become more rigid towards absorbing new information even though the skills and knowledge imparted are intended to make their lives more convenient. Hence, the journal stresses that instead of actively stressing the patients with new technology appliances and information of how to operate them, nurses are recommended to help these individuals by providing a stress-free and nurturing environment that adds to the quality of life they live (Boulton-Lewis, Buys, & Lovie-Kitchin, 2006). Thank you for lending me your valuable time; it is my sincere hope that the information shared today has been helpful.”
References
Boulton-Lewis, G., Buys, L., & Lovie-Kitchin, J. (2006). Learning and Active Aging. Educational Gerontology , 32 (4), 271-282.
Clark, R., Freedberg, M., Hazeltine, E., & Voss, M. W. (2015). Are There Age-Related Differences in the Ability to Learn Configural Responses? PLOS ONE, 10(8), e0137260.
Janacsek, K., Fiser, J., & Nemeth, D. (2012). The best time to acquire new skills: age-related differences in implicit sequence learning across the human lifespan. Developmental Science , 15 (4), 496-505.
