Youth Think Technology Is Making Us Less Human. But Older Women Disagree!

A global survey towards high-tech attitudes finds that while the younger generation believes technology is having a dehumanizing effect, older women, particularly those in emerging countries, are becoming its biggest champions.

The Intel-commissioned "Intel Innovation Barometer" survey of 12,000 adults from Brazil, China, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan and the United States finds that while millennials (i.e., those aged 18-24) haven't completely given up on technology and believe that it holds the key to one day solving a number of global issues, 61 percent believe that it is currently making people less human.

Despite being the digital native generation, 59 percent of young adults also feel that society has become too reliant on technology.

indiatimes.com

Globally, women over 45 years of age are slightly more likely than younger women to say that people don't use enough technology. They also are more likely to say that technology makes people more human, helping to deepen their relationships.

iol.co.za

This positive attitude peaks in emerging markets. For example, in China, 70 percent of women over 45 believe we aren't using technology enough, while across China, Brazil, India and Indonesia women of all ages believe innovations will drive better education (66%), transportation (58%), work (57%) and healthcare (56%).

Women in emerging markets would also be more willing to sacrifice some privacy in return for better tech services -- 86 percent would be willing to install software that tracks their work habits and 77 percent would be happy to use a smart toilet if it monitored health.

theiet.org

"At first glance it seems millennials are rejecting technology, but I suspect the reality is more complicated and interesting."

redorbit.com

"A different way to read this might be that millennials want technology to do more for them, and we have work to do to make it much more personal and less burdensome."

Indeed, more than one-third of the younger generation (36%) want technology to become more intuitive and contextually aware so that systems, services and devices learn about users and anticipate their needs over time.

This would also explain why millennials are the most willing age group when it comes to anonymously sharing personal information and data because it will improve user experience.

redorbit.com

But as well as disappointment with the current state of tech, the younger generation is overwhelmingly positive about the role it could play in the future and have great hope that innovations will positively impact education (57%), transportation (52%) and healthcare (49%).

ndtv.com