The Impacts of COVID-19 on Technology Use and Experience Across Generations

Among its many downstream effects, the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced how people think about and interact with technology. With limitations and restrictions around in-person interactions and use of public spaces, people are increasingly relying on technology to support everyday activities including work, communication and care. Results from the survey series showed an increased adoption of and interest in home, health and communication technologies. The changes may be long-lived, with the majority of the new adopters saying that they will continue to use the technologies that they started using in response to the pandemic. A generational comparison showed that while baby boomers and the silent generation were less likely than younger adults to have made recent adoptions, the older generations did not significantly differ in terms of interest in using new technologies. This presentation will also report on how COVID-19-related changes in technology experience varied by other demographic and socio-economic characteristics.

Analisis Generation Gap dan Kafkaesque Modern dalam Film A Coffee in Berlin (Generation Gap and Modern Kafkaesque Analysis in A Coffee in Berlin Movie)

AbstrakSetelah Chlöe Swarbrick, seorang politikus asal New Zealand mengungkapkan frasa ‘OK Boomer’ pada pidatonya mengenai perubahan iklim, frasa tersebut marak digunakan di sosial media dalam menanggapi isu perbedaan opini dan pandangan antar generasi. Dalam memahami isu tersebut dibutuhkan pemahaman mengenai fenomena generation gap. Fenomena tersebut tercemin dalam film A Coffee in Berlin (2014) karya Jan-Ole Gerster yang menjadi korpus dalam penelitian. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan aspek pembentuk generation gap dalam film serta kaitannya dengan unsur kafkaesque lalu menghubungkan keduanya dengan simbolisme kopi. Fokus penelitian ini terletak pada interaksi the silent generation, baby boomer dan millennials dan dampaknya terhadap Niko Fischer, tokoh utama dalam film, sebagai milenial. Teori generasi oleh Karl Mannheim, metode kualitatif dengan cara tinjauan pustaka serta pendekatan semiotika digunakan untuk mencari makna dari percakapan dan adegan dalam film. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa fenomena generation gap dalam film mengandung dua relasi kuasa yang berbeda yaitu berupa kekecewaan dan harapan baru bagi milenial. Terdapat pula simbolisme kopi dalam film. Dalam konteks generation gap, kopi menyimbolkan harapan baru bagi generasi muda. Sedangkan dalam konteks kafkaesque kopi tersebut menyimbolkan ironi dan perasaan frustasi untuk mendapatkan sesuatu yang diinginkan Kata kunci: Generation Gap, A Coffee in Berlin, Kafkaesque Modern, Kopi AbstractSince Chlöe Swarbrick, a politician from New Zealand stated the phrase ‘OK Boomer’ in her speech about the climate change, the phrase is now widely used in social media in response to the issue of differences of opinion and views between generations. To understand this issue, we need to understand the phenomenon of generation gap. This phenomenon is reflected in the film A Coffee in Berlin (2014) by Jan-Ole Gerster, which becomes a corpus of this research. This research aims to explain the aspects behind the generation gap phenomenon and its relation to kafkaesque elements with coffee as the media to symbolize both. This research will focus on the generation gap phenomenon between the silent generation, baby boomers, and millennials, as well as the impact felt by Niko Fischer, the main character in the film, as a millennial. Theory of Generations by Karl Mannheim, qualitative methods, literature review and semiotics approach are used to find the meaning from conversation and scences in the film. The results show that the generation gap phenomenon contains two different power relations in the form of dissapointment and new hope for millennials. The generation gap and kafkaesque situations are displayed through coffee symbolism in the film. In the context of the generation gap, coffee symbolizes new hope for younger generation. In the context of kafkaesque, it symbolizes irony and the frustation of obtaining something that is desired. Keywords: Generation Gap, A Coffee in Berlin, Modern Kafkaesque, Coffee

Problems of agency work during the coronavirus crisis: A case of Kazakhstan

The study was carried out based on a survey among 115 Kazakhstani employees and 49 employers to understand attitudes to online employability during the coronavirus crisis and related problems to such format of work. Employees were presented by 32% of Generation Y (born between 1985 and 2002), 44% of Generation X (born between 1964 and 1984), 13% of Baby Boomers (born between 1944 and 1963), and 11% of Silent Generation (born before 1943). As for employers, they were presented by 28% of Generation Y, 51% of Generation X, 16% of Baby Boomers, and 5% of Silent Generation. The result reveals that the format of work has been 46% full-time online, 49% part-time online, 5% mix of full and part-time format. The same pattern was observed among employers with 60% confirming the use of remote online work of staff within the framework of self-isolation, although 31% switched to the part-time online format of work and 9% used a mix of full and part-time. At the same time, only about 7% of the workers and 11% of employers previously had such a practice, and for the majority, such work became an absolutely new experience. Most of 85% of Generation Y and 76% of Generation X have the sufficiency of digital skills and ability to work online, while 42% of Baby Boomers and 67% of Silent Generation experienced difficulties. In terms of problems, both employees and employers prioritize organization policies, communication, and law relationship.

Who Believes What? Singers’ Belief in Vocal Health Information and Misinformation

Information about voice care is abundant, provided by a variety of sources, including books, the internet, and word of mouth. Some information may not be factual, which, if followed, may affect the well-being of a singer’s voice. This article reports on a survey of 386 singers, who responded to 50 statements about voice health practices, stating whether they had heard the statement, and whether they agreed/believed, were unsure, or disagreed/disbelieved. The statements were grouped by their factual nature: Generally Accepted Belief, Previously Accepted Belief, Misconception Likely Benign, and Misconception Potentially Consequential. Singers were divided into Performance Statuses (Professional, Semi-Professional, Amateur) and Generation (Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials). Statistical analysis was performed to compare the responses to the various kinds of statements by Performance Status and by Generation. Amateurs were significantly different from Professionals on the Generally Accepted Belief statements, and Millennials were different from some or all of the other generations on the other three kinds of statements. The authors examined the possible reasons for these differences, providing a cautionary tale regarding the information and misinformation available to singers. Suggestions are/were provided for how teachers can optimize the proliferation of factual information on voice care.

Older Adult Use and Outcomes in a Digital Musculoskeletal (MSK) Program, by Generation

Objective: We investigated use and clinical outcomes in a digital musculoskeletal (MSK) program, by generation.Method: This longitudinal study uses retrospective data collected online or by app. The study included adults with 12 or more weeks of pain who took part in a digital MSK program. We compared Gen Z and Millennials, Gen X, working age Baby Boomers, and retiree age Baby Boomer and Silent Generation. Program use outcomes were program start, program completion, and number of exercises, educational articles, and messages to coaches. Clinical outcomes were changes in pain, depression, and anxiety from baseline to 12 weeks. We calculated descriptive statistics and conducted adjusted regression models.Results: Odds of starting the program were significantly higher for Gen Xers (OR: 1.12) and working age Baby Boomers (OR: 1.37) vs. Gen Zers and Millennials. Compared to Gen Zers and Millennials, we observed significantly higher odds of program completion among Gen Xers (OR: 1.62), working age Baby Boomers (OR: 2.24), and retirees (OR: 2.36). Compared to Gen Zers and Millennials, retirees had 19 more exercise sessions (IRR: 1.69), accessed 11 more articles (IRR: 1.84), and sent 4 more messages to coaches (IRR: 1.26). Compared to Gen Z and Millennials, we observed no significant differences in change in pain for Gen Xers, working age Baby Boomers, or retirees.Conclusions: Adults from multiple generations took part in a digital MSK program. Findings suggest that older generations used a digital MSK program more than younger generations, but had similar pain outcomes.

Social Participation Across Midlife and Later Life: Evidence From the Silent Generation

Despite the well-established benefits of social participation for individuals and communities, little is known about how it varies throughout the life course. Drawing upon data collected between 1957 and 2011 by the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (22,023 observations from a cohort of 6,627), this study provides four valuable results. One, I find evidence of five distinct social participation trajectories between the ages of 35 and 71; the majority of which demonstrate social disengagement over time. Two, these participation declines are primarily attributable to changes in meeting friends and group exercise activity. Three, the most pronounced activity differences separating those in more favorable and unfavorable participation trajectories are cultural event attendance and voluntary group membership. Lastly, I identify particular high school activities that are associated with social participation decades later. In total, these results highlight heterogeneity among different types of social activities, and underscore the possible consequences of membership decisions made in early adulthood.