Metzler's Week 7 Aha?

After completing a bit of research this week I found that I fit the over-50 demographic nicely in terms of connectivity and social networking/  The aha in this is that I'm only in my early 40s.  I've often thought folks in the younger generations were hyperconnected -- the archetypal teenager you see watching TV with an iPod plugged into his ears, texting while carrying on several IM/chat conversations as he updates his Facebook status.  That's certainly not me, but I had no idea I was so out of step with people my own age.  I tend to text less than 10 times per day, engage in fewer non-work phone conversations, occasionally log into Facebook, and I never Tweet.  I'm perfectly comfortable with this, but oddly, I'm an outlier in my age group. 

I find that I'm online and networking the most as a requirement for our class.  The blogging, research, and projects we're involved in have caused a dramatic spike in my digital media use.  There was a time when this would have concerned me -- I'm one of those linear thinkers Niel Postman wrote about, but the more I learn about our new connected way of life and learning, the more comfortable with it I become.  A certain amount of digital savvy is a necessity today, especially if one's objective is to become roundly educated. 

I suspect the transition from text media to digital media is similar to the old salty firefighters of a bygone era lamenting the change from horse drawn steamers to those new-fangled gasoline powered fire trucks.