Virtual Age
Sunday, October 14th, 2007I was fascinated by Lisa’s Wednesday blog, which includes a test for determining your virtual age. If you haven’t taken it yet, you should. It analyzes the way you use modern technology to determine your age bracket. It could be a tricky way for HR people to gauge the age of applicants (which is a no-no), but it’s more fun to look at it as a way of judging your technological rather than biological age.
Maybe I like it for the same reason I like it when someone thinks I look 40–because it says I’m younger than I really am. I’ve done a lot of work with pureplays and Internet publishing, so according to this test, I’m Generation Y. That would make me between 7 and 29. I have a 23-year-old daughter, and chronologically I belong in the Baby Boomer category.
An interesting thing about this test is that it assesses you in part by how tech-savvy your family and peers are. For example, you get points for IMing or texting your friends–which means you need to have friends who are willing to IM or text.Â
I recently had to train a couple of women my own age and was shocked to find out that not only did they not have a clue on how to set up an IM client, but that they’d never IM’d anyone before. I guess I’ve been living in the Internet bubble, publishing-wise, while some people who’ve been working in print all along haven’t had the exposure to what’s current, Web-wise. Or it may just be that they’re at the low edge of the Baby Boom and don’t have teenagers yet. Because no matter how old you are, if you’ve had teenage kids during the last decade, you’ve probably at least checked out what they’re being exposed to–YouTube, Web sites, video and music downloads, etc.
They say having kids keeps you young. This quiz suggests that’s true in a whole new way. I sent the link to a bunch of my friends, and so far it’s knocked between 13 and 17 years off the chronological ages of those with teens or 20somethings, but nothing off those with smaller children.
–Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer
