At what age do we decide we can’t learn anything new?

I’m saddened to see people who have chosen to be left behind by today’s technology.

photo from Pixabay

When I offered a woman a visit on Zoom to share with her some information she wanted that would help her with her memoir writing project she wrote, “Zoom and I don’t get along.”

Another woman wrote, “I clicked the link and got into the meeting, but there was no sound and I didn’t know what to do.”

And then there was the man who said, “I can’t do Zoom, and besides those people are making too much money.”

I cannot help but envision a rural farmer a hundred years ago saying about a telephone, “I don’t know how it works, and besides, I don’t need it.”

Ten years ago I emigrated to a Spanish-speaking country. I’ve since noticed among my ex-pat friends a very small number who have learned to speak Spanish. Most of the rest are simply lazy.

So many times I hear, “I’m too old and it’s too hard to learn at this age.” And “It’s easier for young people. It’s much harder for older people to learn a new language.”

So let’s talk about young people.