How older and younger people see technology in Northern and Southern Europe: Closing the generation gap

Abstract

Background Mental representations of technology can be affected by many social and biological factors. The aim of this study was to test the effects of two of these factors, age and culture, on how people mentally represent and experience technologies by comparing the conceptions of old and young people in Spain and Finland. Both Spain and Finland are European countries, but they are historically, geographically, and culturally very different. Method The study is framed within the life-based design (LBD) paradigm, where culture and age interact to define particular forms of life in which technology might be used and perceived differently. We hypothesised that there are differences in the mental representations of technology of Spanish and Finnish people, but that those differences are mediated by age. Results Our results showed that technology conceptions between the two countries differ when considering older generations. However, when we consider younger generations, the gap between the two countries regarding technology is smaller.