7 ms·

Is It OK for Employers to Seek Out ‘Digital Natives’?

delinka 11y ago
I am a digital native. I grew up with a computer. I obtained digital connectivity through acquaintances and friends. I got "online" before the Internet existed. I was on a team that wrote one of the first Internet-enabled fantasy sports websites. I've watched my peers (some younger, some older) re-invent the breakthroughs of the 1960s and 1970s and call it these reinventions "brand new." I am a digital native with decades of experience living in the digital frontiers. Yes, plural.
- ukigumo 11y ago
  Likewise, and also quite likely we are some of many thousands. Unfortunately I think in this case there are some people re-inventing the meaning of "digital" to signify young. Enough grumpiness for one day, I'll go organize my Casio collection now.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
  You are supposed to abandon logic before tossing "digital native" around, so I'm not sure you are using it in the same context as the article.
- walshemj 11y ago
  so do you think Bill Gates and Woz would qualify :-)
  - raverbashing 11y ago
    Neither Woz nor Bill Gates used Agile and TDD in their developments Neither knows what "the market" demands, no Ruby, no JS, no Java, etc. Maybe they know C, Fortran or 6502/8080 Assembly (recruiter rolls eyes) So, "thanks for your time and we'll contact you"
    - walshemj 11y ago
      I recently called up a recruiter who was looking for a C++ developer to port some Fortran CFD code - realy just for a laugh. Though why the cant they give a developer a copy of McCracken and tell them to learn the language - which was what I did when I left school
petercooper 11y ago
I didn't use that specific term because it sounds as stupid as "rockstar" or "ninja", but when I was hiring recently I only used Facebook ads (which you could target to specific genders or ages, if you wanted - I only targeted by location) and stressed that the job(s) required someone comfortable with the Internet, social media, and Internet culture (which, indeed, they do). I only got applications from people in their mid 20s and younger but found the right people for the job.
- ukigumo 11y ago
  Out of curiosity, if you had received an application from a 40 something who has been "digital" since before the internet was deemed a human right, would you have felt comfortable hiring him?
  - walshemj 11y ago
    Seconded I have been working in online since before the internet became mainstream Viewdata Telecom Gold/Dialcom.
  - petercooper 11y ago
    Yes. The added experience would have been a plus.
    - ukigumo 11y ago
      That's good to hear. Hope your project works out!
- taprun 11y ago
  That's interesting! I would have predicted that "digital natives" would be the most likely to use ad blockers (thus not seeing the ads at all)...
  - walshemj 11y ago
    or just be passive consumers of apps on smart phones with a cargo cult level of knowledge.
taprun 11y ago
The title is very misleading and an example of linkbait. It should be something like "Can Employers Request Traits That Older Folks Are Unlikely to Possess?"
- angli 11y ago
  Not really. Think what you will of the merits of the article, but it makes specific reference in the opening sentence to the fact that "digital native has been used to refer to a member of the younger generation weaned on the web and immersed in the language of digital technology," and the example it signifies is an employer ignoring older applicants because of their age rather than their skillsets. I'm not sure how I feel about the issue, but it seems fairly appropriately titled and asking a narrow question. If I clicked on an article with the title you suggest, I'd expect a discussion of broader issues – manual labor's physical requirements as job criteria, for example.
  - oh_sigh 11y ago
    Why not just say "digitally fluent", or something like that? Discriminating against someone based solely on the year they were born seems illegal(IANAL) and just plain wrong.
    - 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
      Although you have to wonder how places with right laws compete with places with wrong laws. Oh I know. You make another law to fix that?
      - oh_sigh 11y ago
        Not quite sure what your point is. What are these "right laws" and "wrong laws"?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- oh_sigh 11y ago
0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
A company seeking 'Digital Natives' would be the company where Dilbert's boss works.
jcadam 11y ago
I'm in my mid-30s, grew up tinkering/programming/etc., but I have to admit I just don't get social media. But then I'm not a very sociable person in general. My wife (not a techie), however, is all over facebook/pinterest/twitter/etc. doing God knows what while I'm coding all day. How I learned of the existence of Pinterest: Me: "Where did you say you posted that thing?" Wife (annoyed): "Pinterest" "Your what?" "Pinterest" "WTF is Pinterest?" "Seriously?!" edit: Pintrest, Pinterest, eh?
- MorningInfidel 11y ago
  You've just described my girlfriend and I with uncanny precision
- krick 11y ago
  Pinterest, btw.
  - jcadam 11y ago
    see what I mean?
- raverbashing 11y ago
  Oh you don't get social media? You're using one right now.
  - davesque 11y ago
    This is a web page, sonny. Pretty much as simple as they were in '92.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
    - raverbashing 11y ago
      The technology doesn't matter From Wikipedia "Social media are computer-mediated tools that allow people to create, share or exchange information, ideas, and pictures/videos in virtual communities and networks." (Someone added "Web 2.0" later there but it's immaterial. Well, HN lets you vote without refreshing the page, I guess that's "Web 2.0") The content is driven by users, either by creating (FB, Twitter) and/or curating it (Pinterest AND HN) -> Social Media
rayiner 11y ago
The term "digital native" irks me for another reason, which is the presumption that younger people have a better understanding of technology than older people. Kids these days understand the Facebook and the Twitter, but they're deeply insulated from how computers actually work. One thing my wife pointed out to me is that her teenaged siblings have a lot more trouble finding things on Google than she does, because they don't remember constructing search terms from back before Google got (relatively) good at parsing natural language.
- davesque 11y ago
  They know Facebook but they don't know pointers :).
- chadgeidel 11y ago
  To your point about young people not actually having a better understanding of technology I really think the question should be "Should employers should seek out 'Logical/Rational natives'". It's frustrating to see folks (young and old alike - I don't think this is related to age or knowledge of tech) with a complete lack of critical thinking when using powerful search tools. I incorrectly assume that more access to information implies a greater level of critical thinking. I think this is probably due to my engineering educational background - I'm not an engineer myself, but it was drummed into me at my engineering-heavy university.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  > Kids these days understand the Facebook and the Twitter, but they're deeply insulated from how computers actually work. I agree and it reminds me of an excellent rant on that topic: http://coding2learn.org/blog/2013/07/29/kids-cant-use-computers/ http://coding2learn.org/blog/2013/07/29/kids-cant-use-comput....
  - Redoubts 11y ago
    It scares me that that article was written in 2013. It sounds like it came out of 2003.
- 11y ago
funkyy 11y ago
Is it OK for Employers to seek out employee they want? Yes, their business, their decision.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
  Exactly, I hope the fairness enforcement lawyers don't get hip to the band listing I saw seeking people under 25—presumably for their drug tolerance?
- mentalbastille 11y ago
  Unless they're discriminating against a protected class, which people over the age of 40 happen to be.
  - SamReidHughes 11y ago
    That just means it's illegal.
- k__ 11y ago
  Also, there isn't an unlimited supply on young people, so many employers have to settle with older ones...
- CountSessine 11y ago
  Is it OK for employers to discriminate based on criteria that the applicant can't reasonably change through education or training, like race or gender? Is that the same as discriminating based on age? Is 'digital native' HR-code for discriminating based on age?
  - mod 11y ago
    Could 'digital native' be used for discrimination? Sure. Is it inherently or obviously used that way? No, not likely. As to the first question, yeah, in many cases it's okay to discriminate based on factors out of the control of applicants. Many disabilities, for instance, will preclude you from many jobs.
jldugger 11y ago
Digital natives do not exist in numbers you think. Fewer than 1 percent of entering freshmen have ever edited a wiki: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hghekXykt-k&feature=youtu.be&t=706 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hghekXykt-k&feature=youtu.be... EDIT: Totally misremembered, its more like 17 percent.
- Toast_ 11y ago
  Why would that even be a metric?
  - CydeWeys 11y ago
    Editing a wiki is the kind of experience that is much more valuable to employers than social networking or most common online activities for most occupations, with the exception of marketing/PR-specific roles. Collaborative work on a wiki involves teamwork, research, editing, effective communication, and a whole host of other skills that are useful in a business setting. Blabbing to your friends on Facebook or Twitter doesn't develop these skills.
    - jldugger 11y ago
      Plus, people who edit Wikipedia are less likely to put too much faith in it when doing research.
    - Toast_ 11y ago
      My first thought if I was hiring, and a prospect noted that they were experienced in editing wikis, is that they were involved in blackhat SEO.
  - jldugger 11y ago
    It's certainly an advanced skill compared to taking a Facebook quiz, but I think it clarifies the assumptions people have about young people, that they know all the computer things because they grew up using them. That's really not the case. If you want an alternative metric, something like 1 in 3 entering freshmen don't know what the BCC feature does in email. We know that pretty much everyone uses email daily (despite what they tell parents and teachers), so it cannot be that immersion alone leads to proficiency, or that proficiency cannot be learned as an adult. If you want to rate candidates by skill, by all means do so, just don't go the extra discriminatory step of saying old people by definition cannot pass your measurement, and that young people by definition do.
kefka 11y ago
Digital Native, eh? I've been on the Internet since '86, when my dad was at school at Purdue. I had a commodore 64, and 2 1541 drives. One was hacked by me for bootlegging. I did the BBS'es but found them boring when compared to the 'net. I could also get into newsgroups which had a wealth of knowledge and the connections to talk to the greats of CompSci. I remember when we got our first dialup service, back when there here dozens of ISPs, and when Windows didn't have an IP layer. I remember setting up my own FreeBSD server to handle networking and dialup mediation (was 13). I lucked in at an auction and got a SunSparc lunchbox. Crazy computer. I obtained my amateur radio license, as well as learning about analog circuitry and tubes. That's old, even by the previous generation's standards. And yet, I now 3d print tube sockets for my 300+ collection of tubes. Hard to buy them these days, so I make them. Oh, and I'm also good at 3d design. I saw the advent of Google, and how it overtook Yahoo, Altavista, Lycos, and other older search engines. I remember Napster, Kazaa, and others. I still have the first file ever bittorrented, porn. I remember when I heard about the Harvard social network, The Facebook. I knew it would kill MySpace, even then. I'm 33. Am I too old for "Digital Native"?
butterfi 11y ago
The term "Digital Native" is one of my biggest pet peeves. I once asked Howard Rhinegold if he felt there was any justification to the "digital natives" idea and he expressed that in his experience in teaching freshmen at both Stanford and Cal, there was no such person. I started playing with computers in the late 70's. Got my first job working in video arcades in the early 80's. Got my webmaster job in '94. If my kids are digital natives, what does that make me? edited for clarity
protomyth 11y ago
No, employers are not allowed to come up with a code word that allows them to exclusively hire younger people. Switch "digital native" with "millennial" and see how that fairs in court. Also, I really resent the implication on this one, like many in this thread. I grew up with a computer and digital communications before the internet.
balls187 11y ago
"Smart, talented, and can get the job done." That's what I look for. Also: "Can they be coached?" "Do they need coaching?" "How is their personality?" "How do they display passion?"
ichbinant 11y ago
When I hear "digital native", I think of a generation familiar with Snapchat, Instagram, Vine, etc... So they would -somehow- be more familiar with creating content for those platforms. I don't think it's an age issue. Or else how can you not call someone who has been in the IT business for 30 years a "digital native"? It is about what part of that "digital" you are dealing with.
alexqgb 11y ago
FWIW, Tim Berners Lee wasn't a "digital native" and he understood the web well enough to invent it.
srryaccntcrtn 11y ago
Even though I'm a millenial guy myself but one of those pioneers of the generation - no not a 90s kid - and I still feel that younger folks than me are at advantage compared to us we slightly older folks when it comes to technology. I have not taken computers seriously till 2000 and the internet not before 2005 (The broadband revolution took some time to enter my country of origin) and as we might all know, the web back then was more or less pathetic thanks to MSIE monopoly and the resulting stagnation. So, I didn't take web development seriously back then and I waited for the thing to explode and rise meteorically before jumping the bandwagon and therefore I'm kind of behind the curve when it staying updated of all the ongoing developments in the field compared to my younger peers who are more "digital native" to these technologies than me and therefore less suitable for "young" jobs in startups or orgs. I think we should accept that our field favors young talents like pro sports and athletics and everyone of us has a "shelf life" in a certain role in the organization and that he/she should strive to move the higher rank in managerial or lead position as soon as possible before getting displaced by younger talents who are fresh, ambitious, eager to learn and achieve and have high exposure to all the new "fancy" and "shiny" technologies that the market demands at the time.

I am a digital native. I grew up with a computer. I obtained digital connectivity through acquaintances and friends. I got "online" before the Internet existed. I was on a team that wrote one of the first Internet-enabled fantasy sports websites. I've watched my peers (some younger, some older) re-invent the breakthroughs of the 1960s and 1970s and call it these reinventions "brand new." I am a digital native with decades of experience living in the digital frontiers. Yes, plural.

ukigumo 11y ago
Likewise, and also quite likely we are some of many thousands. Unfortunately I think in this case there are some people re-inventing the meaning of "digital" to signify young. Enough grumpiness for one day, I'll go organize my Casio collection now.
0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
You are supposed to abandon logic before tossing "digital native" around, so I'm not sure you are using it in the same context as the article.
walshemj 11y ago
so do you think Bill Gates and Woz would qualify :-)
- raverbashing 11y ago
  Neither Woz nor Bill Gates used Agile and TDD in their developments Neither knows what "the market" demands, no Ruby, no JS, no Java, etc. Maybe they know C, Fortran or 6502/8080 Assembly (recruiter rolls eyes) So, "thanks for your time and we'll contact you"
  - walshemj 11y ago
    I recently called up a recruiter who was looking for a C++ developer to port some Fortran CFD code - realy just for a laugh. Though why the cant they give a developer a copy of McCracken and tell them to learn the language - which was what I did when I left school

petercooper 11y ago

I didn't use that specific term because it sounds as stupid as "rockstar" or "ninja", but when I was hiring recently I only used Facebook ads (which you could target to specific genders or ages, if you wanted - I only targeted by location) and stressed that the job(s) required someone comfortable with the Internet, social media, and Internet culture (which, indeed, they do). I only got applications from people in their mid 20s and younger but found the right people for the job.

ukigumo 11y ago
Out of curiosity, if you had received an application from a 40 something who has been "digital" since before the internet was deemed a human right, would you have felt comfortable hiring him?
- walshemj 11y ago
  Seconded I have been working in online since before the internet became mainstream Viewdata Telecom Gold/Dialcom.
- petercooper 11y ago
  Yes. The added experience would have been a plus.
  - ukigumo 11y ago
    That's good to hear. Hope your project works out!
taprun 11y ago
That's interesting! I would have predicted that "digital natives" would be the most likely to use ad blockers (thus not seeing the ads at all)...
- walshemj 11y ago
  or just be passive consumers of apps on smart phones with a cargo cult level of knowledge.

taprun 11y ago

The title is very misleading and an example of linkbait. It should be something like "Can Employers Request Traits That Older Folks Are Unlikely to Possess?"

angli 11y ago
Not really. Think what you will of the merits of the article, but it makes specific reference in the opening sentence to the fact that "digital native has been used to refer to a member of the younger generation weaned on the web and immersed in the language of digital technology," and the example it signifies is an employer ignoring older applicants because of their age rather than their skillsets. I'm not sure how I feel about the issue, but it seems fairly appropriately titled and asking a narrow question. If I clicked on an article with the title you suggest, I'd expect a discussion of broader issues – manual labor's physical requirements as job criteria, for example.
- oh_sigh 11y ago
  Why not just say "digitally fluent", or something like that? Discriminating against someone based solely on the year they were born seems illegal(IANAL) and just plain wrong.
  - 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
    Although you have to wonder how places with right laws compete with places with wrong laws. Oh I know. You make another law to fix that?
    - oh_sigh 11y ago
      Not quite sure what your point is. What are these "right laws" and "wrong laws"?
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
oh_sigh 11y ago

0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago

A company seeking 'Digital Natives' would be the company where Dilbert's boss works.

jcadam 11y ago

I'm in my mid-30s, grew up tinkering/programming/etc., but I have to admit I just don't get social media. But then I'm not a very sociable person in general. My wife (not a techie), however, is all over facebook/pinterest/twitter/etc. doing God knows what while I'm coding all day. How I learned of the existence of Pinterest: Me: "Where did you say you posted that thing?" Wife (annoyed): "Pinterest" "Your what?" "Pinterest" "WTF is Pinterest?" "Seriously?!" edit: Pintrest, Pinterest, eh?

MorningInfidel 11y ago
You've just described my girlfriend and I with uncanny precision
krick 11y ago
Pinterest, btw.
- jcadam 11y ago
  see what I mean?
raverbashing 11y ago
Oh you don't get social media? You're using one right now.
- davesque 11y ago
  This is a web page, sonny. Pretty much as simple as they were in '92.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - raverbashing 11y ago
    The technology doesn't matter From Wikipedia "Social media are computer-mediated tools that allow people to create, share or exchange information, ideas, and pictures/videos in virtual communities and networks." (Someone added "Web 2.0" later there but it's immaterial. Well, HN lets you vote without refreshing the page, I guess that's "Web 2.0") The content is driven by users, either by creating (FB, Twitter) and/or curating it (Pinterest AND HN) -> Social Media

rayiner 11y ago

The term "digital native" irks me for another reason, which is the presumption that younger people have a better understanding of technology than older people. Kids these days understand the Facebook and the Twitter, but they're deeply insulated from how computers actually work. One thing my wife pointed out to me is that her teenaged siblings have a lot more trouble finding things on Google than she does, because they don't remember constructing search terms from back before Google got (relatively) good at parsing natural language.

davesque 11y ago
They know Facebook but they don't know pointers :).
chadgeidel 11y ago
To your point about young people not actually having a better understanding of technology I really think the question should be "Should employers should seek out 'Logical/Rational natives'". It's frustrating to see folks (young and old alike - I don't think this is related to age or knowledge of tech) with a complete lack of critical thinking when using powerful search tools. I incorrectly assume that more access to information implies a greater level of critical thinking. I think this is probably due to my engineering educational background - I'm not an engineer myself, but it was drummed into me at my engineering-heavy university.
TeMPOraL 11y ago
> Kids these days understand the Facebook and the Twitter, but they're deeply insulated from how computers actually work. I agree and it reminds me of an excellent rant on that topic: http://coding2learn.org/blog/2013/07/29/kids-cant-use-computers/ http://coding2learn.org/blog/2013/07/29/kids-cant-use-comput....
- Redoubts 11y ago
  It scares me that that article was written in 2013. It sounds like it came out of 2003.
11y ago

funkyy 11y ago

Is it OK for Employers to seek out employee they want? Yes, their business, their decision.

0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
Exactly, I hope the fairness enforcement lawyers don't get hip to the band listing I saw seeking people under 25—presumably for their drug tolerance?
mentalbastille 11y ago
Unless they're discriminating against a protected class, which people over the age of 40 happen to be.
- SamReidHughes 11y ago
  That just means it's illegal.
k__ 11y ago
Also, there isn't an unlimited supply on young people, so many employers have to settle with older ones...
CountSessine 11y ago
Is it OK for employers to discriminate based on criteria that the applicant can't reasonably change through education or training, like race or gender? Is that the same as discriminating based on age? Is 'digital native' HR-code for discriminating based on age?
- mod 11y ago
  Could 'digital native' be used for discrimination? Sure. Is it inherently or obviously used that way? No, not likely. As to the first question, yeah, in many cases it's okay to discriminate based on factors out of the control of applicants. Many disabilities, for instance, will preclude you from many jobs.

jldugger 11y ago

Digital natives do not exist in numbers you think. Fewer than 1 percent of entering freshmen have ever edited a wiki: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hghekXykt-k&feature=youtu.be&t=706 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hghekXykt-k&feature=youtu.be... EDIT: Totally misremembered, its more like 17 percent.

Toast_ 11y ago
Why would that even be a metric?
- CydeWeys 11y ago
  Editing a wiki is the kind of experience that is much more valuable to employers than social networking or most common online activities for most occupations, with the exception of marketing/PR-specific roles. Collaborative work on a wiki involves teamwork, research, editing, effective communication, and a whole host of other skills that are useful in a business setting. Blabbing to your friends on Facebook or Twitter doesn't develop these skills.
  - jldugger 11y ago
    Plus, people who edit Wikipedia are less likely to put too much faith in it when doing research.
  - Toast_ 11y ago
    My first thought if I was hiring, and a prospect noted that they were experienced in editing wikis, is that they were involved in blackhat SEO.
- jldugger 11y ago
  It's certainly an advanced skill compared to taking a Facebook quiz, but I think it clarifies the assumptions people have about young people, that they know all the computer things because they grew up using them. That's really not the case. If you want an alternative metric, something like 1 in 3 entering freshmen don't know what the BCC feature does in email. We know that pretty much everyone uses email daily (despite what they tell parents and teachers), so it cannot be that immersion alone leads to proficiency, or that proficiency cannot be learned as an adult. If you want to rate candidates by skill, by all means do so, just don't go the extra discriminatory step of saying old people by definition cannot pass your measurement, and that young people by definition do.

kefka 11y ago

Digital Native, eh? I've been on the Internet since '86, when my dad was at school at Purdue. I had a commodore 64, and 2 1541 drives. One was hacked by me for bootlegging. I did the BBS'es but found them boring when compared to the 'net. I could also get into newsgroups which had a wealth of knowledge and the connections to talk to the greats of CompSci. I remember when we got our first dialup service, back when there here dozens of ISPs, and when Windows didn't have an IP layer. I remember setting up my own FreeBSD server to handle networking and dialup mediation (was 13). I lucked in at an auction and got a SunSparc lunchbox. Crazy computer. I obtained my amateur radio license, as well as learning about analog circuitry and tubes. That's old, even by the previous generation's standards. And yet, I now 3d print tube sockets for my 300+ collection of tubes. Hard to buy them these days, so I make them. Oh, and I'm also good at 3d design. I saw the advent of Google, and how it overtook Yahoo, Altavista, Lycos, and other older search engines. I remember Napster, Kazaa, and others. I still have the first file ever bittorrented, porn. I remember when I heard about the Harvard social network, The Facebook. I knew it would kill MySpace, even then. I'm 33. Am I too old for "Digital Native"?

butterfi 11y ago

The term "Digital Native" is one of my biggest pet peeves. I once asked Howard Rhinegold if he felt there was any justification to the "digital natives" idea and he expressed that in his experience in teaching freshmen at both Stanford and Cal, there was no such person. I started playing with computers in the late 70's. Got my first job working in video arcades in the early 80's. Got my webmaster job in '94. If my kids are digital natives, what does that make me? edited for clarity

protomyth 11y ago

No, employers are not allowed to come up with a code word that allows them to exclusively hire younger people. Switch "digital native" with "millennial" and see how that fairs in court. Also, I really resent the implication on this one, like many in this thread. I grew up with a computer and digital communications before the internet.

balls187 11y ago

"Smart, talented, and can get the job done." That's what I look for. Also: "Can they be coached?" "Do they need coaching?" "How is their personality?" "How do they display passion?"

ichbinant 11y ago

When I hear "digital native", I think of a generation familiar with Snapchat, Instagram, Vine, etc... So they would -somehow- be more familiar with creating content for those platforms. I don't think it's an age issue. Or else how can you not call someone who has been in the IT business for 30 years a "digital native"? It is about what part of that "digital" you are dealing with.

alexqgb 11y ago

FWIW, Tim Berners Lee wasn't a "digital native" and he understood the web well enough to invent it.

srryaccntcrtn 11y ago

Even though I'm a millenial guy myself but one of those pioneers of the generation - no not a 90s kid - and I still feel that younger folks than me are at advantage compared to us we slightly older folks when it comes to technology. I have not taken computers seriously till 2000 and the internet not before 2005 (The broadband revolution took some time to enter my country of origin) and as we might all know, the web back then was more or less pathetic thanks to MSIE monopoly and the resulting stagnation. So, I didn't take web development seriously back then and I waited for the thing to explode and rise meteorically before jumping the bandwagon and therefore I'm kind of behind the curve when it staying updated of all the ongoing developments in the field compared to my younger peers who are more "digital native" to these technologies than me and therefore less suitable for "young" jobs in startups or orgs. I think we should accept that our field favors young talents like pro sports and athletics and everyone of us has a "shelf life" in a certain role in the organization and that he/she should strive to move the higher rank in managerial or lead position as soon as possible before getting displaced by younger talents who are fresh, ambitious, eager to learn and achieve and have high exposure to all the new "fancy" and "shiny" technologies that the market demands at the time.