Among the doomsayers and Luddites at Sydney’s Media140 conference (see my earlier review here) this week there were some positive people, some on stage, but more again in the audience.

Without the benefit of actually undertaking a study (fact gathering that apparently only heritage media can do according to many at the conference) there was something else that struck me about the rift between those subscribing to the Said Hanrahan view of the media landscape, and those who see a positive future: age.

It’s not a strict cut because there is some crossover, but those with a negative outlook were nearly exclusively mid 30s or older. Those with a more positive outlook went the other way, at least among the people I spoke to at the event.

Could it be that the digital natives get it, but the rest don’t, at least proportionately to their age, the older they are the less likely they get it?

Motive

To suggest that it may be age alone though might ignore motive vs knowledge. It is probably true that some simply feel threatened by the new and react to it based on a lack of