When I recently brought a new iPhone, the rep offered me some deal so that if a new phone came out in something like 90 days after my purchase, I could upgrade to the new phone for free. I laughed because I certainly don’t need to do that. But it reminded me of the standard adoption curve I learned years ago getting my Electrical Engineering degree.
It laid out the curve so that a small minority are early adopters, and similarly small number are late adopters, but most people are right in the middle as neither early or late adopters.
Do you know where you are on this curve?
But here’s why you should be feeling incredible about your learning curve, no matter where you are on the adoption curve. We are living in a world where we often have to adapt to new technology and functionality on a continual basis.
Let’s use my phone as an example. It runs the Apple OS, iOS 17 which was released on September 21, 2023 (thanks to a great MacWorld article for all these details). At the time I’m writing this on October 1, 2024, the iOS has had six major updates and numerous small ones as well.
Some of those are security updates – others update the Stickers, News and Weather apps. The podcast app now does transcription. The App Store changed to comply with EU legislation. Apple delivered a new game, Quartiles and updated ways to track games.
And this is just one example of a smart phone but is representative of the updates we are continually bombarded with. I’m guessing you all have navigated the WordPress changes in addition to your computer changes, social media changes, and maybe even tv updates if you use a smart tv.
In my profession dealing with Microsoft software, we used to have a three-year lifecycle. Microsoft would release the software, usually with 2 or 3 updates during the three-year period and we’d choose when to upgrade a customer to the latest version.
Now the updates/upgrades/changes come on an almost constant basis. There no longer is a choice in many of the things we interact with about what part of the adoption curve we want to be on.
So, if you are feeling unsettled about the world and uncertain about the pace of change, please know you are not alone. More than that, give yourself a huge pat on the back. Your daily learning curve for the tools you use is ongoing and significant. You’re doing great!
You can find me on Instagram and Twitter @wynneleon
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My other projects include my personal blog and my book about my journey to find what fueled my dad’s indelible spark and twinkle can be found on Amazon: Finding My Father’s Faith.
(featured photo from Pexels)