Caseorganic at 13:03, 25 August 2026

2026-08-25T13:03:41Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:03, 25 August 2026
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	~~{{stub}}~~		===Definition===
			"Where the young generation in a family adopts and purchases new technology products at a fast rate, and old versions (that are in working order but are not up to current standards) of that technology product are given to the parents or older generations of the family. Commonly occurs multiple times on commodity technology gadgets, leaving your parents with many gadgets to play with. Called 'hand me up' in contrast to 'hand me down'. Computers: having purchased a new computer to replace my 'slow' computer, I have given it to my grandpa to use. Thus the computer is a 'hand me up'."<ref>"Hand me up." Urban Word of the Day, 5 July 2009. Urban Dictionary. Accessed 9 November 2012. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Hand%20me%20up</ref>

	~~Have You Heard About Hand~~-Me-~~Ups?~~		===Description===
	~~Posted: 05/17/2012 6:07 pm~~		The hand-me-up inverts one of the most stable patterns in the transmission of household goods. Clothing, furniture, tools and books have historically travelled downward through generations, carrying the authority of the older generation with them: what is passed on is both the object and the competence to use it.
	~~Huffington Post~~
	~~http://www.huffingtonpost~~.~~com/tina-wells/~~have~~-you-heard-about-hand_b_1525122~~.~~html~~

	~~"Where~~ the ~~young generation in~~ a ~~family adopts~~ and ~~purchases new technology product at a fast rate~~, and ~~old versions (~~that ~~are in working order but are~~ not ~~up to current standards)~~ of ~~that technology product are given to~~ the ~~parents or~~ older generations of family. Commonly occurs multiple times on commodity technology gadgets, leaving your parents with many gadgets to play with. Called 'hand me up' in contrast to 'hand me down'. Computers: having purchased a new computer to replace my 'slow' computer, I have given it to my grandpa to use. Thus the ~~computer is a 'hand me up'."<ref>Hand Me Up. July 5~~, ~~2009 Urban Word of~~ the ~~Day. Urban Dictionary. Accessed 9 Nov 2012. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define~~.~~php?term=Hand%20me%20up</ref>~~		Technology reverses the direction because it reverses the competence. In a domain where the relevant skill is acquired by early and continuous exposure rather than by accumulated experience, the youngest household member is frequently the most expert, and expertise brings both the earliest adoption and the fastest dissatisfaction. The object that moves upward is therefore not a gift of authority but its opposite: the older recipient inherits the device, and generally also inherits the younger relative as technical support.

	~~http://www~~.~~devonit~~.~~com/about~~-~~devon~~-it~~/hand~~-~~me-ups~~		===Why It Happens===
			* '''Divergent upgrade thresholds.''' A device becomes intolerable to a heavy user long before it becomes inadequate for a light one. The gap between those two thresholds is precisely the hand-me-up.
			* '''[[Future Runoff\|Future runoff]].''' Resale value falls faster than function does, so giving the device away costs almost nothing relative to selling it.
			* '''Reluctance to discard working objects.''' The household resists throwing away something that still works, and an older relative is the nearest available justification for keeping it.
			* '''Support as an unspoken condition.''' The transfer usually includes an implicit and open-ended obligation to help, which is why the gift is not always received as generosity.

	==References==		===Consequences===
			The pattern has real effects that are easy to miss. Older family members are systematically equipped with the previous generation of technology, which means their experience of any given platform lags the household's by several years — slower devices, older operating systems, and, importantly, versions no longer receiving security updates. A hand-me-up is frequently the least protected device on a home network, in the hands of the person least equipped to notice.

			It also inverts the usual direction of technical socialisation. The younger relative becomes the teacher, and the terms on which the teaching happens — patience or exasperation, explanation or taking-over — do a good deal to determine whether the older person becomes a confident user or a dependent one. Research on technology adoption among older adults consistently identifies available, willing support as a stronger predictor than either cost or interface design.

			===Related Reading===
			* [[Future Runoff]]
			* [[Landline Telephone]]
			* [[Materials]]
			* [[Liquid Times: Living in an Age of Uncertainty]]

			===External Links===
			* Tina Wells, "Have You Heard About Hand-Me-Ups?" ''Huffington Post'', 17 May 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-wells/have-you-heard-about-hand_b_1525122.html
			* http://www.devonit.com/about-devon-it/hand-me-ups

			===References===
	<references/>		<references/>

	[[Category:~~Book Pages~~]]		[[Category:Cyborg Anthropology]]
	[[Category:~~Unfinished]]~~		[[Category:Digital Anthropology]]
	~~[[Category:Trade Book~~]]

Caseorganic at 01:46, 10 November 2012

2012-11-10T01:46:45Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:46, 10 November 2012
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	Huffington Post		Huffington Post
	http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-wells/have-you-heard-about-hand_b_1525122.html		http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-wells/have-you-heard-about-hand_b_1525122.html

			"Where the young generation in a family adopts and purchases new technology product at a fast rate, and old versions (that are in working order but are not up to current standards) of that technology product are given to the parents or older generations of family. Commonly occurs multiple times on commodity technology gadgets, leaving your parents with many gadgets to play with. Called 'hand me up' in contrast to 'hand me down'. Computers: having purchased a new computer to replace my 'slow' computer, I have given it to my grandpa to use. Thus the computer is a 'hand me up'."<ref>Hand Me Up. July 5, 2009 Urban Word of the Day. Urban Dictionary. Accessed 9 Nov 2012. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Hand%20me%20up</ref>

			http://www.devonit.com/about-devon-it/hand-me-ups

	==References==		==References==
			<references/>

	[[Category:Book Pages]]		[[Category:Book Pages]]
	[[Category:Unfinished]]		[[Category:Unfinished]]
	[[Category:Trade Book]]		[[Category:Trade Book]]

Caseorganic: Created page with "{{stub}} Have You Heard About Hand-Me-Ups? Posted: 05/17/2012 6:07 pm Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-wells/have-you-heard-about-hand_b_1525122.html ==Refere..."

2012-11-10T01:44:21Z

Created page with "{{stub}} Have You Heard About Hand-Me-Ups? Posted: 05/17/2012 6:07 pm Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-wells/have-you-heard-about-hand_b_1525122.html ==Refere..."

New page

{{stub}}

Have You Heard About Hand-Me-Ups?
Posted: 05/17/2012 6:07 pm
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-wells/have-you-heard-about-hand_b_1525122.html

==References==

[[Category:Book Pages]]
[[Category:Unfinished]]
[[Category:Trade Book]]

Hand Me Up Technology - Revision history

Caseorganic at 13:03, 25 August 2026

Caseorganic at 01:46, 10 November 2012

Caseorganic: Created page with "{{stub}} Have You Heard About Hand-Me-Ups? Posted: 05/17/2012 6:07 pm Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-wells/have-you-heard-about-hand_b_1525122.html ==Refere..."