10 Facts That Tech Can Make You Looks Younger

From the phone you pull out of your purse to your email account, the tech you choose and how you use it may say as much about your age as your driver’s license. The iPhone says younger than BlackBerry, but a Motorola Droid phone marks you as an innovator. Use Chrome over Internet Explorer and switch from AOL Mail to Gmail.

The devices and their applications are just the first steps in growing younger with tech. Young people are less formal, more connected to friends and more spontaneous than their elders. The good news is that adopting the habits of younger adults will free up time, wipe out a tendency to worry and reduce stress, so even though tech is not a time machine, you may live longer and certainly have more fun. Go ahead. Give a couple of these a try.

• Phones are for texting, not calling. It’s quicker and less distracting to those around you. When you must talk, use a quiet voice. The microphones are very good. No answer? Hang up. This is not rude, it’s modern technology. The person who called can SEE you called.
• When texting, loosen up. You don’t need perfect punctuation, but make sure your message can be deciphered. And don’t go overboard, skip the abbreviations and acronyms. “u” for you, “r” for are and LOL are passé.
• Emails are for business only. And remember, even emails to colleagues don’t require formal salutations and closings. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, in emails the salutation and valediction may be left out entirely, even when the correspondents do not know each other well. You may still be typing, but electronic communication is much less formal than it was in the age of IBM Selectrics.
• Use Facebook to reach out to family and friends. There are only two rules to follow: choose to keep your profile private, giving access only to people you know; and don’t friend your kids or their friends. Let them friend you first, and then celebrate in private because yes, it’s a compliment.
• Taking pictures of yourself? Use the camera in your phone to take them. With a two megapixel camera, the photos will be clear enough, and you’ll look 10 years younger. You’ll be the envy of your fellow alums on Classmates.com.
• Think of your phone as another appendage. It goes everywhere with you, just don’t leave it on the table in a restaurant. No custom ring tones: Sweet Caroline just makes you sound old.
• Stop instant messaging. Few under 30 use AIM or Windows Live anymore. But chatting on Facebook is perfectly acceptable. Tip: If you don’t feel like talking, open the chat window and select offline.
• Say goodbye to your car’s FM radio and the collection of CDs in the glove compartment. Get an iTrip and plug your iPod into it or try Sirius radio. Satellite radio means you don’t have to learn how to download music, but you’ll still have a good selection of music in the car.
• Ditch the PDA and skip updating your phone’s calendar. If you have a datebook, it’s got to go. Young people don’t make plans in advance. Relax, you won’t forget and you’ll open yourself to a more spontaneous way of life.
• Renting movies is going the way of the VCR. Stream TV and movies for free on hulu.com or subscribe to Netflix. Watch what you want, when you want to watch it. Remember, it’s all about you.
• Become Publisher on Mobile Ad Network and making money with your mobile site traffic, for example is using MobGold
• Finally, here’s a list of devices destined for the antique store: PDAs (that’s PalmPilots, not public displays of affection), home phones (cancel and save a few bucks, all you really need is a cell phone), fax machines, and pagers.