At 26, I’m still pretty close to that prime age demographic – you know, the one that marketing and advertising teams see as the cutting-edge consumer, the one that every technology company wants to reach.

As far as they know, I’m playing all of the latest video games, communicating with hundreds of friends on MySpace, and downloading feature-length movies to watch on my iPod.

They tell me I’m in my high-tech prime. So why do I feel so old? Maybe it’s because, in my lifetime, I’ve used a rotary phone, actually had a TV without – gasp! – a remote control and even handwritten a letter and put it in the mail – stamp and all.

But I suspect the bigger reason: I’m no longer in college.

The college crowd is a walking and talking (and spending) bull’s-eye for companies that are looking for an unafraid, adventurous group of people who are pretty much willing not only to try anything that falls into their hands but also to readily share their reviews with their friends.

Even if they hate it.

That’s why an event such as the TKO – that’s the techie-style acronym for TechKnowOverload – tour has been working its way through college campuses. The tour is a joint effort of the Consumer Electronics Association and Mr. Youth, a Massachusetts-based niche marketing firm that specializes in reaching consumers ages 12 to 24. (I guess I am old, after all.)

The campuses are filled with demonstrations and interactive trials of products – from laptop computers and video games to car stereo equipment. What’s clear is that the vendors who join the tour aren’t there to sell something. They’re there to give college students a chance to play – which, of course, could lead them to buy.

Even more important is the feedback: These companies want to know if they have a potential winner or a loser. If these students are going to bash their products, they’d rather know it now instead of reading it on a blog or a MySpace page later.

After all, no one – from the students to the companies – wants to feel out of the loop when it comes to tech.

I know how they feel. Two of my three younger sisters have zoomed past me, technologically, in a way I would never have imagined. And that makes me feel old.

Ashley, a junior at the University of Arizona, can’t live without her BlackBerry. Yes, the same BlackBerry that CEOs and other white-collar executives are using to manage large corporations is what a 20-year-old college student is using to manage her busy life – exams, project deadlines, parties and e-mail from her school and AOL accounts.

She even uses it for the occasional phone call – you know, like talking. With her voice.

Bianca, at 12, is a master of the cell phone and text messaging. She taps away on that small keypad in a way that I can’t, shoots pictures and sends them to me and others.

“Texting” is a pet peeve of mine – I was an instant-messaging kind of guy in college – but I’m forcing myself to adapt.

Texting a “4” instead of tapping out the word “for,” or “u” for “you,” is supposed to be a shortcut. But to me, it seems easier just to place the call and have a conversation.

Ashley and Bianca would roll their eyes at me and laugh. But that’s OK because I know that someday soon, Dakota, my 4-year-old sister who has yet to discover technology but soon will, is going to make them feel as old as they’re making me feel now.