5 ms·

I'm also among those who contest the whole digital native thing. I think that growing up in the information age is not really correlated with being good with te

I'm also among those who contest the whole digital native thing. I think that growing up in the information age is not really correlated with being good with tech and computers, those skills, if you can call it that even, can be picked up any time. It's just that people don't bother - young people don't bother with icky old people things, old people don't bother with the strange new things, everyone has got their excuse to not expend energy on change.

ihatepython 4y ago
I also don't agree with the digital native premise. However I believe that those who grew up with or experienced the 8 bit home computer and it's evolution to what we have now, they have a much better understanding of how computers work.
- LordN00b 4y ago
  Well we have had over 40 years of practice...
- npteljes 4y ago
  I wonder how much of that belief is true, and even more specifically, how much of that translates to real-life skills. In my experience, people picked up "digital" skills casually over some years, are indistinguishable from people who "grew up" with half of their lives being lived digitally. And neither of these understand how computers work, at most, what they are familiar with are the happy path of how they achieve some goals using the computer / smartphone, and maybe basic troubleshooting. Part of why I don't think people understand the digital world is because it's changing fast. Both the systems themselves on a lower levels like hardware, and on top in regards to UX. Typing into a Commodore 64 is vastly different than a mouse-driven traditional desktop, which again is very different than a material design smartphone app. It's a lot of work to know these systems, and so, I think people don't know them that well, and that they overestimate their, and others' familiarity with them, in a similar way to how the Dunning-Kruger effect works.
- dagw 4y ago
  Digital Native to me means you grew up when 'digital' was both everywhere and all encompassing. You don't have to understand it any more than you have to understand how hot water comes out of your shower or why a light turns on when you flip a switch. Those of us grew up in the 'before times' had to understand how computers worked just to make them, well work. Much like someone who had to dig their own well, run their own pipes and heat their own water probably has a much better understanding as to how and why hot water comes out of their shower.
cameronh90 4y ago
Digital native doesn't mean good with tech, it just means that you default to expecting things to be on a website or app and are usually more comfortable interacting with it in that form. They have simply never experienced a world where constant global connectivity was not a thing. They've never had to go to the library to find out what Timor-Leste is, and never had to go on a long journey without a phone to entertain them. It's not really a good or bad thing, just a difference. I think you'd usually find most younger people are quicker at acquiring information than average old people due to their familiarity with the tools, though not necessarily any better at turning that information into anything actionable. Most young people are just as useless outside their comfort zone as old people are.

ihatepython 4y ago

I also don't agree with the digital native premise. However I believe that those who grew up with or experienced the 8 bit home computer and it's evolution to what we have now, they have a much better understanding of how computers work.

LordN00b 4y ago
Well we have had over 40 years of practice...
npteljes 4y ago
I wonder how much of that belief is true, and even more specifically, how much of that translates to real-life skills. In my experience, people picked up "digital" skills casually over some years, are indistinguishable from people who "grew up" with half of their lives being lived digitally. And neither of these understand how computers work, at most, what they are familiar with are the happy path of how they achieve some goals using the computer / smartphone, and maybe basic troubleshooting. Part of why I don't think people understand the digital world is because it's changing fast. Both the systems themselves on a lower levels like hardware, and on top in regards to UX. Typing into a Commodore 64 is vastly different than a mouse-driven traditional desktop, which again is very different than a material design smartphone app. It's a lot of work to know these systems, and so, I think people don't know them that well, and that they overestimate their, and others' familiarity with them, in a similar way to how the Dunning-Kruger effect works.
dagw 4y ago
Digital Native to me means you grew up when 'digital' was both everywhere and all encompassing. You don't have to understand it any more than you have to understand how hot water comes out of your shower or why a light turns on when you flip a switch. Those of us grew up in the 'before times' had to understand how computers worked just to make them, well work. Much like someone who had to dig their own well, run their own pipes and heat their own water probably has a much better understanding as to how and why hot water comes out of their shower.

cameronh90 4y ago

Digital native doesn't mean good with tech, it just means that you default to expecting things to be on a website or app and are usually more comfortable interacting with it in that form. They have simply never experienced a world where constant global connectivity was not a thing. They've never had to go to the library to find out what Timor-Leste is, and never had to go on a long journey without a phone to entertain them. It's not really a good or bad thing, just a difference. I think you'd usually find most younger people are quicker at acquiring information than average old people due to their familiarity with the tools, though not necessarily any better at turning that information into anything actionable. Most young people are just as useless outside their comfort zone as old people are.