The Computer Literacy Myth
Tim Bulkeley posted recently on a discussion he’d run across about digital (computer) literacy. He was struck by the phrases “digital natives,” and “digital immigrants.” Digital natives are those who have grown up with computers and digital technology — today’s western kids. Digital immigrants are those who have had to learn — like their teachers.
However, I think this divide is somewhat of a myth. Most kids have no more clue about things digital than “immigrant” adults; they just learn faster and earlier. I’ve seen many kids who parents would describe as computer literate, but who have just learnt to do a few more tasks than the parent has — in addition to word processing, the kids can also play games and build a powerpoint presentation.
The biggest problem is that there is still very little understanding. The digital natives still have no idea why things work the way they do, they just know how to make them happen. This is digital literacy of a very poor kind. Compulsory basic computer theory for everyone, I say!
Comment by Angus • Thu 24 Mar 05, 2:06 pm #
Yeah, I agree — kids might be more familiar, but most youth these days are just as far from the actual operational instructions of a computer.
This makes me sound totally geriatric, but I remember doing stuff like POKEing data into video memory in QBASIC, as it was faster than the built-in PSET routine. Heh. My point is not that I developed a great skill, but that back in the day computers were simpler and the learning curve was shallower, allowing kids to get their hands dirty on computers and understand how the hardware worked.
These days the desktop is much further removed from the metal. They’d have to learn basically an entire modern language and either OpenGL or DirectX (or some wrapper API like PyGame) to come up with an equivalent understanding of the hardware. So I’m not surprised that they prefer MSN.
Having said all that… everyone has a specialty. I don’t really know all that much about cars for instance, and I bet there are numerous posts on car enthusiast blogs mocking people just like me who just drive ‘em. Maybe the moral of the story is that computers are becoming a “car-like” black box, in effect a DRM’d media appliance rather than something you’d understand and program yourself.
P.S. I’ll meet you halfway: I’m including my email, but you have to enable a comment preview mode to meet my wager ;).
Comment by Philotas • Sat 26 Mar 05, 9:54 pm #
I think that there is something to the seperation between native and immigrant.
Natives, todays kids, grow up surrounded by technology. but as you said, they might not necessarily udnerstand it indepth. I think it implies though that they can adapt to technological change much easier than the earlier generation.
Having said that, it seems that in any generation, Teachers and technology dont mix! :P
Comment by Tim • Tue 10 May 05, 7:20 am #
I only just found this, slow of the mark! I’m not sure it is about people being able to hack code, or explain how a CPU works. It seems to me that the significant difference IS precisely how long it takes to adapt to and adopt a new technology that looks good to you.
That older adults are slower at this is partly simply a function of age, but it’s partly experience devided by age (and “digital experience quotient”). Some over fifties have been working with digital technology all their lives, high DIQ. Some kids are digitally deprived, low DIQ. But all other things being equal a kid will be likely to have a higher DIQ, simply because when I was their age there were only computers that filled a room or a house and required half the national grid of Monaco to run!