What is Digg?274 Comments
- hifiDesign, on 01/18/2008, -4/+128Quite true — my youngest brother (14) is constantly asking me how to do this or that on his computer. Usually it's quite simple, and the first thing I ask him is if he googled it first. The answer is invariably "no".
Kids. Are. Lazy. No matter when they were born. - muchachoburacho, on 01/18/2008, -1/+82I've been saying this for a long time, but I seriously believe that people born between the mid 70 and mid 90s will know more about computers than any generation. The progression of technology will just make computers simpler and easier to use, causing kids to know less about how it works. This same thing happened with cars, now, a much smaller percentage of people know how a car works than did 30 years ago.
- johnnybluejeans, on 01/18/2008, -0/+75I'm always amazed at how computer illiterate our youth are. Sure they spend hours in front of a computer each week, but look at what they are doing: updating their facebook profiles and chatting on AIM. Look at most any teenager's computer and you will find it completely riddled with spyware because they download every useless app (smiley packages, etc etc) they see. Meanwhile, they are clueless when it comes to doing anything remotely productive with a computer.
- spookycheddar, on 01/18/2008, -2/+73kids are such noobs.
- inactive, on 01/18/2008, -2/+60"They multitask all the time"
hmmm... sounds like me.... does browsing the web with usually 7 tabs open count as multitasking? - reversekilled, on 01/18/2008, -2/+54The majority of them are stupid and lazy, just like the majority of all humans are stupid and lazy
- ZachSka87, on 01/18/2008, -2/+50I work at a help desk at my university. Work at one for just one hour. Afterwards, you will know that up-and-coming youngin's are NOT as tech savvy as you think.
- billybob217, on 01/18/2008, -0/+37I think the biggest problem is that w/ things like google; kids and people demand and are used to fast results... I remember as a kid (before we had internet @ my home), I had to actually go to the library to get information... Now it takes me two seconds to get the same stuff off of google or wikipedia... I couldn't even imagine being exposed to such speedy responses as a kid... Patience is almost lost...
- i4mt3hwin, on 01/18/2008, -0/+37My little sister(14) was having trouble with her printer and she called me from home to ask em what was wrong with it. She couldn't really tell me anything other then it "doesn't work" so when I came home that weekend to fix it, it turns out that it wasn't even plugged in. There's just certain common sense things that you do when trying to fix any piece of electronic equipment.
Yet I bet she knows "html" (myspace html) way better then I do. - Jelfish, on 01/18/2008, -0/+36I think the reason is that the internet is now mainly used for social networking, gaming, and communication. Back in the 90s, the internet was more a place for information, so people who grew up with the internet then are more accustomed to using it for information. It was almost like a niche community. Now, it's turned into something like Time Square. Most younger kids today use the internet for myspace and instant messaging, so even though we now have a very powerful Google and Wikipedia, that's still all they know. I'm sure kids today are just as capable as anyone to using Google, Wiki and other resources, but that's not why they're online.
- icexe, on 01/18/2008, -2/+35Good, this just means more job security for me.
- dysonlu, on 01/18/2008, -1/+32Well, this goes hand-in-hand with the well-documented fact that fewer and fewer kids in the USA are interested in science and engineering. Their interest in technology is limited to the consumption of technology, not the understanding of it.
- Crosshare, on 01/18/2008, -0/+29I have to agree with this article. It seems like the next generation of kids coming up are taking tech for granted, rather than learning it. My two little brother in laws came out for the holidays, and they each received Zunes for Christmas. All they wanted to do was have me put movies on it for them. I kept saying "You need to watch me and learn how to do this for when you go home". One week after getting back we got a phone call saying I need help getting my Zune on the computer. I'm willing to bet they haven't been able to put movies on the things yet even though I burned them the software and I typed up directions. It seems like kids don't have the passion to learn about it. I remember begging my parents for a computer at 12, then I spent years teaching myself things, something was broke, my parents weren't going to pay for a repair shop so I did the troubleshooting myself. Kids expect everything given to them.
- asdfuiop, on 01/18/2008, -1/+29For the record, I'm pretty sure the golden age of computer skills was in the MIT hacker culture days
Every generation will have its nerds - brufleth, on 01/18/2008, -0/+26That's my experience. Fiancee's younger brother is a god of destroying computers. I typically have to spend 1-3 hours fixing stuff he's broken on computers at her parents' house. I'm always amazed at the damage he manages to do yet he still claims he wasn't doing anything.
He has since gotten a mac which he usually can't screw up too much. I still have to fix stuff for him on that occasionally and he had the screen and keyboard replaced after he busted those. Macs are good for people like that. Sort of like a padded room. - zengonzo, on 01/18/2008, -0/+26Google.com
- terencec, on 01/18/2008, -7/+30my younger brother (10) is a computer idiot, one of those people who think that deleting an icon means uninstall; even though windows pops up and says "deleting icon will not uninstall the program".
- iDiggIt42, on 01/18/2008, -0/+23Judging by your comments you have the common sense and etiquette of a brick... and the fact that you think you're a 1337-know it all cause you use Linux frightens me. My grandma uses Linux, and she still barely knows how to work the microwave in her apartment.
- AntidoteSqrd, on 01/18/2008, -0/+22Thank you, finally someone realizes that using facebook is not the same as being an "internet super whiz". I'm so sick of that stereotype. As a 17 year old geek who you know does things that require real skill, like programming, I get so sick of hearing parents go on about how smart their kids are because they understand "everything" about computers only to find out that they are on facebook all the time (usually in IE), download music off iTunes, and move pictures they take with cheap digital cameras onto their computers.
- DreKor, on 01/18/2008, -0/+21No you don't. Look a that kid, they clearly melt your face.
- allatti2d, on 01/18/2008, -0/+21"This same thing happened with cars, now, a much smaller percentage of people know how a car works than did 30 years ago."
I think this is the best analogy I've seen on this subject. - MrZaiko, on 01/18/2008, -0/+20I remember in my early 90's 5th grade computer class, how i used to struggle with DOS and learn all the computer parts, Hardware/software. Kids today dont see computers that way anymore, Its just a box with a screen that lets you find/hook up girls/boys online
- Seth024, on 01/18/2008, -0/+20And when he asks you how to spell 'dictionary' ?
- TomFrost, on 01/18/2008, -0/+20So does google. That's been the only spell checker I've needed for a long time.
- sinurgy, on 01/18/2008, -0/+20Job security ftw!
- Firehed, on 01/18/2008, -0/+197? I've got over a dozen going right now, and I'm on break. It's often twice that when I'm actually working.
- Lacero, on 01/18/2008, -8/+27It's a paradox. Kids growing up with computers are dumber than kids who grew up without. Take Digg for example...
- GhostyBoy, on 01/18/2008, -0/+18As with any art those who understand the fundamental building blocks will be vastly superior to anyone who comes later in the game. Parents who think their myspace surfing kids are internet savvy probably watch them microwave a bowl of ravioli and then say "oh wow, he can cook too!"
- terencec, on 01/18/2008, -0/+18man when my brother (10) asks me how to spell this or that, I tell him, Dictionary.com
- Vulphaestion, on 01/18/2008, -1/+19I work for a computer retail store, and I can't tell you how many parents think their 12 yr old kid can edit the BIOS, registry, etc.
BIG difference between using a computer, and being tech-savvy. - rand0mm0nkey, on 01/18/2008, -0/+14"Wasn't too long ago it was 'Head Start.' Somebody's losing ***** ground." - George Carlin
- GhostyBoy, on 01/18/2008, -0/+13They say the best music producers are the ones who were around when they still used reel-to-reel analog 4-track, because they learned to work with nothing and then added new technology to their arsenal as it became available. When you come into it from this generation everything is digital set up for you and ready to go so you never get the benefit of learning the basic building blocks.
- UNCCEJ1010, on 01/18/2008, -0/+13Dugg for:
"Knowing how to use Facebook doesn't make one an Internet search god," - pianomahnn, on 01/18/2008, -0/+13I would've used the nickels to buy some real soup.
- pooptaster, on 01/18/2008, -0/+12Radan, dialup wasn't that bad when the web was designed for dialup.
- axis, on 01/18/2008, -0/+12l33t hacker. You should tell that to people at school, see what they think of that. Or are you so smart, because you use Linux, that you have graduated already?
- axis, on 01/18/2008, -0/+12Kids today are too into their phones, their iPods and all the luxuries of portability and instant communication. There is a large disconnect with this generation. Like kids who carry on conversations with their headphones in. I have even seen a kid and his girlfriend out to dinner with one of their parents, they each had one of the headphones in, while talking. Spell check and the internet speak will hurt spelling like calculators hurt calculating in your head. Gives you more time to do other stuff, like watch American Idol...
- Stupidumb, on 01/18/2008, -0/+12I think it's sweet that, even though you are mentally retarded, you have access to the internet and are allowed to interact with the world.
- inactive, on 01/18/2008, -0/+12Wait, is all this article is trying to say is stupid adults think that kids that use myspace and Facebook, etc are tech gods, when they are actually idiots?
- petebot, on 01/18/2008, -0/+11You should just tell him "Dictionary."
- RepoOne, on 01/18/2008, -5/+15This isn't true in all cases, but I have seen quite a bit of it. I'm 15 and have been using computers since I was 3, starting with MS-DOS 5.0 on a computer with a 33MHz Cx486DLC and 8MB of RAM. I'm now studying for my A+ Certification and repairing/upgrading computers as a way to make money. I've had 2 successful PC builds in the past month, and made over $300 from repairs/upgrades. When I go to fix friends' computers, they are typically overran with spyware, and trying to explain to someone how to do something to prevent it from happening again usually results in a phone call or the person going back to their old ways (P2P without PeerGuardian, IE6 instead of Firefox, etc.). In my computer programming class (VB.Net), most people are making D's or C's in the class, while I am making a 100% A+ in the class. The majority of the time, students in the class prefer to surf the web, trying to access their MySpace profiles. I've actually had people ask me "The CPU is the same thing as memory, right?" or "The video card is in the monitor, right?". It's pretty sad.
- Archer007, on 01/18/2008, -1/+11They deserve their fate.
- LetsGoHawks, on 01/18/2008, -0/+10If I had a nickle for every parent who thought their kid was a computer whiz when all that kid was good at was web surfing and playing games, I'd be eating nickle soup.
Funniest case. This was in '99. We went onsite to install a network. We configured all the servers and routers and such at the shop so when you got on site ideally you plug it all in and you're done (haha). So we boot up the server and it's all wrong. The OS is there and some other stuff but nothing is configured right and stuff is missing. Turns out the owners kid had decided to have fun with the new server between the time it arrived and the week later when we showed up to set it up. He had unboxed it, plugged it in (no big deal really), then he proceeded to grab the box of CD's and start reloading everything......
I thought my team lead was gonna punch this kid in the mouth. Seriously. That added a day to our trip getting that straightened out that the owner of the agency had to pay for. - AntidoteSqrd, on 01/18/2008, -1/+11um... the irony in that statement is overwhelming...
- StarlessKnight, on 01/18/2008, -0/+10Been there, done that, got the corrupted floppy disk.
- Haohmaru, on 01/18/2008, -0/+10No kidding, I had to clean up a ton of spyware after my daughter followed some faux nickelodeon links on Google.
This had to happen as computers got simpler and simpler to use. XP and OSX simply work and you don't really need to learn what's under the hood. - d03boy, on 01/18/2008, -2/+11I was programming at that age... some people just don't have the computer mindset
- markthegoth, on 01/18/2008, -0/+9"I remember begging my parents for a computer at 12, then I spent years teaching myself things, something was broke, my parents weren't going to pay for a repair shop so I did the troubleshooting myself."
- Which is exactly how I became a computer technician :) - catalysis, on 01/18/2008, -6/+15No child left behind
- hifiDesign, on 01/18/2008, -0/+9I disagree — I also taught graphic design at a community college for 3 years, and it's astounding how (particularly younger) people really expect handouts these days. When their work didn't cut the mustard because they were too lazy to do it, they would imply things like my performance reviews would suffer because they aren't doing well. It's the legacy of "No Child Left Behind" and the preceding decades of letting kids slide by to cook the books.
What kids need to learn is that the world is dog eat dog, and in the US, for the time being, most of them have it really good. Too good, sometimes... Every child is special (in the eyes of parents at least) but none DESERVE to have the world handed to them.
As Riddick was told, "You keep what you kill..." But you have to kill to keep it... -
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