Are They as Savvy as They Seem?

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cool.

I read his book. He came to speak to us fellows at a Knight Foundation event. He's all problem statement but clueless about a follow on strategy. With no disrespect to the digital natives, it's not surprising that a college professor holding power over their futures can pontificate about the lack of linear thinking in front of a captive audience. The guy needs to get out of the ivory tower and into down and dirty regular life.

In front of an audience of skeptical journalists, he was a lot more squishy. Bottom line is that compared to hard-core baby boomer standards drawn from 1960s/70s elite liberal arts, today's kids aren't alright at all. That's about 99% of his argument. Today's digital natives don't read what he read, don't value what he values, don't really give a toss except to pass the class and move on.

History seems to be rhyming after all.

There is always this strange dichotomy drawn between the people in power, the old guard - so to speak- and the vanguard.

There exists a group of people between the teens/twenty-somthings and the boomers. We are children of the computer age as well, group up with video games, and mobile phones, colour TV and portable audio players.

We have been snickering at the ready-for-retirement generation for their wonton fear of technology and eye-rolling at the latest group of youth to believe the hype about themselves.

There is something missing in both groups - perspective.

The digital native, being in their early youth, believe their world to be what is before them. This is a blindness we are all suffer from at that point in our life. When told that history matters as much as the present for determining our collective future, the common answer is "You are old and don't understand."

The digital foreigner being in many ways calcified and fearful, reject the potential of new technology almost reflexively.

What would be valuable to our society is a discussion with the 30 somethings that use tech every bit as naturally as the Native but have seen its evolution in the mainstream and understand its shortcomings (and there are serious ones).

The tech is here the question remains where are we - where do we want human society to move?