Growing Up Digital
Written by nolegurle22 on November 5, 2003 - 21:40
Our world is evolving and it’s doing it extremely quickly. While reading Growing Up Digital by John Seely Brown, it definitely put into perspective our world as it never really has before. As us young adults go on day by day, we never take the time and stop to think that life as we know it today has changed dramatically from, per say, the time periods our elders lived in.

We have been learning from computers probably from as long as we can remember. More and more so over the years, obviously, but still continuously throughout our lives. Most of us have learned to read off of computers or learn how to do math. Anything that involved computers helped us progress in learning at a much faster pace than, say, our parents or even especially our grandparents.

I got my first own computer when I was 14. Think about this…most of our grandparents got their probably around the ages of 60, and a lot still don’t have any – nor do they want one!

I remember when I traveled up north to visit with my family, I brought my lap top. I sat at that things for hours fiddling around with God knows what. I hooked it up to the phone line and started talking on AOL Instant Messager. My grandparents had never even heard of anything like this before and immediately ran for their glasses so they could get a better look at this new technology. She wanted to sit down and have a try at my computer, but came to realize rather quickly that she looked like an idiot next to her granddaughter who was obviously more experienced and skilled in this field. I typed about 1,000 times faster than she did and she knew it. The hunt-and-peck method was all she knew.

I think that from here on out, the world will continue to grow in the field of technology. I see nothing but optimism for our future. If we can learn so much quicker and so much more than our ancestors, then I can only imagine what our youth of tomorrow will be able to do.
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This all ties back into the f
Posted by jeb03h on November 6, 2003 - 15:39.
This all ties back into the fact the my mom still has no clue on the computer or anything digital. She has a camera that is the size of my hand and she can't figure out how to work it. The way that we have been brought up in this new technological world it will make all the difference to our ancestors because it is so different than what they know. I thought that this article brought it all back into perspectie as well. Nicely done.
Digital Grandparents
Posted by kappa_06 on November 6, 2003 - 14:26.
I have no doubt that technology will continue to grow, but I don't think that our generation will have as much trouble as our grandparents do. The difference between us and our grandparents is that this generations tends to grow with technology better because we have been exposed to it at an earlier age.

Think about it this way, look at how many different version of "Windows" they have had. With the release of every new version we adapt to the new fuctions and options we have. This is because we have a broad foundation in the technological world that they don't.

When computers were first introduced they had no reason to take interest because they spent majority of their time working with out them and it didn't directly effect them. Now, most of them are retired and are having to play catch up because today we need cmoputers for everything.

But I hope I'm right about our generation keeping up, because it would suck to have to ask my grandchild how to do something simple like turn on the televison.
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Posted by rah03c on November 6, 2003 - 13:48.
My episode with the grandmamma went about the same way. Every time I’m on my computer at my house and my grandmother comes over, I offer to show her some things on the computer but she sits with me for a second then she’ll get frustrated and leave. The gape between the generations needs to be closed other wise the older generation is going to be left behind.