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Well, a lot of people - mostly people in a certain age range - kept saying how magical the younguns are, how media savvy and how morally upright they were, and how they were going to get things right where the stupid boomers, Gen X and Gen Y got it all wrong...
And while I'd like to believe that, I've seen little evidence of better instruction anywhere K-12 or in higher education about logical fallacies and teaching about a good media diet. Being able to install an app on your phone doesn't make anyone media savvy; these things are designed so nearly any idiot can use it.
Why anyone ever thought that "the kids" were going to be able to have a better filter than older generations is like assuming kids plopped in front of Saturday morning TV that was meant to PREY on them were more "media savvy" about that environment....sigh.
If anything the easy access to information and apps are a lower barrier of entry than in the past meaning you can be dumber and still participate.
I don't want to shit on an entire generation but I am also not so impressed. This is a historic thing though where people don't think highly of younger generations. One needs to be aware of this bias.
Yes, exactly this. I'm old enough to remember the Eternal September and the inherent assumptions built into that criticism - prior to that, the Internet population tended to be skewed toward very smart people in the engineering/technique kind of sense, but also I would say quite a few were lacking in emotional intelligence and/or wisdom as well and it would be hard to argue they were any better at critical thinking and/or media literacy. I remember people lamenting how "easy" AOL made it ( ironically, probably something quite a few of our "tech savvy" younger generations of today might find way too onerous to bother with, LOL).
But I certainly do chuckle at the notion that "kids just know tech better" just by virtue of using a touch interface from early childhood and having intimate knowledge of a few branded platforms. I mean, UX, when it comes to commercial software products, is about making sure people are not breaking their brains on using those products. They are specifically designed so even the dumbest (usually with a "but can your mother/grandmother understand it" kind of discussion by the builders) in the population can use it. Familiarity with a product/platform is no more "tech savvy" than knowing all about Nike makes someone a top athlete.
I'm a highschool teacher. This generation of students isn't even more tech savvy, let alone media savvy. Your exactly correct about the design of modern technology; this generation grew up with tablets and iPhones, they have no idea how to do some incredibly basic tasks unless an app does it for them, and they no understanding of really core - and in my mind simple - computer use concepts like what a folder is, or how find a file on a device and attach it to an email.
We've begun teaching media literacy in the highschools, but it's unfortunately falling into the pitfalls or most education. We pull specialized articles from sources that students would literally never engage with, discuss how to read such articles and how they can be misleading, and never make the connection to the kind of content that students actually absorb. Students are day-in, day-out learning from influencers and social media, and we're handing them articles from 2010 reprinted into textbooks and news posts they'd never have the patience to read, while continually reinforcing that cell phones are toys that are meant to stay out of the classroom and used in private or with small groups of friends.
The kids aren't alright, but that's not on them.
Yep, I've been completely underwhelmed with what constitutes being "tech savvy" for a lot of people in that age range. For some of them, if it isn't a product (and a popular one), it's like it doesn't register for them. They think in terms of brands when it comes to technology.
Tech aside, I would love for schools at K-12 and at higher levels of learning to incorporate critical thinking and media literacy instruction. It would be an uphill battle though, probably at the very outset, but certainly after reactionary parents start noticing that their kids don't think just like them. For some reason, people seem to believe that school is just a glorified job training program, and that anything outside of that is off-limits, meaning, their kids are expected to come out believing the exact same shit going into school as when they come out. I view that as an education FAILURE if a student comes out believing exactly what their parents believe in the end without ever having questioned any of it. Of course, if children deviate even slightly from what their parents/pastor/community believes, the wingers think that is "indoctrination".
Kids should be forced to go through what I did to get on the Internet. Learn how modems work. Type
A:\install.exeand swap out a dozen floppies before you play that new game you love. (While you're waiting you can read the manual.) Want a porn video? Learn how to use a downloader and be prepared to wait a few days. Want a new machine? Build it yourself.I have written and moderated courseware for education students focusing on digital literacy. A requirement for graduation, pass/fail. I was so excited to start the project. I was so disappointed by the end.
The teachers to-be had very little digital literacy overall, and very little ability to recognize that or care. Too many passed, by design of the department heads. It was saddening to realize that most of them were headed out into the world with indifference to social media processes and little ability to recognize digital manipulation, and to share that indifference with children.