How Tech-Savvy Are Kids?

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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If you still think you are more tech-savvy than the kids around you, better think again. If they already haven’t surpassed your level of tech-geekness, they soon will. Children are starting to use electrical handheld devices in the crib these days and are projected to become more proficient as they age.

Babies as young as six months are already playing with their parents' electronic devices (see potty-training toilet), while more than 50 percent of children between five and eight years old have used tablets as educational tools or digital play dates.
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Play dates? Parents invent some stupid names for things.

Also, I don't personally know of many 8 year olds that can configure a RAID array, manage a SAN, or maintain a SQL server so I'm guessing the answer is probably, "No, they're not more tech-savvy." Most of them don't even know what an ISO is or have any idea how to use Debian's package management tools.
 
not very? everything is so easy to use now they never had to go through config.sys/autoexecbat.bat tweaks and installing dos CD rom drivers to install things like win95/98

oh how precious that floppy disk with my cd-rom drivers was
 
In Azhar's day, expansion cards had a three banks of jumpers to configure resources and he liked it that way. DIP switches, when they came out, were for losers who were to un-nerdy to walk around with a bulging pocket full of jumpers in a ziplock bag.
 
Sorry but the ability to manipulate a tablet or interface that was specifically designed to be as user friendly as possible does not equate to tech savviness. I have a nephew, who at 1 year of age could manipulate most touch screen interfaces either Apple or Android. While this may seem impressive to some, taken into context of it being no different than clicking on the cow goes moo button on his play chair, it really isn't. When/if his generation can actually create an application or program for said device, then we will see about their tech savvy. Being able to manipulate interfaces that are getting easier to interface with is not a sign of tech savvy. Being able to understand how said systems work and either manipulate or improve them is tech savvy. So far I have found very few young people who can do this.
 
Kids get more proficient with handheld devices as they age!?!?!?!? HOLY SHIT!
 
EchtoGammut said:
Sorry but the ability to manipulate a tablet or interface that was specifically designed to be as user friendly as possible does not equate to tech savviness. I have a nephew, who at 1 year of age could manipulate most touch screen interfaces either Apple or Android. While this may seem impressive to some, taken into context of it being no different than clicking on the cow goes moo button on his play chair, it really isn't. When/if his generation can actually create an application or program for said device, then we will see about their tech savvy. Being able to manipulate interfaces that are getting easier to interface with is not a sign of tech savvy. Being able to understand how said systems work and either manipulate or improve them is tech savvy. So far I have found very few young people who can do this.
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Beat me to it. Both my children were using tablets and handheld game devices from age 1 on. That doesn't make them savvy though. Just a new form of the cow goes moo button as mentioned.
 
EchtoGammut said:
Sorry but the ability to manipulate a tablet or interface that was specifically designed to be as user friendly as possible does not equate to tech savviness. I have a nephew, who at 1 year of age could manipulate most touch screen interfaces either Apple or Android. While this may seem impressive to some, taken into context of it being no different than clicking on the cow goes moo button on his play chair, it really isn't. When/if his generation can actually create an application or program for said device, then we will see about their tech savvy. Being able to manipulate interfaces that are getting easier to interface with is not a sign of tech savvy. Being able to understand how said systems work and either manipulate or improve them is tech savvy. So far I have found very few young people who can do this.
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Fact though is that children's brains are far more "programmable" than fully developed adult brains.

This is not opinion but scientific fact, and many do know how to navigate an android phone, iPad, or Windows system before age ten to much higher proficiency than many adults that have had the benefit of a gradual progression with similar legacy technology.

Its just like when learning languages, I learned to speak conversational German very well with next to no accent at age 10 in about 2-3 months during my summer break before class started (held exclusively in German, hence the rush to learn). By contrast I spent years learning Mandarin, didn't pick up near as much, and my accent is horrible. In fact, look at Arnold Schwarzeneger for example, he has had highly paid professional linguists trying to teach him how to speak English properly and he still has a heavy accent.

I have no doubt that there are a bunch of 10-12 year olds that are already using Windows 8 at a higher level than I can, and I'm in IT support.
 
I think its the opposite as mobile cheap devices become more common and more appliance like and disposable kids are stupider. I cant tell you how many kids I run across who are running around with tech toys like iPhones and have no clue they hook up their phone to their TV, do not even fathom the thought of actually making their own programs, 2D, or 3D, art, maps, web design etc... They have no clue that stuff even exists let alone how to do it. Of course we have a tech savvy forum here. Sure compared to their parents they probably know a little more. I have multiple young people in late highschool who have no clue that thier are different types of wireless connections, they dont even get when wifi stops working their phone is switching to towers. I think of it alot like cars, sure everyone can drive a car now but most people do not have any clue how anything inside is working except well they gotta change oil ever 3k miles.


BTW I agree with you ducman but your example is a little incorrect, language is way different than just learning information or how to do a task. Arnold can speak very good grammatically correct english, an accent is a completely different phenomenon, it comes from our ability to make individual sounds called phonemes and after about the age of 12 we lose the ability make new ones, and are essentially stuck with whatever accent we have for the rest of our life. Its more like how some people when young can learn to move specific muscles in their body certain ways like expanding their nostrils or separating their middle fingers. But not really the same as intellectual learning.
 
MajorDomo said:
If you still think you are more tech-savvy than the kids around you, better think again. If they already haven’t surpassed your level of tech-geekness, they soon will. Children are starting to use electrical handheld devices in the crib these days and are projected to become more proficient as they age.
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That is like saying they are going to surpass me in regards to the alphabet because they started saying it sooner. On average, all they can do is reach the proficiency/understanding I have of electronic devices now. It isn't like new devices are coming out that my generation doesn't understand or can see the potential in.

Ironically it is technology of the past that proficiency/understanding is slipping away which is actually a big deal as a lot of what we have is still reliant on it. It will be a sad day when I can jailbreak/root a brain interface device, but no one knows how to use a lathe.
 
Kids are using devices that do all the thinking for them. I wonder how thinking skills are working out.
 
My kid has been using a computer since she was 1 year old, that's when she figured out how to move the mouse and press the button to make the cow moo. I actually had a simple game with farm animals she could click on to hear the sound.

However, she's been showing her mom how to do stuff on the computer since she was 8, so I would have to say that in some ways she is more Tech-Savvy than her mom. She also figured out how to use my android phone alot faster than my wife.
 
nutzo said:
My kid has been using a computer since she was 1 year old, that's when she figured out how to move the mouse and press the button to make the cow moo. I actually had a simple game with farm animals she could click on to hear the sound.

However, she's been showing her mom how to do stuff on the computer since she was 8, so I would have to say that in some ways she is more Tech-Savvy than her mom. She also figured out how to use my android phone alot faster than my wife.
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Is it that kids are more tech saavy or that most adults are still technologically incompetent?
 
nutzo said:
My kid has been using a computer since she was 1 year old, that's when she figured out how to move the mouse and press the button to make the cow moo. I actually had a simple game with farm animals she could click on to hear the sound.

However, she's been showing her mom how to do stuff on the computer since she was 8, so I would have to say that in some ways she is more Tech-Savvy than her mom. She also figured out how to use my android phone alot faster than my wife.
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Yeah, this right here. My 5 year old does things on my Kindle that my wife has to ask me about how to do.

Skripka said:
Is it that kids are more tech saavy or that most adults are still technologically incompetent?
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The [H] is hardly the place where the OP would apply, in general, but you're right, most adults are techno incompetent.
 
I do find it impressive that my 2 year old can navigate the various screens of an iPad. Meaning hit the Home button to get out of the browser, then slide the screens to find the Videos icon and if it goes into something he doesn't want to watch, he can exit the video.

Its not so much about the technology, but more about how fascinating it is to watch their skills develop.

Oh and queue "When i was your age our CPU's didn't have heatsinks, we calculated floating point on a seperate processor and we spelled P-C-I I-S-A."
 
Parmenides said:
Kids are using devices that do all the thinking for them. I wonder how thinking skills are working out.
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in a way this is what technology has always brought... and some old people always seem to get grumpy
 
Considering that I plan on working for Intel, or some other large tech firm in processor design, the average kid won't surpass me in tech savvy until I am very old.
 
My 11 year old is building a Intel and AMD rig right now. I bought him his first computer when he was 2.5 years old. He perfers Mac OSX over Windows. Runs an iPhone 4 on iOS 6.0.1, wants to get an iPad Mini.

Kids are amazing :D
 
TheWeazmeister said:
Yeah, this right here. My 5 year old does things on my Kindle that my wife has to ask me about how to do.



The [H] is hardly the place where the OP would apply, in general, but you're right, most adults are techno incompetent.
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Yup

My nephew is crazy "saavy" with computers desktop and touchscreen....so long as everything has menu items and or software buttons. Park his but in front of a Bash terminal and tell him to run Pacman or APT to check for system updates, or ask him what common causes there are why a newly installed CPU and cooler will render a computer unbootable...and he'd look like you were talking Chinese to him.
 
most kids these days don't know jack as said, they just click, swip and go.. they dont know how to "troubleshoot"

I dont know how many "kids" i have talked to who are "cisco certified" for a helpdesk position and they don't even know what a WSUS or WDS server is or how to create domain profile...

Most kids around me only know how to play angry birds and post pics to facebook
 
So being tech-savvy now means owning lots of things and being able to use devices and services purposefully designed so that anyone can use them. If the bar was set any lower we'd probably have tech-savvy gerbils.
 
Onnes said:
So being tech-savvy now means owning lots of things and being able to use devices and services purposefully designed so that anyone can use them. If the bar was set any lower we'd probably have tech-savvy gerbils.
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Heh, I was wondering about that too. Should the ability to use something alone make them savvy?

I've always thought being tech-savvy requires more than just being able to use it, like actually knowing the technology inside out, being able to troubleshoot any problems with it, etc.
 
I don't think it's a surprise, it was inevitable for children to start using technology younger and younger as it became more user friendly and accessible.
 
yes, but that doesnt make them "tech savy" at least not how i understand it..

Out parents knew how to use a phone and a TV, ATM machines and cell phones once they appeared...... their parents knew how to use a TV with dials..... does that make them all "tech savy..."
 
Being able to touch icons on a screen to achieve a desired goal is in NO WAY indicative of any level of understanding as to the how's and why's of the way something works. Anyone (regardless of age) can "point and click". This is like saying "the ability to speak is proof of intelligence". Teaching this to children is a disservice.
 
People my age (20-30) may know how to use smart phones and navigate around social media. BUT.... when it comes to meaningful computer-based application, they are dumb as rocks.
 
prndll said:
Being able to touch icons on a screen to achieve a desired goal is in NO WAY indicative of any level of understanding as to the how's and why's of the way something works. Anyone (regardless of age) can "point and click". This is like saying "the ability to speak is proof of intelligence". Teaching this to children is a disservice.
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+infinity
 
SkribbelKat said:
In Azhar's day, expansion cards had a three banks of jumpers to configure resources and he liked it that way. DIP switches, when they came out, were for losers who were to un-nerdy to walk around with a bulging pocket full of jumpers in a ziplock bag.
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I still have that bag of jumpers laying around...somewhere.
 
When command lines replaced punch cards, No one who had used punch cards called me "savvy". They said I was "having it easy".
 
daemionsos said:
When command lines replaced punch cards, No one who had used punch cards called me "savvy". They said I was "having it easy".
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Command line is unquestionably easier than punch cards. But, it is a step up. Command line also happens to be alot more powerful with alot less fuss. Cards are too easily worn out and unordered. This is hardly an equal comparison.
 
Acoustique said:
not very? everything is so easy to use now they never had to go through config.sys/autoexecbat.bat tweaks and installing dos CD rom drivers to install things like win95/98

oh how precious that floppy disk with my cd-rom drivers was
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All of you make a good point, and yea growing up in the 80's 90's where there was no internet and you HAD to figure everything out for yourself there was no other option, with digging into system files and scripting, actually reading a tech manual, that is what gave us the foundation of tech knowledge/skill.. If everything is handed to you on the tech equivalent of a silver platter then there is not much learning happening there.
 
Parmenides said:
Kids are using devices that do all the thinking for them. I wonder how thinking skills are working out.
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Ancient greeks probably said the same thing about computer aided design, but its results that matter and the ability to use the tools that are at your disposal.

I work with engineers, and none of them do any calculations or math and what not in their head. They become very proficient in Mathcad, Autocad 2010, SACS, and other tools to get their job done quickly and reliably.

These days you really need only understand basic concepts, and then use the tools to achieve the ends and do the "thinking" for you.
 
when the kids start hacking the ipad to do cool and meaningful things besides play "angry birds" then I might give them some kudos.

Till then they are just babies on their mothers (and Apples) teats.

Being a consumer whore at an early age doesn't mean you are tech savy. Keep in mind that all these ipads and iphones the kids are "so good with" were designed from the ground up to be used by the most simple minded person, such as to capture the largest possible market.

Which is something I like to point out to those die hard mac fanatics who offer no concrete proof on why it's "so much better". Heh the gizmo they love the most was designed for simple minded people, hah
 
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