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A new digital divide: Young people who can’t use keyboards

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Re: A new digital divide: Young people who can’t use keyboards

#21

Post by rustcharm »

analog31 wrote: post #12

When I look at computer interfaces, I'm drawn back to the (probably mythical) story of the QWERTY keyboard, that it was designed to slow us down because our brains are faster than the mechanism of the typewriter. The modern GUI could be interpreted in that way too: Forcing us to direct the computer through a series of painfully discrete steps, to camouflage the fact that it can't interpret natural language. I've seen…

Here's a take on QWERTY (probably not designed to slow us down) on the Smithsonian website: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/fact-of-fiction-...

Re: A new digital divide: Young people who can’t use keyboards

#22

Post by conception »

SQL2219 wrote: post #2

This is similar to the stereotype of: young people are good with computers. Browsing Instagram is not the same as creating value through programming and complex problem solving.

Likewise with the Japanese living in the land of the future in the 90s-00's. I found there that people having access to tech was much much different than being technical. Fancy phones but few personal computers or the skills that go along with them.

Re: A new digital divide: Young people who can’t use keyboards

#23

Post by some_account »

strken wrote: post #15
SQL2219 wrote: post #2

This is similar to the stereotype of: young people are good with computers. Browsing Instagram is not the same as creating value through programming and complex problem solving.

I've always felt that young people are seen as good with computers because they're more confident and less afraid of failure, and that even if their only experience is instagram they're more likely to google a scary error message or click around at random in various menus.

It's because old timers are much more afraid to look bad since you are "supposed" to live up to that external image you put on LinkedIn. :)

Re: A new digital divide: Young people who can’t use keyboards

#24

Post by tiatia123 »

dooglius wrote: post #10

>Given that they can write and submit their school reports with smartphones Would students really do this? I couldn't imagine trying to write an entire essay or a lab report on a smartphone. Maybe Japanese schools don't have to turn in longer things like that?

Yes.

Re: A new digital divide: Young people who can’t use keyboards

#25

Post by lfowles »

nickserv wrote: post #9

Do your children a favor and get them a "real" computer with keyboard and mouse, instead of a tablet. I've found it helps with several things. For one, I've seen children accustomed to using touch interfaces blurring the line between physical and virtual, i.e swiping at physical objects like books, photos, even walls. I've not seen this behavior with those used to non touch interfaces. Also, learning to use a keyboar…

> For one, I've seen children accustomed to using touch interfaces blurring the line between physical and virtual, i.e swiping at physical objects like books, photos, even walls. I've not seen this behavior with those used to non touch interfaces.

I don't know, I have the urge to tap words in books to bring up definitions after using ereaders for the past ten years.

Re: A new digital divide: Young people who can’t use keyboards

#26

Post by codingdave »

21 wrote: post #16
nickserv wrote: post #9

Do your children a favor and get them a "real" computer with keyboard and mouse, instead of a tablet. I've found it helps with several things. For one, I've seen children accustomed to using touch interfaces blurring the line between physical and virtual, i.e swiping at physical objects like books, photos, even walls. I've not seen this behavior with those used to non touch interfaces. Also, learning to use a keyboar…

> I've seen children accustomed to using touch interfaces blurring the line between physical and virtual, i.e swiping at physical objects like books, photos, even walls. I've not seen this behavior with those used to non touch interfaces. Why do you think this is a bad think? This is how kids learn how the world works, by trying the same thing in different contexts, like how small children put everything in their mou…

It depends on the age of the child. A toddler who is still exploring the world is one thing. A 14 year old who swipes at a book is a problem. (I don't know the age of the children from these anecdotes.) On the other hand, a toddler who explores the world as if it is a touch screen has been given way too much time on a touch screen. So there is definitely a problem there.

Re: A new digital divide: Young people who can’t use keyboards

#27

Post by api »

nickserv wrote: post #9

Do your children a favor and get them a "real" computer with keyboard and mouse, instead of a tablet. I've found it helps with several things. For one, I've seen children accustomed to using touch interfaces blurring the line between physical and virtual, i.e swiping at physical objects like books, photos, even walls. I've not seen this behavior with those used to non touch interfaces. Also, learning to use a keyboar…

Even more important is the nature of PCs vs mobile devices. The mobile platform is designed to commoditize the user and create a stark division between users on one side and content and software creators on the other. You can't easily create anything of any substance on a mobile device and the ecosystem discourages it by e.g. treating user data as unimportant.

PCs were designed to be devices for people to create things.

Its largely a product of when the two platforms were created and the economic forces at play. I wonder what mobile devices designed to empower the user would be like?

Re: A new digital divide: Young people who can’t use keyboards

#29

Post by mikebelanger »

acutesoftware wrote: post #3

If you aren't actually creating content [art, software, serious writing, etc] then using a mobile is fine for just consuming and it isn't surprising that these groups don't know how to use a computer. It is sad though, that young people appear to be less computer literate in terms of creating content (as an overall percentage of previous generations).

Unfortunately I get this impression too. I teach digital multimedia (even that's a dated term) workshops to young adults (mostly early 20s) with mental disabilities. We use 'old fashioned' computers with a mouse and keyboard. What I've noticed is the their proficiency with touchscreen related technologies is just as good as any young adult. However their proficiency with a 'traditional' computer is somewhat lower. But until this article, I wasn't sure if my observation was true for the entire young adult population, or just those with mental disabilities.

Now, I don't think there's anything sacred about using a traditional computer - the paradigm of moving a mouse and QWERTY keyboard is kind of strange, when you step back and think about it. What's concerning is that touchscreen-enabled apps tend to be more consumerist, and less conducive to creative endeavors than traditional computers. Maybe I'm just tooting my own horn here, but I think it's more important to reason with spreadsheets, write posts, and even make a video with graphics than how to use Amazon Kindle/Fire/Whatever nonsense tablet they've decided to push out there.

Even just making a site used to be this creative endeavor, something you figured out by looking around at source code on Geocities' sites. Now we (myself included) just type text into fields, who's html/css/backend has been configured by someone else.

Re: A new digital divide: Young people who can’t use keyboards

#30

Post by gaius »

SQL2219 wrote: post #2

This is similar to the stereotype of: young people are good with computers. Browsing Instagram is not the same as creating value through programming and complex problem solving.

The BBC love to divide the population into “digital immigrants” and “digital natives”, always with the subtext that the “natives” are superior. But their so-called journalists can’t even understand that the “digital immigrants” that they sneer at actually built everything and the “natives” are mere consumers
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