Tag: generations

Generational Differences

Now that I am a grandparent (or elder), I am back to evaluating comments made regarding generational differences in technology use and the significance of such differences. Yes, I am a little sensitive about concerns that those of us who have acquired geezer status are no longer “hip” (ask for a translation if this term is not in your vocab).

3DWiredSafety offers a nice summary of a recent Pew study concerning generational differences in use of the Internet. The chart used to conclude the post is especially useful. Younger users do use the net for a greater variety of activities, but there are areas in which “adults” are more frequent users. Kids don’t pay bills online, check their financial information or arrange for travel. They are also less likely to send email. Adults are less likely to download music and IM.

Relevant questions become when do such differences reflect differences in generational interests (i.e., kids do kid things and adults do adult things) rather than what might be interpreted as a resistance to useful change, when are such differences “important”, and when important who should take note. I assume there is much in these data for marketing types. Those fighting for the teen fashion dollar should make sure they have a web presence. Those interested in shaping political opinions of adults should also work on their web sites.

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Graze, Dive, Talk Back

John Palfrey offers a model of how digital natives process the news. The idea is to describe the difference between those of us who get up in the morning and read the Times (or Grand Forks Herald) cover to cover and those of us who go online and take a different approach. I really like the model (graze, dive, talk back) and I would really like to think it was true of high school and college students today.

However, I would really like to see the data on this one. I think the way Palfrey describes the habits of 21st century learners (if present high school and college students are considered 21st century learners) is idealistic and probably inaccurate. My students are more likely to IM and use a cell phone that I am, but I would bet very few of them followed up on what I could consider a legit news story today. I did – this is how I located the link used in this post. So, I am saying I think educators are more likely to at least “dive” and possibly “talk back” than their students. What I would like to see is educators extending this practice to include their students. As I read the research on teacher technology skills, the most frequent limitation that characterizes new teachers is that they apply skills to benefit their own learning and do not extend these same advantages to their students. So, I think a more appropriate criticism, since this piece seems to be about who is out of date, out of touch, etc., is that educators don’t involve their students in the practices they employ for their own information needs.

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