Article submitted by Lisa Chipouras, ALD Answers.
The teens we serve in our libraries today are considered "Digital Natives." This generation has grown up with the Internet as a common feature in their day-to-day life. Because of this, teens of this era encounter and process information in a different manner than the many generations that have come before.
Below is the citation and link to an article concerning the topic of generational differences in information access. Post a response about your experience with this generational difference or how you relate to the type of teen talked about in the article. If you disagree with the premise, outline where you think the author is misguided.
O'Brien, Catherine. "How the Google generation thinks differently." Times Online. 9 July 2008.
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article4295414.ece
NATIVES v IMMIGRANTS
Digital natives:
Like receiving information quickly from multiple media sources.
Like parallel processing and multi-tasking.
Like processing pictures, sounds and video before text.
Like random access to hyperlinked multimedia information.
Like to network with others.
Like to learn “just in time”.
Digital immigrants:
Like slow and controlled release of information from limited sources.
Like singular processing and single or limited tasking.
Like processing text before pictures, sounds and video.
Like to receive information linearly, logically and sequentially.
Like to work independently.
Like to learn “just in case”.
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6 comments:
i'd say the digital immigrants (not a fan of that choice of words) is an ever shrinking population..especially with teens...i think we should focus more on better educating teens on how to use the many digital resources they have avalible to them...this we cannot due without digital savvy staff...this is the present and the future..welcome to it..we've been here for quiet some tiem..it's nice that library staff is comming around...gettin in the game...
I definitely relate to these teens, and actually, I think that I would be considered a digital native because of my age.
I just remember in college when I was working on a paper, I would have multiple instant messenger conversations going, have music playing and have some sort of game up. I may also have been watching TV or a movie at the same time. It's honestly difficult for me to get work done if I'm not doing multiple tasks at once.
It's interesting to watch or help the "digital immigrants " when they come in to the library. Their process of learning and internalizing anything related to the computer (how to use it, how to print, how to burn a CD, etc.) seems like a snails pace to me. I often find myself having to intentionally slow down my answers to their questions to give them time to hear and internalize the answer before they can complete the action and go on to the next one. It's always quite the learning experience!
My experience with this has been as a grumpy mother. I do recognize that teens are great at multitasking, but I have tried to point out that each task still takes time - and that the math homework task should possibly have more priority than the texting friends, picking music...tasks.
I agree with alonecloud that we need a digital savvy staff, but I don't agree that library staff are just getting in the game. My daughter might be of the google generation, but I am a much better searcher because of much greater knowledge whether that knowledge came from books, television, school, internet.
I agreeded with many things in the article. I have to have an open mind when dealing with digital natives. It is so far from the way I have been taught to learn and retain information. I want to say to them "Slow Down!!" but that is not being realistic. Our world right now is fast, grab and go. I would only hope that we at the library can be a guide to reliable resources in this digital world of information. I want to learn from the digital native but I hope that they would not forget that we as digital immigrants have much to offer as well.
These fears are not new. The same was said about any teen in the 50s-60s who did homework while listening to music. Then in 1971, The Electric Company began its TV reign of bright, flashy, high-energy learning, and detractors were sure this type of learning was going to lead to the downfall of the generation's ability to critically examine material and we'd have a nation of ignorant people.
We also need to remember that each person has a learning style that is unique to them. My sister could have a hundred things going and still pull great grades. I preferred more quiet, though I always listened to music. And it depends on the topic: English lit I could do with a multitude of seeming distractions; statistics, not so much.
Any generation which has grown up with a new technology is definitely not afraid of it, no matter what that technology is. The first computers I used had servers in a climate-controlled, LOCKED room the size of a meeting room at KO or SM, watched over by a team of 6 IT folks.
We need to be careful not to perpetuate an artificial divide... and applaud anyone who wants to learn more.
I saw a good example of this multi-tasking earlier today at SG. A teen patron had picked up Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley. He was intensely reading it while listening to something on his headphones and walking to the sel-check machine. He continued reading as he reached into his pocket and got his wallet out and even while he took his card from his wallet. All this and chewing gum too! I wish I could have videotaped it for you to see, it was great to watch. This goes along with some of the other blog articles about "who says teens don't read?"
~Monica
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