Is this generation becoming computer illiterate because of TABLETS?

[WinNut]

The title says it all.

 

If I sit a randomly selected 12-year-old at school in front of an iPad, he/she will have no problems operating it at all. Games, apps, websites, all that good stuff will be understood by said child. However, I notice that if I put them in front of a PC they will struggle in every way to operate it, and once or twice I have seen kids that think that Siri on the PC is a thing and try to TALK to the computer when voice-recognition software is not running/installed. I think that technology has been made idiot-proof and is thus costing us in terms of computer literacy. The tablet is foolproof: press the power button, slide to unlock, enter password (if applicable) and touch on icons that pertain to what you want to do. However, the PC goes much deeper than that, and that is what causes problems. Because the PC goes so deep and has much more functionality, kids fail to take advantage of that deeper functionality and struggle with basic operations. Personally, I am a power user on both the iOS and Windows platform, and I find that my knowledge helps my computing experience run more smoothly as I cannot fuck things up as a bad as I have seen. 

 

Please vote + discuss.

 

/rant

[_ASSASSIN_]

Well congrats she can operate the few unix based OS's out there lol.

[ZetZet]

I used pc since windows 95 and never once noticed one person that understood pc's. They always have been illiterate, they just learn how to do simple tasks they need and that's it.

[Askew]

I think that the increase in availablilty of computing platforms that require less literacy is in proportion to the decline of literacy among users of such platforms.

 

Don't see it as an issue for that type of user, it's just market emergence, the power user will always be needed to design such platforms, the balance of providing a level of useability and simplicity of operation is dished out proportianally depending on the target demo.

[WinNut]

I used pc since windows 95 and never once noticed one person that understood pc's. They always have been illiterate, they just learn how to do simple tasks they need and that's it.

Many kids in my school are computer illiterate and just used tablets, the things that they say are so scary that the tech community may commit suicide if they hear it.

[Thebman712]

i am 13 and i have no prob;em with computers but i know some kids in my class have no idea what the windows button does

[Cryptonite]

There will always be something turning the majority away from pc and focusing on something else, computers have a curse on them and all of us who use them for more than just work are looked at differently from the rest. people built a mental wall between them and computers. Think of tablets as the new phones or the new consoles. people always rather know those things rather than actual computers.

[WinNut]

I think that the increase in availablilty of computing platforms that require less literacy is in proportion to the decline of literacy among users of such platforms.

 

Don't see it as an issue for that type of user, it's just market emergence.

I do see it as an issue considering that many businesses are still on the PC platform and many kids are illiterate to the point that turning on a desktop PC is proportional to launching Saturn V.

[Askew]

I do see it as an issue considering that many businesses are still on the PC platform and many kids are illiterate to the point that turning on a desktop PC is proportional to launching Saturn V.

 

How many tablet only users are going into the IT field?

 

If they go into a business that requires the use of spreadsheet and word processing to run, then those skills are learned independently and in my opinion require little to no computer literacy.

 

I would wager that the majority of current and indeed past office workers in a PC based business environment could not build a PC, or tell you how to install drivers or format a hard drive, hence IT support guys being a core part of such businesses.

[ZetZet]

I do see it as an issue considering that many businesses are still on the PC platform and many kids are illiterate to the point that turning on a desktop PC is proportional to launching Saturn V.

Not suprised. No one wants to learn how to use pc for no reason, they only do it if they NEED to.

[terrytek]

I actually agree with you. I have friends who don't even know how to shut off a PC.

[Thorium19]

Another example, as well as becoming computer illiterate, is the amount of kids starting primary school who can't use a pen or pencil. They think they can write using their index finger on paper, because as a toddler their parents just gave them an iPad to play with, instead of playing with them themselves.

To answer the question though, yes, I do see younger kids trying to touch the monitor on the computers to operate it, then complain about how it isn't working. However, I do know some younger people who try to hack into the school network to get past the admin block, so I do have a sliver of hope for society on the future.

[WinNut]

-snip-

Agreed, I have seen kids attempting to touch the school monitors and complaining that it does not work, however the majority of the student user base at my school require assistance in printing.  :mellow: Mind you I am in middle school (as I type this an ant is trying to take my M325 for breakfast) and many of the students at my school are non-techies but I did have a sliver of hope when someone who I thought was a non-techie walked up to an ancient rig that was sitting open on the floor and began naming the expansion slots. It raised my hopes a little.

 

A lot of kids at my school compare the iPad to the PC and talk about how little features the PC has, the user base at my school pisses me off.  :angry:

[Cryptonite]

Agreed, I have seen kids attempting to touch the school monitors and complaining that it does not work, however the majority of the student user base at my school require assistance in printing.  :mellow: Mind you I am in middle school (as I type this an ant is trying to take my M325 for breakfast) and many of the students at my school are non-techies but I did have a sliver of hope when someone who I thought was a non-techie walked up to an ancient rig that was sitting open on the floor and began naming the expansion slots. It raised my hopes a little.

 

A lot of kids at my school compare the iPad to the PC and talk about how little features the PC has, the user base at my school pisses me off.  :angry:

this has been the way things have been going forever, it used to be phones compared to pc's (no not smart phones regular cellphones)

[Sauron]

no, 12 yer olds didn't know any more about pcs 10 years ago thn they do now (for the most part). that's the age where I personally STARTED getting interested in computers, but the fact that other people don't know as much about them at that age is normal. tablets, as you said, are foolproof so people who can't use a computer can usually use a tablet. doesn't mean they will never learn how to use a pc.

[WinNut]

no, 12 yer olds didn't know any more about pcs 10 years ago thn they do now (for the most part). that's the age where I personally STARTED getting interested in computers, but the fact that other people don't know as much about them at that age is normal. tablets, as you said, are foolproof so people who can't use a computer can usually use a tablet. doesn't mean they will never learn how to use a pc.

I'm 12 turning 13 this July, I started getting into computers in early 2013...

Did you see the thread about kids reacting to old computers? The kids in that video were so spoiled, that one girl that went like "Apps, games, and web sites" is so spoiled, I have no games on my tablet (true story) and I actually find using my teacher's Pentium MMX rig (I OCed to 262MHz) fun to use and not painful like those girls said

[Murdoch]

I think the better question would be. Are tablets providing access to 'computing' that would otherwise be unavailable to the PC illiterate.

 

Which I think is more in line with the reality.

[LarsReviews]

So the guy next to me in school: "if you get multiple gpus you don't need a cpu to run windows anymore" 

 

Just to make sure, does the question say that children are getting to stupid to use a computer, because of tablets?

 

Yes, they can't even use word probably in my school.  

[WinNut]

I think the better question would be. Are tablets providing access to 'computing' that would otherwise be unavailable to the PC illiterate.

 

Which I think is more in line with the reality.

I think that the answer to the question you proposed would be yes, tablets are providing limited computing power available to those that cannot function on the PC platform.

[The Sweetroll]

"Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"

 

It is to be expected that this debate would be a bit biased on a pc enthusiast forum but I think this question should be approached in a less subjective manner.

 

We should try to see this question from the "pc illiterate" poeples point of view and ask ourselves why a majority of people see less and less value in a PC and prefer something like a tablet. What does a PC actually offer to a average person that a tablet does not? 

[Murdoch]

I think that the answer to the question you proposed would be yes, tablets are providing limited computing power available to those that cannot function on the PC platform.

 

Which is a good thing in my opinion. Tablets are not prohibitive to learning about computing. Kids that want to learn more, will learn more. You can see that from the number of young teens that frequent this forum. I see them more as a gateway into computing. 

 

I'm actually amazed how intuitive these devices are, kids are using tablets before they can read and write. My niece who just started school, has downloaded and installed a bunch of spelling and maths apps for her android tablet. She can eloquently describe how to use these apps, what they do and how they work at a basic level. I couldn't imagine that kind of ease of access being delivered via a traditional desktop PC. She's also shown a lot of interest in my desktop PC, and I'm sure it would be trivial to teach her the basics, she already understands some of the similarities. But ofc she'd compare the desktop experience to how the Tablet works, cause up to this point it's all she knows. She's been using a tablet independently for over a year now, that would have been impossible on a desktop.

 

The problem is, tablets are becoming the ONLY computing devices in schools and homes. And at a certain point, that can become prohibitive.

[WinNut]

-snip-

The picture speaks for itself. Google Cloud Print on Android requires a PC anyway (the PC acts as a print server) and Apple AirPrint does not allow you to play with the DPI and other settings.

-snip-

I am one of those teens that you speak of. I came to the forum to learn about technology, discuss technology, and educate others about technology.

 

I think that I am unqualified to speak about growing up with tablets as I grew up around laptops and my first (and only) tablet was the first gen iPad (now belongs to my mother after I got an Air for Christmas), and I must say that when I got the tablet it felt a little more intuitive than the PC platform, but yet was very restrictive. I think that a balance of both is the best.

[flibberdipper]

It's possible.

[Yoinkerman]

People are generally computer illiterate anyway, I don't think tablets and phones have anything to do with that.

[Sauron]

I'm 12 turning 13 this July, I started getting into computers in early 2013...

Did you see the thread about kids reacting to old computers? The kids in that video were so spoiled, that one girl that went like "Apps, games, and web sites" is so spoiled, I have no games on my tablet (true story) and I actually find using my teacher's Pentium MMX rig (I OCed to 262MHz) fun to use and not painful like those girls said

again, unfortunately not everyone is like you and I. also bare in mind when I was 12 tablets were just starting to pop up, and still most people of my age barely knew how to turn on a pc (I myself knew little more since I never had a pc for myself before then). then, when I was about your age, I got a used pentium 3 as a consequence of having more space after we moved and it all skyrocketed from there.

I cringe too whenever people try to use a pc as you would a tablet, or when someone complains "the google broke" as your signature says ^^ but I guess we can't do much about it...