Kids can't use computers... and it should worry you

Page 1 of 1 [ 11 posts ] 

Mikah
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 23 Oct 2015
Age: 36
Posts: 3,201
Location: England

15 Aug 2021, 9:36 am

http://coding2learn.org/blog/2013/07/29 ... computers/

...

'So what do you teach?' she asked as I worked on her presentation.
'Computing' I replied.
'Oh... I guess these days you must find that the kids know more about computers than the teachers....'

If you teach IT or Computing, this is a phrase that you'll have heard a million times, a billion times, epsilon zero times, aleph one times. Okay I exaggerate, but you'll have heard it a lot. There are variants of the phrase, all espousing today's children's technical ability. My favourite is from parents: 'Oh, Johnny will be a natural for A-Level Computing. He's always on his computer at home.' The parents seem to have some vague concept that spending hours each evening on Facebook and YouTube will impart, by some sort of cybernetic osmosis, a knowledge of PHP, HTML, JavaScript and Haskell.

Normally when someone spouts this rubbish I just nod and smile. This time I simply couldn't let it pass. 'Not really, most kids can't use computers.' (and neither can you - I didn't add.)


...

A sixth-former brings me his laptop, explaining that it is running very slowly and keeps shutting down. The laptop is literally screaming, the processor fans running at full whack and the case is uncomfortably hot to touch. I run Task Manager to see that the CPU is running at 100% despite the only application open being uTorrent (which incidentally had about 200 torrent files actively seeding). I look at what processes are running and there are a lot of them, hogging the CPU and RAM. What's more I can't terminate a single one. 'What anti-virus are you using?' I ask, only to be told that he didn't like using anti-virus because he'd heard it slowed his computer down. I hand back the laptop and tell him that it's infected. He asks what he needs to do, and I suggest he reinstalls Windows. He looks at me blankly. He can't use a computer.

A kid puts her hand up in my lesson. 'My computer won't switch on,' she says, with the air of desperation that implies she's tried every conceivable way of making the thing work. I reach forward and switch on the monitor, and the screen flickers to life, displaying the Windows login screen. She can't use a computer.

A teacher brings me her school laptop. 'Bloody thing won't connect to the internet.' she says angrily, as if it were my fault. 'I had tonnes of work to do last night, but I couldn't get on-line at all. My husband even tried and he couldn't figure it out and he's excellent with computers.' I take the offending laptop from out of her hands, toggle the wireless switch that resides on the side, and hand it back to her. Neither her nor her husband can use computers.

A kid knocks on my office door, complaining that he can't login. 'Have you forgotten your password?' I ask, but he insists he hasn't. 'What was the error message?' I ask, and he shrugs his shoulders. I follow him to the IT suite. I watch him type in his user-name and password. A message box opens up, but the kid clicks OK so quickly that I don't have time to read the message. He repeats this process three times, as if the computer will suddenly change its mind and allow him access to the network. On his third attempt I manage to get a glimpse of the message. I reach behind his computer and plug in the Ethernet cable. He can't use a computer.

A teacher brings me her brand new iPhone, the previous one having been destroyed. She's lost all her contacts and is very upset. I ask if she'd plugged her old iPhone into her computer at any time, but she can't remember. I ask her to bring in her laptop and iPhone. When she brings them in the next day I restore her phone from the backup that resides on her laptop. She has her contacts back, and her photos as well. She's happy. She can't use a computer.

A teacher phones my office, complaining that his laptop has "no internet". I take a walk down to his classroom. He tells me that the internet was there yesterday, but today it's gone. His desktop is a solid wall of randomly placed Microsoft office icons. I quickly try and explain that the desktop is not a good place to store files as they're not backed up on the server, but he doesn't care; he just wants the internet back. I open the start menu and click on Internet Explorer, and it flashes to life with his homepage displayed. He explains that the Internet used to be on his desktop, but isn't any more. I close I.E. and scour the desktop, eventually finding the little blue 'e' buried amongst some PowerPoint and Excel icons. I point to it. He points to a different location on the screen, informing me of where it used to be. I drag the icon back to it's original location. He's happy. He can't use a computer.

A kid puts his hand up. He tells me he's got a virus on his computer. I look at his screen. Displayed in his web-browser is what appears to be an XP dialogue box warning that his computer is infected and offering free malware scanning and removal tools. He's on a Windows 7 machine. I close the offending tab. He can't use a computer.

Not really knowing how to use a computer is deemed acceptable if you're twenty-five or over. It's something that some people are even perversely proud of, but the prevailing wisdom is that all under eighteens are technical wizards, and this is simply not true. They can use some software, particularly web-apps. They know how to use Facebook and Twitter. They can use YouTube and Pinterest. They even know how to use Word and PowerPoint and Excel. Ask them to reinstall an operating system and they're lost. Ask them to upgrade their hard-drive or their RAM and they break out in a cold sweat. Ask them what https means and why it is important and they'll look at you as if you're speaking Klingon.

They click 'OK' in dialogue boxes without reading the message. They choose passwords like qwerty1234. They shut-down by holding in the power button until the monitor goes black. They'll leave themselves logged in on a computer and walk out of the room. If a program is unresponsive, they'll click the same button repeatedly until it crashes altogether.

How the hell did we get to this situation? How can a generation with access to so much technology, not know how to use it?


_________________
Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory, Farewell!


badRobot
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 18 Jan 2011
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Posts: 824

17 Aug 2021, 10:24 am

This is not really about using computers, this is about how human habits work. Majority of regular people function this way, without paying much attention and overthinking. Downside is being lost when something doesn't work as expected. People on the spectrum having trouble with executive function often are better at problem solving such issues due to lacking automatic behaviors, but suffer with trivial everyday tasks most of these "stupid" people do without even thinking about it.



Fnord
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2008
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 59,750
Location: Stendec

17 Aug 2021, 10:36 am

There is a big difference between operating a computer and maintaining one, even though both are different types of "use".  Because of my profession, most of my wife's relatives seem to think that I am a "computer genius", when about half of what I do for them is run CCleaner, install anti-virus programs, update apps, and read the "Help" files out loud.  The other half of the time is spent switching the computer off and then back on again.  I have had to re-format a drive and re-install the OS only once -- that person has not spoken to me since because the re-format wiped out all of his porn.


_________________
 
No love for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian Leadership, Islamic Jihad, other Islamic terrorist groups, OR their supporters and sympathizers.


Fnord
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2008
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 59,750
Location: Stendec

17 Aug 2021, 10:56 am

Back in the mid-1980s, the first IBM-PC/XT/AT computers were hot items.  A certain clerical-technical union at a certain state university in Michigan tried to upgrade the salaries of its secretarial members because (to their reasoning) any person performing data-entry on a spreadsheet (e.g., Lotus 1-2-3) was "programming" a computer.

However, the technicians who actually maintained the computers were told that "tweaking" the settings inside the configuration and initialization files had nothing to do with programming, and their salaries would not be increased.


_________________
 
No love for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian Leadership, Islamic Jihad, other Islamic terrorist groups, OR their supporters and sympathizers.


aspiecoder
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 5 Mar 2021
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 26
Location: Adelaide, Australia

20 Aug 2021, 6:08 pm

As a tech guy I share your frustrations on the fact that most people don't really know how to use a computer, at least not well. However, having given this a lot of thought I think the problem isn't really all the users' fault.

It's certainly not just kids, and nothing to do with the "younger generation" or any of that. Sorry to those who seem to get off on such an agenda.

Most people can drive a car but few know how they work, or how to properly diagnose issues with them. It's the same with computers, but even then not everyone knows how to "drive" a computer. We don't have to undergo formal standardised training to use a computer and there is no license required (maybe there should be, at least for online safety).

And I'd argue this is how the world should be. There is simply too much to know that no single person can be an expert on everything, and they shouldn't have to be. If the average person can't figure out how to use a computer, maybe the problem is with the human-computer interface. I think this is actually still evolving and will improve over time.

The app ecosystems are becoming popular because it takes what previously required some expert knowledge in different domains and packages it up as an "app" that anyone can download and install. Video editing used to be complicated. It still is, but nowhere near as much as before. There's an app for that. You can view the whole IT world as humans and technology converging. People are becoming more used to the way tech works, and tech is becoming better at adapting to how humans work.

The idea that there was some golden age in the past where everyone knew how to use a computer but now kids have lost this fine art, is a myth. People have never been good with computers, and the kids of today ARE better at adopting new tech than their parents were. Kids also often learn coding as part of their school curriculum now. A small-ish percentage will go on to learn how to use computers and software more fully, and a tiny percentage will learn how to make their own.



shlaifu
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 May 2014
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,659

22 Aug 2021, 8:02 pm

I agree - the problem is much more in the extreme ease of doing some things - like operating facebook or instagram - and the UI nightmare that is windows (10).

well, actually, *managing* a facebook account might be beyond most users, too, but using it is pretty easy. facebook does the rest for you.

however, a bit of basic problem solving and troubleshooting when working with a machine can't hurt either, particularly if you're using that machine daily.

... I remember I accidentally switched MS-DOS to ASCII display once and needed help, but I was nine.


_________________
I can read facial expressions. I did the test.


Dr_Manhattan
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

Joined: 11 Feb 2016
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Posts: 145

23 Aug 2021, 3:24 pm

aspiecoder wrote:
As a tech guy I share your frustrations on the fact that most people don't really know how to use a computer, at least not well. However, having given this a lot of thought I think the problem isn't really all the users' fault.

It's certainly not just kids, and nothing to do with the "younger generation" or any of that. Sorry to those who seem to get off on such an agenda.

Most people can drive a car but few know how they work, or how to properly diagnose issues with them. It's the same with computers, but even then not everyone knows how to "drive" a computer. We don't have to undergo formal standardised training to use a computer and there is no license required (maybe there should be, at least for online safety).

And I'd argue this is how the world should be. There is simply too much to know that no single person can be an expert on everything, and they shouldn't have to be. If the average person can't figure out how to use a computer, maybe the problem is with the human-computer interface. I think this is actually still evolving and will improve over time.

The app ecosystems are becoming popular because it takes what previously required some expert knowledge in different domains and packages it up as an "app" that anyone can download and install. Video editing used to be complicated. It still is, but nowhere near as much as before. There's an app for that. You can view the whole IT world as humans and technology converging. People are becoming more used to the way tech works, and tech is becoming better at adapting to how humans work.

The idea that there was some golden age in the past where everyone knew how to use a computer but now kids have lost this fine art, is a myth. People have never been good with computers, and the kids of today ARE better at adopting new tech than their parents were. Kids also often learn coding as part of their school curriculum now. A small-ish percentage will go on to learn how to use computers and software more fully, and a tiny percentage will learn how to make their own.


Meh. As a certified IT professional, I consider it job security. I think it's amusing how some people think they know how to do my job and when they foul up, they come back to me with a humiliated look on their faces. They can't even make eye contact, they're so embarrassed. :lol:



SabbraCadabra
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Apr 2008
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,694
Location: Michigan

24 Aug 2021, 2:40 am

People don't use computers anymore, they all have smart phones for their social media needs.


_________________
I'm looking for Someone to change my life. I'm looking for a Miracle in my life.


EdCase
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 51
Location: Trapped in my head

31 Aug 2021, 6:44 am

shlaifu wrote:
I agree - the problem is much more in the extreme ease of doing some things - like operating facebook or instagram - and the UI nightmare that is windows (10).

well, actually, *managing* a facebook account might be beyond most users, too, but using it is pretty easy. facebook does the rest for you.

however, a bit of basic problem solving and troubleshooting when working with a machine can't hurt either, particularly if you're using that machine daily.

... I remember I accidentally switched MS-DOS to ASCII display once and needed help, but I was nine.


I had to learn how to create a boot disk and manage memory so games would run. Yes these, days they've made things much more accessible. I'm sure most of us on this thread appreciate the ease because we understand the underlying fundamentals of how things work. I don't have the patience to troubleshoot and fix everything these days (I still do, I just don't enjoy it the way I used to).


_________________
ASD (Lvl2), ADHD Inattentive Moderate


Mikah
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 23 Oct 2015
Age: 36
Posts: 3,201
Location: England

23 Sep 2021, 5:45 pm

A related and somewhat newer article:

https://www.theverge.com/22684730/stude ... tion-gen-z

Catherine Garland, an astrophysicist, started seeing the problem in 2017. She was teaching an engineering course, and her students were using simulation software to model turbines for jet engines. She’d laid out the assignment clearly, but student after student was calling her over for help. They were all getting the same error message: The program couldn’t find their files.

Garland thought it would be an easy fix. She asked each student where they’d saved their project. Could they be on the desktop? Perhaps in the shared drive? But over and over, she was met with confusion. “What are you talking about?” multiple students inquired. Not only did they not know where their files were saved — they didn’t understand the question.

Gradually, Garland came to the same realization that many of her fellow educators have reached in the past four years: the concept of file folders and directories, essential to previous generations’ understanding of computers, is gibberish to many modern students.


_________________
Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory, Farewell!


Zorba
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 21 Jan 2007
Age: 65
Gender: Male
Posts: 11

24 Sep 2021, 10:05 pm

This is yet another symptom of the dumbing down and decontenting of computer software, and the rise of the smartphone and "Apps". Very frustrating....


_________________
-Zorba
)O(