A recent blog post on technology adoption made it’s way to me. The premise of the post is the idea that technology is starting to become so ubiquitous that youth are accepting technology without any hesitation or any great caution.
Ummm, no. This is the same sort of theory that has been passed around from generation to generation. Post the sexual revolution in the United States, it was thought that youth would all of sudden have sex like crazed animals without any thought to the consequences of their action or what it would mean to them and their partners. Didn’t happen, still doesn’t happen. Youth are just as skeptical of new technology as anyone else. While they do definitely more easily see benefits in using and embracing technology they also have a clearer outlook on the negative side of technology. Both with regards to privacy, efficiency, or just any other consequences you can think of.
I know very few youth who are extremely accepting of technology on any level. When the technology becomes ubiquitous such as cell phones or the internet is one thing, they accept it because they accepted it a long time ago. However something new they are just as skeptical as anyone else. The even more amazing thing is that I am seeing people who are starting to rethink their use of even accepted technologies such as the internet as their primary form of communication. I know a girl who just penned a brief note on this very matter yesterday night, wondering about the fact that she no longer communicates with very many people outside of the internet where we lose so many of those ticks, facial expressions and vocalics that make each of us unique.
Youth will accept technology easier than previous generations, but that doesn’t mean that they will accept it without any sort of anyalsis of what the technology offers in both benefits and consequences.
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