Technology with the upcoming generation and the older generation

In an ideal world everyone would listen to each other. However the world we live in is not ideal. If everyone listened there would be peace, if everyone spoke up, there would be freedom. Sadly this will never be the case.

I'm writing this article to express my views on the current generation's behaviour towards the next generation and technology. We all learn from mistakes and the more mistakes we make the more knowledgeable we become. People are afraid to make mistakes because they feel embarrassed and feel others will laugh at them. That is why the ideal age to learn is young when you are less aware what people think of you.

Moving on, computers. I use one on a daily basis and the more time I spend on it the more I learn. I spend the majority of my time on the internet, which is jam packed with information and there is always something to watch, listen to or read. It will never grow old. The internet has played a big part in my education in the IT field and will continue to be. This is where my point comes into reality. Parents blocking their children from sites and maybe the internet. Why? They say it has harmful content. So straight away, their children have no knowledge whatsoever of what all the internet has to provide and know no different.

This is like depriving a child from going outside because it's dangerous. What a ridiculous statement. LIFE IS DANGEROUS. Believe it or not but everyday something happens to you which is potentially dangerous, so are you going to lock yourself in a room with nothing in it. A room with nothing in it still has things in it anyway! Bacteria! Like it or not, we are always in danger.

The internet is just another factor which is "dangerous". It is also an extremely beneficial factor to many peoples lives. COMMUNICATION! How many of you have family living abroad and it is hard to keep in contact with? You might say I just phone them. You can do this but they might not always be at home and you will also rack up a massive bill because of phoning abroad. Snail mail? Yep, and that will take how long? Seriously, how hard is it to send an email? Don't forget its the quickest and cheapest way of communication abroad.

In todays modern age, the people who will learn the fastest are the youngest people so why deprive them of something as big and full of information like the internet? Because it's dangerous? For goodness sake, so is walking! You could fall over awkwardly and break your back!

I took a trip to town last week to buy myself a 3G dongle. Before I went into the shop I did my research on the INTERNET to find the best value for money and then I took a trip into town. When I got to the shop I ordered exactly what I wanted and then this is when I got a lecture on how to use it. I'm a 15 year old kid, so he ASSUMED I didn't know what I was doing and didn't ask. He explained slowly and clearly, step by step what to do and not to do. I couldn't help but laugh and when the lecture was finally over, I paid and left as quickly as I could. In that circumstance, I actually know more than he did but he still insisted on lecturing me how to use it. My dad says this is good service which I agree too but he could have asked if I knew what I was doing before he talked to be like a baby.

I can understand some parents are over protective of their children but in a way you are putting them at more risk in later life. There are some parts of the internet which are extremely dangerous such as paedophiles and cyber bullying. This can be overcome by the parents by them simply watching their children using the internet. Simply blocking them from sites like this won't teach them to avoid them because they will never learn what to avoid. If we are never exposed to danger how will we know how to avoid it?

I'm probably rambling on too much now but to my main point, we know more than you! It's a fact, I know more than you do because I have grown up with this technology and MOST OF ALL I have got my hands DIRTY in it. I have experienced harmful content and all it has done is toughened me up for future events that may bring harm to me.

Another thing I disagree with is the teaching of ICT in schools. It is a pointless subject teaching because it is ALWAYS changing and it is very hard to keep up with. In my school we are "learning" Microsoft Office 2003. Industry standard is what my dad says. It is industry standard at THIS MOMENT IN TIME. Yes, but when I am an adult in a job working with computers will Microsoft Office 2003 be industry standard? NO! A big fat NO!!! So why teach us it at all? A complete waste of time. I know, why not teach us something more useful like the INTERNET? How to be safe? Which sites are good and which are bad and examples etc... Anyhow, the way technology is moving, everything is becoming web based like Google Docs!

In my house, guess who is the computer and network administrator? My mum? My dad? No, it's me. My parents have led me the CORRECT path with technology. They let me experiment with everything but kept an eye on me to protect me from potential harm. Their motto was, "You break it, you fix it" and what a great motto it was! The first thing I remember fixing was a nasty virus that I DOWNLOADED! My parents motto came into play, "You break it, you fix it", and so I did, I learnt how to scan for viruses and as I got better I learnt how to reinstall the operating system and we ended up with a like new laptop! Good comes from bad! I then reinstalled the operating system on our other machines to get them speedy again and my dad was so grateful for my work. Next I wanted to upgrade our oldest PC and opened it up. By this time everything was pretty familiar, however I didn't know everything yet. I removed the heat sync from the processor and what a mistake that was!!! I didn't realize the damage I had done to begin with. I put the PC back together and plugged it in. YIKES! Power on, Windows starting and boom, power off. Confused, I reassured myself I could boot into safe mode. Power on Windows starting and boom, power off. Sweat was pouring down my face, what had I done??? I went into a technology chat room to discuss what I had been doing and I learnt that I needed to reapply thermal paste between the processor and heat sync. Now, this was the time to inform my parents what I had done. My mother was fine about it because she knew I knew what I was doing and I could fix it. We took a trip into town to a local computer shop but they had no thermal paste. I was more tense because my dad wouldn't be too soft with me about what I had done. When he arrived home I explained what I had done and he was a little bit angry but he knew I could fix it. We ordered the thermal paste from Ebay and a few days later I applied the paste and everything was fine again!

Now if I was deprived from doing any of those things, I still wouldn't know what to do and now that I am older I would be more likely to call up someone to do it for me which will cost me lots of MONEY! Over the years I've saved my dad lots of cash by stopping him from trashing his old PC because I have improved its performance by reinstalling the operating system because that is what slows down, not the computer and now our oldest PC is approaching a decade old and is still going strong!

If I was never born, my dad would have not saved that money and not learnt the things I have about computers and would be just as afraid of using them as many people are today. Trial and error is the key to success and without it you WILL fail in life.

Comments are greatly appreciated on your views on this matter.

Visit my blog for more of my opinions.

Tags: education, generation, it, older, rant, school, technology, younger

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Comment by Bret Spector on April 26, 2009 at 3:49pm: You have some really good points in here, and I agree that it is totally stupid for parents to block the internet from their kids for whatever stupid reason that they can come up with. Maybe if the parents understood the power, and the knowledge that you could gain from the Internet, then there would be more peace on this subject.

Comment by Wandering I on April 26, 2009 at 1:58pm: The whole problem with the censorship of the net from children and stuff like that is the gross number of mis-informed parents. I can say the same thing about game violence. If parents would take the time to learn how to protect their kids safely while still giving them freedom to be creative and explore whats out there, we'd have a much better world to live in. Most name brand routers can filter urls based on keywords Ie. (xxx, porn, warez, etc.), some do it by filtering meta tags. Its easily done if people would take the time to understand the technology. Tv is the same way. I've had parental protection from my cable box for as long as i've had it. Everyone who has digital cable has this function BUILT IN, they just have to learn how to use it. Same with parental locks on game consoles, dvd players, etc.

There is one example of ignorance to this type of protection that I Glaringly remember. We all know what the ESRB is right? The board that rates games based on their content, etc. My local used games store (locally owned, not a game$top type) has been around for over 10 years and I love it. They have an awesome selection and I know every person that works their by name. A couple years ago this kid (6, 7 maybe) and his mom were in the store and the kid picks up GTA3 for ps2. His mom LOOKS at the case, reads the stuff on the back so i'm assuming she had to have seen the label at the bottom that says it has mature themes, sexual references, etc. She takes the case up anyways, and Eric, who is only 19 at the time, tells her before selling it to her that if its for her son that it has all of these themes and is intended for a much more mature audience. The mother says I don't care, and buys it anyway. So who's fault is that? The case was clearly labeled, the retailer directly told her that it was violent, and she still bought it for her son. Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling anyone how to raise a kid, but its that kind of stuff, and then some kid shoots up a school and they blame Doom or something that really pisses me off. I'm not saying every retailer is as good as my guy is, but sometimes if the older generation just doesn't wanna take the time, they have no one to blame but themselves.

Comment by Joel on April 26, 2009 at 1:29pm: I agree with you. This is a good post. I used my parents computer back in the DOS days, I learned QBasic. I accidentally corrupted the hard drive (ran a corrupted file); at the time I was too young to know how to reinstall an OS so my dad had to fix it. Now I have my own computer and he doesn't care what I do to it just as long as I'm legal. My dad knows quite a bit about computers, so he runs our network. We have a cascading router set up so I have my own to mess with. He has his own computers, but won't let me touch them because one mistake I made a long time ago. He had an old Dell laptop that he stopped using, so I took it and use it somewhat frequently.

I agree with you saying that people should not be restricted, but they still should have an eye on them to make sure they aren't going to bad websites on purpose.

Comment by Andrew Ewen on April 25, 2009 at 2:43pm: I had a great time reading that. You should become a journalist or a writer when you're older. I agree with you completely, how can we protect ourselves against something we know nothing about and have never experienced. Great post.

Comment by cliffystones on April 25, 2009 at 12:59pm: Java Whiz Kid,

Since I can't put these thoughts in better terms myself, here's a quote from one of my favorite authors Robert Heinlein. It was spoken by one of his best characters.

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
-Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love

I admire the passion that you have for the Internet and technology. I just hope this statement provides some "food for thought" that might encourage you to use that passion to broaden your horizons.

Comment by Terry Jenkins on April 25, 2009 at 8:02am: Interesting and accurate viewpoint.. As someone from the "older" generation, but with 25+ yrs of computer experience, I am always exposed to this.. I totally agree that the "older" generation will undoubtedly take on the role of "teacher", when trying to help someone younger, w/o thought that the person may have more experience..

The one experience that stands out for me, was when we hired a young buck as a tech for our computer store.. He lived an alternative lifestyle, but was very good with dos, unix, perl, c and, the very new html. (we're talking '92). Within weeks this kid proved his worth in many ways, teaching us "old dogs" a bunch of new tricks, and that has stuck with me..

As a systems consultant, I always approach the younger talent in a business to see where the limitations & strengths are, so I can make an intelligent and reasonable recommendation for the achievement of they're defined goals.

My only complaint with the younger set, is that they tend to all have A.D.D. :).. They are real good at resolving the core issues, but have difficulty in completely finishing the project.. ie: completing all testing procedures, documentation, etc. This is where I actually spend most of energy, by taking the time to explain why they need to followthru on assignments, and the consequences if they don't..

All in all, my experiences have been very positive when dealing with younger generations, as long as I remember that it's more about mutual respect and understanding..

As far as the content blocking issue, obviously, it is age dependent, but I would like to see more parent involvement with their kids, and I think it's the parents responsibility if the kids get carried away, and cause someone/something harm..

Lastly, when dealing with "over-zealous" sales personnel, I usually politely interrupt and ask them a question that both implies my knowledge and let's them know they are dealing with someone well above their experience level.. Sure way to stop an impending lecture!

Comment by cliffystones on April 25, 2009 at 7:49am: As a parent, I'll say this. Completely banning the Internet is as narrow-minded as completely banning television, or for that matter comic books.

But as a parent it is my responsibility, and I believe my sacred duty, to protect my kids from harm. I do have a special router that blocks porn sites, chat rooms and the like. My kids are 12 and 9, and as they mature I'm certain they will develop the ability to be better judges of what's safe vs what's stupid. But in the meantime I'd prefer that they learn the "easy way" by reading and seeing news reports of others who's parents make no effort to monitor their activity and are involved in all sorts of horrendous situations (while not involving parents, the latest is the "Craigslist killer"). This involvement may not make me the "cool parent", but if you ever feel up to the parenting challenge someday, you will come to understand the difference between "cool" and "caring".

Comment by Sol McNally Aka : Dmitri Girl on April 24, 2009 at 9:44pm: Well. That was a lot of reading. I am glad that your parents let you do that as well. Without making mistakes as you said towards the end you never learn. How can you learn if your "baby" guarded your entire life.

As for the guy in the store that sold you that thing. (Can't remember the name) Anyway. They are probably told to do that no matter who you are. But you being what he considered a young kid he probably felt more so. I would have told him after he kept talking for more then 3 minutes. Sir....I have done my research thank you for your time.

As for people that try to block their kids from things. I also agree with what you said. But I will add something you keep something from someone in this manner. The more they want to experience it. Meaning you put up a firewall that blocks out myspace. Your kid is more likely to research how to break the firewall to get to myspace. It is just how life works. Which is why like you said. NO Point in blocking sites. And just watch them. Which is another thing. I will not let my "kids" if I ever have any have computers in there room til after they turn 18. They can beg an plead all they want ITS A BIG FAT NO.