A Touchscreen Phone Made My Grandma Cry.

After reading “Generational Myth” By Siva Vaidhyanathan, I’d have to say that I disagree with his unique perspective on the true extent to which students today are actually technologically savvy. I disagree because technology is embedded in our everyday lives. Online classes are much more abundant now than they were a decade ago. Every generation from here on out will be exposed to a new level of technology. It’s sophistication is growing exponentially. Show a child a picture frame now and they will try to swipe it like a tablet, if their parents have one and let them play with it. I’m in the book business and I can say first hand that students are quickly opting out of purchasing physical textbooks for, often times free, PDF versions. Its quick, it’s instant, and best of all, you can use the “Find” function to find any keyword relevant to the assignment. Laptops and tablets are seen in classroom instead of pen and note pad. I can type lectures note so much quicker on my laptop than I can write it, without the hand cramps. This gives me more time to listen and process the information, but my email or another class usually just distracts me instead. I watched my Grand Mother cry because she got a new phone and her nail done on the same day and he nails wouldn’t let her touch her new touch screen. She couldn’t text or call any one because she wasn’t used to touch screen phones and she had to be shown how it works. If you gave that same phone to a 13 year old kid, he will figure out how to use it in 10 minutes or less, no problem. I’m amazed how good my younger cousins are at catching on to things. They are a product of a rapidly evolving world and they see and recognize that. I believe kids today are picking up on everything at a much faster rate, especially technology. They have to, or there would be no market for all of the technology available. After all, if you have enough money to go to college, you can probably afford a computer. Meanwhile my grandma can afford a computer as well as anything else she wants, she just decided to upgrade here cathode ray tube television for a flat screen. Every college student I know owns a flat screen and has since high school.