How tech savvy do we really think we are?

No matter where you look today, you will see technology. Let’s face it, technology is everywhere and if you aren’t constantly plugged into your smart phone, laptop or kindle you feel as though you are missing out on a part of the world. With the constant presence of technology it is hard to believe that the tech savvy generation that we think we are in is not as technologically comprehensive as thought to be.

Usage of technological devices throughout the educational system has no doubt sky rocketed in the last ten years. In classrooms there are more than just a plugged in projector and a chalk board. Classrooms are built filled with technological devises and students are often required to use these devises in everyday assignments, projects and to learn their lecture material as well.  It may seem too many of these students that everyone is plugged into the digital world, but in fact many are still sticking to paperback books and unable to afford the new gadgets that would create a digital generation. The studies that have taken place on the rise of technology often contain white, upper class populations that are able to afford the fancy new smart phone, kindle and laptop for their children. Meanwhile, middle class and lower class families of all demographics may be able to afford some of this equipment but usually are going without or waiting longer to get the fancier technology.  In addition to budget, students are being given all of this technology without being shown how to use it correctly. Lack of knowledge about the equipment being used makes you as tech savvy as those that do not own the equipment at all.

Companies today are continually targeting younger audiences because of the belief that they are a tech savvy generation. While these children have grown up with a wider and more available form of technology, many are not able to use the technology correctly or to its full use which may hurt more than help these companies in the end.  Technology allows us to find a false sense of empowerment because we get to change, format and create a device to resemble ourselves. However, without the knowledge of the proper use we may as well continue to do things the way they were done before this technology revolution began.

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