Digital kids today are like the geeks of yesterday

So there is an interesting new report out talking about how digital youth make use of, and live and learn with new media. This report is one of those that paints an interesting and really what should be a highly predictable picture of how the digital youth experience the world of new media.

The report talks about the different categories of use that these digital youth have for and around different activities. It talks about how their digital messing around is actually essential in learning how to use and utilise all the possibilities for learning and research which surrounds them online.

The report cautions those worried about teens and younger kids seemingly just hanging out with their friends online, showing that this hanging around is an essential step in creating a comfortable existence online allowing the digital youth to grow and learn in this environment.

Of course one of the things I saw in the report which I found amusing was the image of my friends and I at one of our places a few years ago. Half a dozen of us all with laptops, swapping links playing songs and videos for each other mailing and IM-ing. So geeky and when another guest arrived who wasn’t such a geek she couldn’t understand us all. But it was so natural just pull out the laptop extension of your mind and communicate. I guess all kids growing up today can be as comfortable and more (much more) than we are with digital tools.

Tomorrow is an interesting place.