Digital Natives Are Not Digital Experts

Something I’ve long suspected is confirmed by real research by the Nielsen/Norman Group. Even though young people are comfortable with technology, they are not experts. I noticed this first with my personal sample of nieces and nephews, ages 24-7, who live all over the country. They know what they know, and like how technology makes their lives easier and more convenient, but they rarely look under the hood of technology or explore it deeply.

A new report by Jakob Nielsen, “College Students on the Web,” followed 43 students, ages 18-24, in 4 different countries to see how students use the web. The myths debunked:
1. Students are technology wizards. They lose patience and leave web sites that do not behave as expected.
2. Students crave multimedia and fancy design. Keep it simple–you know, like Google and Apple.
3. Students are enraptured by social networking. Of course they are, but they don’t want to be your “friend”. They keep work separate from play when online.

Reading the recommendations makes me think about how students want to go broad without going very deep, online at least. I’ve been thinking about what will make young people (and the rest of us, especially voters!) go deep in their thinking and investigation of ideas? How do you create a long-form argument and narrow it down for communication in 140 characters? Oops make that 130 characters so there is room for a retweet…