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‘It went nuts’: Thousands join UK parents calling for smartphone-free childhood
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2024
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Technology
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I fear for the digital literacy of Gen Alpha
Gen Z has terrible digital literacy already. Knowing how to scroll tiktok or whatever doesn't teach you what a file system even is.
Is it that important? All technology gets better to the point of it just working, and when it rarely doesn’t, you contact someone who does. My grandfather could build cars from parts alone. My father could do most maintenance repairs and knew enough to understand what the mechanic was telling him. I know what video games and entertainment have told me about cars, but have no clue about it in real life. It hasn’t mattered. Cars are so reliable, I can just have AAA if I get in a bind.
It is. But in your defence at this point it only matters when something goes wrong. And that's getting pretty rare.
I think it's why there's such a clear divide between people who "just use Linux" and those who don't. Modern computers hide almost all information that would let you figure stuff out on your own and Linux makes you figure stuff out like once a month.
But all that means is that your choices are more and more limited. And it's how Microsoft is able to sneak such predatory practices into their OS. You can't go anywhere else
I don’t really agree with that conclusion. Linux is as old as windows and it had ample time to gain market share. Most people don’t want to tinker. I’ve posted recently about trying Linux for the first time in over a decade and how much worse the Ubuntu experience was than a decade ago. Meanwhile windows has gotten far easier to install and get going.
Really. Because it is all bloatware, all the settings menu's are all over the place, things get jammed in your face ( Use this new thing we made so we can own you even more ) and other nonsense.
A fresh install of Linux takes me far under 30 minutes. Most of them work out of the box.
I just installed windows 11 in 15 mins on a 5 year old laptop for donation. The one with Linux had an unusable trackpad with no sensitivity setting, and some sort of flat pack installer system that I gave up on mostly because of the trackpad not allowing me to scroll more than a page and a half at a time. U until was easier 15 years ago.
Good for you. You can use whatever you want. Linux works for me.
Have you tried a fresh install on the laptop with Linux. May help at times
There are computer science students these days who don't know what a file system is. Ponder that one for a moment
I had to take a typing class in college. They can teach basics. It doesn’t take long to go over file systems.
No it doesn't. But I do university IT and recently did a file restore for a comp sci student. Sent him the file path. Student replied "the link doesn't work what do I do with it?"
Honestly I am so grateful gen z can't computer because my whole life I was worried they would replace me. Not a chance...
Yeah right that's going to happen: p
Older people forget that the norm of childhood has changed. And assume that children should do the same things they did instead of learning how to moderate what they do
"Why don't kids play outside nowadays" Look out the window. What outside? How do they play there? They could go to a park, but how do they get there? They could play in the city, but would that be safe? They could go bush, but how? They could play around the neighbourhood, and then what, make a tiny bike ramp by digging and gathering a bit of dirt from a drain and then get reported and then have the council send letters to everyone living in the area to ask if they'd seen the kids and if so please say who they are and then put up signs saying that the area (ie the big drain they got the dirt from and the bit about it) may be under surveillance despite there not really being anywhere to put cameras? (that last one is a true story from where I live btw)
Exactly! Much easier just making something as "evil" than actually solving the issues around.
Children shouldn't be using their cells that much, but this is not solved by restricting access to it. It is solved by making communities and spaces child-safe and interesting for them.
Yeah that last one about the kids making the bike ramp happened a fair few (~7?) years ago and all the signs are still there
We used to use the "no ball games" sign as a target. Eventually it fell off the wall.
Usually some busy body police support community officer person, or some other individual in a yellow fluorescent jacket and no actual authority would turn up and yell at us, but we just wait until they went away.
Sounds sort of like those virginity contracts.