Understanding+Digital+Children+Report

I found this article intersting in the paralell that I saw from the book "Grown Up Digital". Similar vocabulary as well as similar concepts throughout the reading. One theme that was reocurring in the article is that the "constant exposure to digital media has changed the way the Digital Natives process, interact and use information." Because of the constant exposure and immersion in the digital world they are different neurologically. Screenagers as they have become known are different in the way they think, access, absorb, interperet and use the information they work with. Because of this the way they interact, view and communicate in the world is also signifigantly different than the generation before them. The article talked about how different the rythm of life is today compared to what it was 15-20 years ago. Change happened back then as well, but that change happened at a much slower pace than it does today. It also sited the similarity in education, despite the difference in how quickly information is accessed. Because the pace of life is lived so much faster than it was in the past two decades, parents spend less time with thier children than ever before. Technology has filled some of the void left by fragmented families. More students than ever before come home from school to no one, because of this these children are left to themselves and the technology they use. Consequently these children are as comfortable with virtual interaction and relationships as they are with real-life conversations and interactions. The other outcome of the instantaneous nature of the technology they interact with on a daily basis they have become much more impaitent demanding instant gratification.