The "Google generation" not so hot at Googling, after all

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Saved by 43 people (-6 private), first by anonymouse user on 2008-01-19

Rvigliotti on 2008-01-19 - Tags no_tag
Yannleroux on 2009-01-18 - Tags google , generation , xgen , xgenration
Hagemannj on 2008-09-12 - Tags hagemann , cesjds , Bookmarks , google , education , research , internet , youth , culture , search
Phdaisy on 2008-09-05 - Tags youth , internet
Geekedu on 2008-08-29 - Tags web2.0 , youth , google , generation , JISC

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It's true that young people prefer interactive systems to passive ones and that they are generally competent with technology, but it's not true that students today are "expert searchers." In fact, the report calls this "a dangerous myth." Knowing how to use Facebook doesn't make one an Internet search god, and the report concludes that a literature review shows no movement (either good or bad) in young people's information skills over the last several decades. Choosing good search terms is a special problem for younger users.

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in young people's information skills over the last several decades. Choosing good search terms is a special proble

Highlighted by illah_tech

It's true that young people prefer interactive systems to passive ones and that they are generally competent with technology, but it's not true that students today are "expert searchers." In fact, the report calls this "a dangerous myth." Knowing how to use Facebook doesn't make one an Internet search god, and the report concludes that a literature review shows no movement (either good or bad) in young people's information skills over the last several decades. Choosing good search terms is a special problem for younger users.

Highlighted by piggex

A new UK report on the habits of the "Google Generation" finds that kids born since 1993 aren't quite the Internet super-sleuths they're sometimes made out to be. For instance, are teens better with technology than older adults? Perhaps, but they also "tend to use much simpler applications and fewer facilities than many imagine."

The report (PDF), sponsored by the British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee, tries to get beyond the stereotypes to find out just how good young people are with information technology, and what the implications are for schools and libraries. Based on log analysis from British Library web sites and search tools, along with a "virtual" longitudinal study based on literature reviews from the past 30 years, the report explodes a number of myths about students today.

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So what's true about the Google generation?

They like to cut-and-paste. "There is a lot of anecdotal evidence and plagiarism is a serious issue."
They prefer visual information over text. "But text is still important... For library interfaces, there is evidence that multimedia can quickly lose its appeal, providing short-term novelty."
They multitask all the time. "It is likely that being exposed to online media early in life may help to develop good parallel processing skills."

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