Be Careful About Assumptions!

As I was cleaning up some old e-mails I came across this article which I feel is worth revisiting. In our world today little time seems to be given to thoughtful reflection, replaced by quick judgments, which too often are based on assumptions. Then these assumptions are passed around as truth, with the speed of cyberspace. I am thinking about assumptions made about "digital natives"...those in the "Google Generation." We assume their comfort level reflects a corresponding level of competence All native speakers of English are not equally proficient in comprehension or expression; why should students be equally competent in technology?
The British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee have a new study out that, depending on how you think young people use the Net, may confirms some assumptions and pop others. For full context, you'll want to read the report (http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/reppres/gg_final_keynote_11012008.pdf ), which looks at the challenges facing libraries in the digital transition, but here's a sampling of its conclusions about the "Google Generation" (born 1993 or later):

* Assumption: They are more competent with technology. Verdict: "Generally true, we think, but older users are catching up fast. However, the majority of young people tend to use much simpler applications and fewer facilities than many imagine."

* Assumption: They prefer visual information over text. Verdict: "A qualified yes, but text is still important. As technologies improve and costs fall, we expect to see video links beginning to replace text in the social networking context. However, for library interfaces, there is evidence that multimedia can quickly lose its appeal, providing short-term novelty."

* Assumption: They have zero tolerance for delay and their information needs must be fulfilled immediately. Verdict: "No. We feel that this is a truism of our time and there is no hard evidence to suggest that young people are more impatient in this regard."

* Assumption: They find their peers more credible as information sources than authority figures. Verdict: "On balance, we think this is a myth. Research in the specific context of the information resources that children prefer and value in a secondary school setting shows that teachers, relatives and textbooks are consistently valued above the Internet."

* Assumption: They are the "cut-and-paste" generation. Verdict: "We think this is true; there is a lot of anecdotal evidence and plagiarism is a serious issue."

* Assumption: They are expert searchers. Verdict: "This is a dangerous myth. Digital literacies and information literacies do not go hand in hand. A careful look at the literature over the past 25 years finds no improvement (or deterioration) in young people's information skills.” My sense is you can have all kinds of big online players jump on the bandwagon but unless OpenID's benefits are well-explained, it will continue to languish."