Evolution: The Technological Kind
For this project I chose to interview a 12 year old girl, for privacy purposes we will call her Jill. Jill is an avid video game user on multiple platforms and has grown up around cell-phones and technology all of her life. At only 12, Jill has at least 4 devices: an Iphone, an apple watch, a laptop, and a switch and she also knows how to play xbox as well. This is a drastic change from when I and many of my peers were her age. There is nothing wrong with owning all these devices and using them as it is a change of the times, but when I was that age I had no idea what a touch screen was and could barely navigate around the school computers and my dad would rarely let me touch our home computer. Even though Jill and I are only 6 years apart in age, our digital backgrounds and roots are completely different. In this age, this is the case for most pre-teens and teens. They are growing up immersed in technology, basically knowing how to operate a touch screen from birth, which is why they have so much digital literacy.
Jill however, is not a large social media use because her parents do not allow her to have any to stop “embarrassment” and “cyber-bullying.” I asked Jill how she felt about this and she said she honestly doesn’t care. She says she has no pressures of posting or having to reply to her friends, although sometimes it does feel like she is missing out on something. Social media has become such an important part of making friends and staying connected with them that I was curious how she stays in touch with them. Personally, I feel as though nowadays social media can make or break friendships. If someone tells you about a person my immediate reaction is to look them up on instagram and see what they are like. People are getting judged solely off of their social media profiles. It is refreshing to hear that this does not concern Jill it all. It is not that she does not know that stuff like that happens, it is that she chooses not to care or worry about it. She says that she is able to communicate much more efficiently through text and facetime and it provides more of a personal connection. Personal connection is something that is on the decline in today’s society so it is extremely comforting and reassuring to hear that even some teens in the younger generations value that as well.
Even though Jill is not allowed to have social media, she says that he parents do not regularly monitor her online activity. They occasionally go through her phone but they have admitted it is not a top priority to search Jill’s phone and often times do not even know what they would be looking for or how to find it on her phone. They do not restrict any websites or things she can view, they completely trust her with her technological devices. Digital trust and accountability is becoming important in many relationships. Jill’s parents trust her to be safe online and Jill is staying accountable by obeying her parents and not doing anything negative. That trust between parents and teens is becoming so important to making sure teens feel respected and independent. Jill is just one teenager and there are lots of different ways this can look for each family and teenager.
For only being 12 years old, Jill is extremely literate in technology but is more conservative in the way she uses her technology. So far she has only used her technology to play online games, do homework, and to communicate with friends. Compared to myself and many of my peers Jill has grown up in a different way surrounded by technology, basically knowing how to operate any piece of technology from birth. This is not just the case for Jill, digital literacy is becoming increased with each generation. With this digital literacy though, comes worries about security and personal connections. It will be interesting to see how parents react too and combat these notions of increasing technological influence and as younger generations begin to become parents as well.
