Born Digital - Google D.C. Talks

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"Born Digital" is a book by Professor John Palfrey written for parents and teachers of kids growing in the internet age.  It talks about people born after 1980, people who have never used a rotary-dial telephone.  The panel discusses how the current generation of kids are using technology to learn and relate to each other.

The author tries to address some commonly held views relating to youths and the internet:

• The myth: Young people today are less likely to read a physical book (cover to cover).  This implies to some people that kids today are dumber than previous groups.  But, the 'digital tribe' are using information in much different ways.  They're more able to perform a quick deep-dive into topics of interest.  We should be emphasizing 'digital media literacy' in kids education.
• Young people are more in danger than before, due to internet predators.  While this is a very real problem, we should work out how to translate methods that keep kids safe in the real world, into the online world.  Much of kids peer interaction has moved into the online realm, so instead of meeting in parks, they'll meet online.
• Bullying online.  The internet provides an opportunity to learn more about bullying in general and get a better picture of specific events.  The bullying is visible to all, and it's historical, you can go back and view the incidents, months later.

Questions from the audience covered include attitude to copyright and music-sharing, is this new internet population smarter, more discussion on bullying.

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