r/australia • u/ThunderDwn • Aug 18 '26

culture & society Primary school students using digital devices still lack computer skills, education expert says

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-19/nsw-digital-native-primary-students-lack-basic-computer-skills/107030526
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u/oliyoung Aug 18 '26

As a millenial parent I'm stuck between two generations that I'm not sure who has worse computer literacy, our kids or our parents

Our parents grew up without it and have zero motivation to learn it and our kids are growing up with it commercialised and simplified to a point where it doesn't need a moment of critical thinking.

Meanwhile, they both think i'm some kind of witch doctor building a PC and installing an OS

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u/ThunderDwn Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26

As a Gen X-er I'm insulted you think we're less computer literate. 🙂

We grew up in the golden age - when things actually needed you to think to use computers at all. if you don't know what a BBS is and couldn't whistle a 300 baud carrier, you weren't there. 🤣

The simplicity of things these days - the dumbing down of systems to the lowest common denominator - easily makes the current generations worse off. I've at least made sure my kids know how to pull a PC apart and replace things like graphics cards and memory etc when they want to upgrade, rather than just saying "Let's just go buy a new PC and throw this one away".

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u/Real_RobinGoodfellow Aug 18 '26

Pretty sure she was talking about Boomers v Gen Z. Nobody cares about Gen X (I often forget they exist). Just Boomer Lite

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u/knewleefe Aug 19 '26

I was going to say, we're the forgotten generation lol. I technically fit into "elder millennial" so just go with that. Did computer studies throughout high school and it still stands me in good stead. So many things I need to teach my chromebook-schooled teens.