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The Impatience of the Google Generation

profBill writes "As a fifty-something professor who teaches introductory computer science, I am very aware that the twenty-somethings in my class are much more at ease with computers than any other generation. However, does that mean they are more adept at using those computers? Apparently not, according to the researchers at University College London. Their research indicates that while more adept at conducting searches, younger users also show 'impatience in search and navigation, and zero tolerance for any delay in satisfying their information needs'. Moreover, these traits 'are now becoming the norm for all age-groups, from younger pupils and undergraduates through to professors'. The panel makes two conclusions: That libraries (and I wonder what a library will become in the future, anyway) will have to adapt, and that the information processing skills of todays young people are lacking. Why are those skills lacking and, if they are, what can be done about it?"

15 of 366 comments (clear)

  1. i don't know by stoolpigeon · · Score: 5, Funny

    i'd rtfa but that page is taking forever to load.

    --
    It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    1. Re:i don't know by minginqunt · · Score: 4, Funny

      I've got a short attention span you insens...

      Ooh, look! Monkeys.

  2. Well.. by deepershade · · Score: 2, Funny

    and I wonder what a library will become in the future, anyway If Mars University has taught us anything, then the Library of the future will contain two discs, Fiction and Non-fiction.
  3. Re:Facebook Generation, Google Generation,... by Aaron+Isotton · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ah, you must be part of the "I'm not part of a generation" generation. A post-hippie, basically.

  4. Who ever wrote the article by DeeQ · · Score: 5, Funny

    Who ever wrote the article is obviously jealous of the fact that back in his day he had to hand write his plagiarisms and couldn't copy and paste.

  5. They're kids of the new generation - deal with it by Chapter80 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm glad those pesky kids are impatient. They'll get off my lawn a little quicker.

  6. just because... by psychicsword · · Score: 2, Funny

    just because I am from the Google generation doesn't mean I am impat

  7. Re:Theyre kids of the new generation - deal with i by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm just doing my master I stopped reading here. Is she hot?
  8. Re:Theyre kids of the new generation - deal with i by Cossack58 · · Score: 2, Funny

    The issue is that these kids know what computers are capable of and they've seen and used web apps that exhibit good design. i'm nearly 50 myself and i have the same impatience w/ craptastic programming myself. If i'm using an app and ask it to do a simple 2 dimensional search or other simple task i wanna see an immediate response. no excuse for long delays if i'm not rendering the next 3-D blockbuster. I'm doubly frustrated and angered when i'm using an app to perform a common task and have to click 5, 6, or more times to get to where i need to be. HEY, APP DESIGNERS: one, two clicks tops for common tasks. no more than 3 for everything else. I'm using the app to get somehting done, not to click around my desktop like a f'ing monkey.

    The point is, we're constantly reminded that little gadgets we pick up at the 7-11 checkout counters now have more processing power than an Apollo moon mission. It follows then that those big honkin' boxes under the desk should be capable of much more than the crap they give us today. If these kids are impatient w/ crap they have every right to be.

  9. Re:Facebook Generation, Google Generation,... by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nah, just wait until we're in our 60's and 70's, and we can rename ourselves the "Greatest Generation." Since we'll be old and annoying, people will cut us slack and let us do that.

  10. Re:Theyre kids of the new generation - deal with i by slashbob22 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bah.. You're doing it the hard way; almost all my thesis was written^W found via Ask Slashdot.

    --
    Proof by very large bribes. QED.
  11. Re:Theyre kids of the new generation - deal with i by Critical+Facilities · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ah, you must be going for one of these degree programs:

    BS - Bullshit
    MS - More Shit
    PhD - Piled High and Deep

  12. Re:Theyre kids of the new generation - deal with i by sm62704 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm just doing my master
    I stopped reading here. Is she hot?
    On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog.

    -mcgrew
    --
    mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
  13. Re:Theyre kids of the new generation - deal with i by kellyb9 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't forget that many google searches lead to a book. Funny... most of google searches lead to porn.
  14. Re:Theyre kids of the new generation - deal with i by Larry+Lightbulb · · Score: 4, Funny

    If they say they're a man, they're a man; if they say they're a woman, they're a man; if they say they're a teenager, they're a cop.