The Net Generation: Tech-savvy or lost in virtual space?

Abstract

Recent findings from PEW Internet and American Life studies in the US, the JISC Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future report and the Educational Testing Service 2006 ICT literacy assessment, all indicate that the students from the Y or Net Generation are not as tech-savvy as portrayed by the world’s media and large Internet software providers. If this is the case, then assumptions currently being made about the information-seeking behaviour of today’s students need to be rectified at the school level to ensure that tomorrow’s citizens are not disenfranchised or disempowered as users in a world where Governments are increasingly committed to the provision of essential services and information wholly online. This paper discusses the secondary results of a much larger PhD study on the information seeking behaviour of the Net Generation and the need for schools and particularly teacher librarians, to become more involved in teaching students how to use the electronic environment effectively.