向娃娃學習，玩轉科技

不知從何時起，孩子們搖身一變，個個都成了“觸屏時代”的小神童。在大人看來，這幫小屁孩幾乎能玩轉所有的科技產品，自己卻只能甘拜下風。為了不丟面子，大人們找到各種理由為自己開脫：小孩腦子快，他們一出生就有iPad玩，他們總愛瞎鼓搗……然而，真正的原因卻并非如此。

We’re often astounded by the ability of children to pick up， use and master the latest technological innovations. You frequently hear stories from parents of how they left a tablet computer lying around and after a couple of hours they came back to find their toddler1） using it to play games， look at kittens on the internet or open an offshore bank account2）.

The idea that the younger generation is somehow inherently more adept at using technology is slowly taking hold3）. In a recent survey by John Lewis4）， 71 per cent of parents admitted that they consult their children for technological advice， whether that’s help online （setting up social-media profiles） or around the home （operating the TiVo5））. In other words， while adults are busy putting food on the table， children are becoming our technological overlords6）.

But how and why is this happening and why do some parents seem resigned to it？ After all， modern user interfaces7） are getting simpler and， at least in theory， are designed for us all to operate. They’re not geared8） specifically towards children and， while it’s often stated that kids find technology easy because they “grew up with it，” their 30-something parents probably grew up with it， too.

“It’s certainly an illusion to assume that kids can do these things intuitively，” says Nigel Houghton， managing director of Simplicity Computers. “It’s more the case that they’re not fearful of looking around， and so they eventually work things out.” Dr Mark Brosnan， senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Bath and author of the book Technophobia， says that children’s apparent expertise has little to do with youth. “If they swipe a tablet screen with three fingers， it looks like an intuitive gesture，” he says， “but it’s because they’ve seen someone do it before. They just have a great immediate experience9） of potential solutions.”

There’s a world of difference between the Windows 95 PCs that many adults cut their teeth on10） and sleek11）， 21st-century touch-screen devices； the latter are far more geared towards entertainment and communication， so it’s unsurprising that children spend far more time getting to grips with12） them than time-starved13） parents.

“It becomes about inclination，” says Matt Leeser， head of buying for telecoms and technology at John Lewis. “Whether you’re talking about Windows 8 or a smart TV， it’s a question of whether one can be bothered to learn how to use it.” But it’s also to do with the learning process itself. “When kids get a device， they talk to their mates， and they go through a process of swapping14） information，” says Houghton， whose company specializes in producing simpler， more straightforward computing interfaces. “But when older people see younger people using devices so easily， it provides a sort of deterrent： ‘Oh god，’ they think， ‘I can’t do that. I must be stupid.’”

It’s a conveniently lazy mindset to develop， but it’s one that’s easily conquerable. “I’ve looked at issues related to anxiety and technology，” says Brosnan， “and some of the most confident， happy， least anxious users are silver surfers15） over the age of 65—largely due to the fact that they’re retired， they have some time to spare， and there’s no pressure—no one is watching them and evaluating how they’re using it.”

In other words， a solid relationship with technology seems to be a function16） of leisure time， something that parents can be woefully17） short of. The resulting technological consultation of children by their parents could just be seen as an amusing reversal of authority within the family unit， but it does throw up a number of questions， both financial and moral. “We’re seeing kids leading a lot of technology purchase decisions for the family based upon the trends that they’re following，” says Leeser.

“They’re not really worrying about internet security， for example， or interoperability18）. So our role is to offer impartial advice.

“Someone said to me recently that it’s like giving the prisoner the key if you let your kids make your technology purchases.”

The same analogy could be used back at home， post-sale， where it’s the parents’ duty to be clued up19） enough to supervise their children’s use of technology， but kids end up knowing far more than they’re given credit for20）. “If I were a child and my parents asked me which websites I shouldn’t be looking at，” says Leeser， “I certainly wouldn’t have told them—and if they’d asked me how to block those websites， I wouldn’t have told them that either.”

Ahad Surooprajally， 45， has a nine-year old son， Habeeb， who’s already running rings around him21）. “He has to go to bed at a certain time，” he says， “but then he’ll log into my Apple TV remotely while I’m watching a film and shut it down … Similarly， I had a friend of mine set up controls on the computer so Habeeb has 30 minutes online time a day—but he made himself an administrator and gave himself two hours a day instead.” Habeeb himself finds this screamingly funny， but is coy22） when asked how he came by the knowledge. “Oh， the internet，” he giggles. And do you ever get tips from friends？ “To be honest， I don’t really need to，” he replies.

You may think of Habeeb as a whizz kid23） who’s streets ahead of24） his peers， but it’s likely that his peers are just as clued up， because they’ve got the time， the inclination and the access to technology. If there’s a message to come out of this， it’s probably a nudge to technophobic25） parents to devote some time towards getting good advice and to familiarize themselves with new technology—not just to maintain technological order at home， but also because society increasingly demands it.

“The government wants us to be able to do so much online，” says Nigel Houghton. “There are 650 services provided by various departments which are moving online—and there are all the incredibly useful things that internet connectivity can help with， such as getting cheaper utility bills.”

And， seeing as our offspring probably wouldn’t have the patience to help us seek out a new electricity provider， maybe that’s a good place as any to begin striking out26） on our own.

孩子們領會、使用和掌握最新技術產品的能力常常讓我們目瞪口呆。你經常會從一些父母那里聽到這樣的故事：他們隨手將平板電腦擱在了一邊，等過了幾個小時回來則發現，他們那還在蹣跚學步的孩子竟然正在用平板電腦玩游戲、上網看小貓或是開設離岸賬戶。

年輕一代不知怎么地天生就更擅長使用新科技產品——這種觀念正深入人心。約翰·路易斯百貨公司最近的一項調查顯示，有71%的父母承認，無論是在上網方面（設置社交網絡的個人賬戶），還是在家中使用高科技產品（操作TiVo數字錄影機）時，他們都會向自己的孩子尋求技術方面的建議。也就是說，當成年人忙著養家糊口時，孩子們正漸漸成為我們的技術霸主。

可是，這種情況是怎么出現的？為什么會出現這樣的情況？為什么有的父母似乎也聽任這樣的情況發生呢？畢竟，現代用戶界面變得越來越簡單，至少從理論上說是為了讓我們所有人都能操作而設計的，而非專門面向孩子的。盡管人們常說，孩子們覺得新技術很簡單是因為他們是“伴著新技術長大的”，但他們三十多歲的父母很可能也是伴著新技術長大的。