This week at Stanford I taught high schoolers the Design Thinking process and UX principles. Many people have asked me what I have observed about this new generation of technology users and makers.
While my class is a small and skewed sample size, here are some of my observations:
Not suprising, when critiquing other websites, my class wanted to get rid of all the ads. However, their own sites were very business savvy. They were keen on enticing their users with their products and services.
They are respectful and don't look at their smartphones during class. However, when we took breaks to go outside to socialize and play games, the majority were painfully shy and anti-social. They were glued to their phones, seeming almost fearful about looking up and making eye-contact with anyone. :(
They learn new apps very quickly. By the end of the week, they had mastered the basics of Photoshop and were robust with Omnigraffle.
Many of them prefer Instagram and Snapchat to Facebook and Twitter.
They grasped design thinking and created impressive sites!
What are your observations with how the new generation interacts with technology?