Although the journalism field should be leading the brigade into the digital age, it’s not.
Why?
Baby boomers—not digital natives—rule newsrooms. They make the decisions. They grew up printing ink on dead trees and having it mean something to not only them but also the reader.
Now, it’s not like that.
Don’t get me wrong. My parents are baby boomers. I love them. I love that that generation can solve problems without technology. That’s something my generation hasn’t experienced.
I remember the editor-in-chief of the Columbus Dispatch, Ben Marrison, having lunch with the Dispatch interns—I was one of them—last summer on one of the first weeks we started there.
“The Internet has made people dumb.” he said.
I couldn’t agree more. The Internet gives us information literally at our fingertips if we’re on our cell phone. We have search engines so in tune with a person’s search history that it will guess what you’re trying to search for. We have become lazy information gatherers in our daily lives.
However, I would argue that finding the right information online is a skill. Knowing what to click on a website, how social media even works, how to make your own website and navigate others is a skill.
I know it may seem like I’m ranting, but this generational and technological divide became very apparent when I was helping my 89-year-old grandmother set up her iPad. My grandma uses the Internet to check email and perform Google searches. It’s simple, but she says that’s all she needs it for.
Not a digital native or usual Apple user, my grandma has wanted to give up on the iPad because the language Apple uses in its icons is foreign to her. Looking at it from her eyes, I see why.
Why?
Baby boomers—not digital natives—rule newsrooms. They make the decisions. They grew up printing ink on dead trees and having it mean something to not only them but also the reader.
Now, it’s not like that.
Don’t get me wrong. My parents are baby boomers. I love them. I love that that generation can solve problems without technology. That’s something my generation hasn’t experienced.
I remember the editor-in-chief of the Columbus Dispatch, Ben Marrison, having lunch with the Dispatch interns—I was one of them—last summer on one of the first weeks we started there.
“The Internet has made people dumb.” he said.
I couldn’t agree more. The Internet gives us information literally at our fingertips if we’re on our cell phone. We have search engines so in tune with a person’s search history that it will guess what you’re trying to search for. We have become lazy information gatherers in our daily lives.
However, I would argue that finding the right information online is a skill. Knowing what to click on a website, how social media even works, how to make your own website and navigate others is a skill.
I know it may seem like I’m ranting, but this generational and technological divide became very apparent when I was helping my 89-year-old grandmother set up her iPad. My grandma uses the Internet to check email and perform Google searches. It’s simple, but she says that’s all she needs it for.
Not a digital native or usual Apple user, my grandma has wanted to give up on the iPad because the language Apple uses in its icons is foreign to her. Looking at it from her eyes, I see why.
Take a look at Apple's toolbar for email on the iPhone. Those who are not digital natives had to learn the significance of these symbols. As a digital native, I unconsciously press these buttons without thinking much. I know that a curved arrow means reply. I know that a pencil pointing diagonally on a square means I want to compose an email. I know that the file folder means I want to file the email somewhere. I just know. I press the button like it's a reflex. My grandmother—the woman who watches jeopardy every day, reads the newspaper everyday, does the newspaper crossword and Sodoku almost every day—doesn't. I took knowing what these symbols meant for granted.
I'm not sure when the symbol to the left became known as the menu symbol worldwide. It;s just three horizontal, parallel lines.
But alas, it does mean that when you press it on your phone, the a site's navigation bar will appear before your fingertips.
But alas, it does mean that when you press it on your phone, the a site's navigation bar will appear before your fingertips.
I think the symbol that really boggles my mind though is the one to the left.
It's a symbol that both Apple Maps and Google Maps use that when pressed shows users where they are. Users have also become used to seeing themselves as a flashing blue dot on these apps.
When did this become a thing? When was it universally understood that these buttons—that I press probably daily on my phone—carried the meaning that they do. To me, it makes sense. Of course, I would press the arrow to see where I am. of course, I would click on the mail icon to see if I have any new emails. But that's not how everyone thinks.
I think web designers have to realize this. While the icons I described have become an industry standard in web design, we still have to consider what makes the most sense to the reader. How, as news sites, can we transition our traditional paper readers to our awesome web content? What icons, navigation pathways and layouts make sense so that both our digital natives and print people feel comfortable and willing to read on?
It's the same content, I promise. But just a different format.
It's a symbol that both Apple Maps and Google Maps use that when pressed shows users where they are. Users have also become used to seeing themselves as a flashing blue dot on these apps.
When did this become a thing? When was it universally understood that these buttons—that I press probably daily on my phone—carried the meaning that they do. To me, it makes sense. Of course, I would press the arrow to see where I am. of course, I would click on the mail icon to see if I have any new emails. But that's not how everyone thinks.
I think web designers have to realize this. While the icons I described have become an industry standard in web design, we still have to consider what makes the most sense to the reader. How, as news sites, can we transition our traditional paper readers to our awesome web content? What icons, navigation pathways and layouts make sense so that both our digital natives and print people feel comfortable and willing to read on?
It's the same content, I promise. But just a different format.