A father’s post about his daughter’s computer skills has gone viral, fueling a wider debate about whether today’s teens are truly “digital natives.”
">@toddanglin) wrote on Threads that his daughter, who grew up using Chromebooks for school, was entering high school without grasping many traditional computing basics.
“My daughter has grown up using Chromebooks in school (and at home for homework) and I’m realizing how many ‘core’ computer concepts are still unfamiliar as she enters high school: local files, installing apps, apps that aren’t limited by web stack, etc. Weirdly, the ‘digital native’ generation approaching the workforce that has less ‘computer’ literacy than millennials,”he posted.
His observation, viewed more than 85,000 times, resonated with parents, educators, and tech leaders.
The Classroom Gap
Margaret Murray, an associate professor at the University of Michigan, told Newsweek that her students often struggle with concepts like folder organization, which makes sense for older generations who used paper files.
“The bigger issue is that some K-12 schools believed that digital natives don’t need digital literacy, so they eliminated computer classes. That is a big mistake, because digital literacy is only more important now,” she said.
Vanessa Croft, a teacher at Omololu International School, described a paradox: teens are fluent in social media and AI tools, but lack basic skills like attaching files, troubleshooting Wi-Fi, or typing efficiently. She warned that this gap could hurt them in college and the workplace, where they’ll need to use databases and format papers. Croft urged schools to formally teach digital literacy and parents to reinforce it at home by encouraging keyboard use and balanced screen time.
“My students sometimes think I am a ‘tech genius’ simply because I can fix a basic Wi-Fi problem,” she said.
A Different Take
Not everyone views the shift negatively. Punit Jajodia, CEO of Programiz, told Newsweek that teens today are freed from the technical constraints millennials faced and can focus instead on creativity.
“I see this as a good thing. We millennials spent too much time and energy becoming computer literate, energy that teens can now use to create movies, build and experience virtual worlds, build their personal websites and unleash their creativity in myriad ways,” he said.
“Generative AI has the potential to unlock a Myspace v2 era, which will be a welcome departure from the same-ification of modern apps that copy-paste the same growth formulae of doomscrolling feeds, likes, comments, reels and stories.”
Parents and Users Join the Conversation
Many parents on Threads agreed with Anglin’s concern.
Adam Shields said, “I don’t think it is just students with Chromebooks, I think it is all students. My kids have never had ‘computer classes’ where they learned how to type or basic computing skills. My wife taught elementary computer lab in early 2000s and she taught about files and organization and how to create presentations and basic typing, etc. All of that was dropped around 2008 at school cutbacks.”
Others shared similar experiences. “My schools never taught computer literacy. My college roommate taught me how to do basically everything Windows,” said Threads user Kelsey.
Another user reflected on the value of learning at home, writing: “I learned all my computer skills from my dad! I used to sit on his lap every day while he did totally mundane stuff on it and would just ask questions. It’s one of my fondest childhood memories and set up a lifelong love of tech. I know times have changed, but I don’t think we need to rely on schools to keep up.”