Do you think a time in the future will come when everyone is computer literate?

What makes you think everybody can read and write. You only have look at some of the respnses on fluther to see that.

I think there will always be people who won’t own a computer. Because there will not be interested in learning it others are still illeterate. And for the last part there’s nothing best than books pen and paper.

I think even if computers become as prevalent as in sci-fi movies there will be people that are either afraid of technology, anti-technology, or just plain uninterested.

There’ll always be hermits, as well. I can only assume some of them will be Luddites.

@lightlyseared: Did you see me say “everybody” or “as common as”?

;)

I think Lightly makes a good point. Lots of people cannot read or write. There are always going to be trades which do not require the use of computers and technology. Those who perform those trades generally don’t need technology and so won’t be technologically literate. So to answer your question I would say the percentage of everyone will grow towards but not ever reach 100%.

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no do u expect Amish people to suddenly not exist.

Ok people, quit with the snark. It’s fucking obvious that exceptions will always be around. When I say “everyone”, and then further define it with “as common as”, that gives room for exceptions.

Forget I asked. And my real point is that people who don’t know what the fuck to do when hacking their iPhone shouldn’t bother.

As a correllary; I still know people (often older women) who are afraid to learn how to drive. I enjoy the computer but for years I did a very competent job as a HS administrator using only a clipboard and pen. But I find it hard to keep up w. the tech. advancements…they come so rapidly.

And being able to write and speak w. elegance, clarity and style will never be outdated. But, it is hard to predict the future. At my 93 year old mother’s residence, many of the gang have a computer and many are hopeless. Her 94 yr old b/f gave lessons before he died.

I see one doomsday scenario where the airwaves and optics and cable get so over- burdened that the whole system collapses and we return to smoke signals and tin cans connnected w. string.

@squirbel: deep breath….the collective is no longer as homogeneous as it was initially, as you know, given all the discussion about raising the level of discourse..

/bow

My apologies for getting angry.

No, not really. I mean, if people still can’t read books, how can they work on a computer?

I think that since technology is advancing so quickly (and in my mind always will be), the child generations will always be more intelligent about computers than the mother and father generations.

However, when relating it to reading and writing, there will always be those people who are more intelligent about the language. So in that sense of the question, yes, someday there will be a computer literacy as common as reading and writing.

No, there will always be those 1 or 2 people…

As an example of the future, my two-year old nephew, who is very mildly autistic, can run thru all the saved pictures on a digital camera…even tho the buttons are as small as a flax seed. I am waiting for him to be able to teach me.

@iSteve. Exceptions are a given.

when my dad dies.

no way
You have to look at the big picture
1 out of 4 people in the world don’t even have elecricity.

Well, I think a time will come when computer literacy will be as common as the skills of reading and writing. Technology will be integrated with our clothing, and possibly even biologically.

Our lifestyles will be so integrated that it will be difficult to remember a time without it.

If you look at basic literacy, you will see that there are people who are fluent, people who are competent at the basics, people who can barely get by, and people who can’t manage it at all.

If you look at computer literacy, you will see that there are people who are fluent, people who are competent at the basics, people who can barely get by, and people who can’t manage it at all.

Functional literacy in any domain is a continuum, not a binary state.

This is very true, cwilbur, and is the point I wasn’t eloquent enough to make. The concept of the continuum is the very reason I got annoyed with the “duh, there will always be Amish” type replies. To further clarify, I believe that in the future the computer literacy continuum will expand to include old people and non-geeks.

I think there will always be a divide. People who are fluent in written and spoken language do better than people who can barely get by, and this is after 150 years of full-literacy programs. Now, and in the future, people who are fluent with computers will do better than people who can barely get by. I don’t see a reason that that will change substantially, or a reason to expect that computer literacy would behave any differently than basic literacy.

anyone notice that lightly proved her or his own point? gotta love internal consistency.

I think that we will reach a point that nearly all educated people will be able to use a computer. However, it is also likely that the sophistication of programs available to the general public will increase and that there will still be a divide.