Leader: Are the kids really 'all that'?

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has joined the growing ranks of tech leaders who are saying the coming generations of tech-savvy youngsters will pave the way for society as a whole to progress.

No pressure now, kids.

Schmidt said techies must not just live in a tech silo but must educate governments and older generations as the knowledge they have becomes ever more important. His emphasis was most definitely on age.

"The average person in government is not of the age of people who are using all this stuff," Schmidt said of tech use at a recent conference in Washington. "There is a generational gap, and it's very, very real."

So let's have no arguments from anybody with even one grey hair on their head claiming they understand all this technology stuff.

Schmidt's words echo those of silicon.com columnist Peter Cochrane who recently said the IT knowledge being acquired by teenagers will spell the end of the IT department within years. Our kids won't need tech support was the implication - they'll be too damn smart and will be able to fix any problem they have.

So are we really living in a society where the young will inherit the Earth purely because they 'get' mobiles, Google and YouTube?

There is almost certainly some truth in this. For as long as parents have required the services of their seven-year-old to set the video/DVD-R/TiVo, it's been the case that emerging technologies appear to have an upper age-limit to understanding. But is this because the older generations delegate these tasks to the young, happy to wash their hands of such chores?

Could older generations now catch up if required or has this ship sailed?

More likely it seems the obvious middle-ground is the ideal solution. Do you want your ageing finance director dictating what IT you use? Of course not but do you really want the tech-savvy, business-naïve teens and recent graduates getting their hands on your books?

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