Why we should listen to kids
This weekend I travelled to Wales to deliver a coding and development workshop with 23 Code Street at Teen Do 2017, the non-profit arm of the Do Lectures which aims to inspire young people and encourage them to find and pursue their passion.
The weekend was blessed by a succession of truly amazing speakers. Sarah Outen shared the story of her expedition, rowing, cycling and kayaking solo from London to London via the world. Mr Bingo encouraged teens to find freedom in a world of 9–5 and unfulfilling employment. Jack Harries shared the ups and downs of a life of Youtube celebrity.
There wasn’t a story I heard from any of the speakers that didn’t leave me in awe and admiration; but for all of the fascinating stories they shared, the young people were the true source of inspiration.
I learned in detail about blockchain, cryptocurrencies, politics and economics from a bitcoin investor who has so far seen a 1600% return on his initial investment. He was 14.
The 15 year old who taught me about video production and photography explained the principles in a more elegant way than I’ve heard from people twice and three times their age.
I thought to myself ‘where do they find these kids’ but the answer is simple, these kids are representative of all kids. These kids have amazing minds because all kids have amazing minds.
One speaker quoted a divergent thinking study which finds that the older you get, the less uses you can think of for a paperclip. We learn that a paperclip is to hold paper together. We stop using paperclips for anything other than holding paper together and, before long, we can’t think of anything else we can do with it other than hold paper together. Young people have always been able to think outside the box because the boxes have not been built yet, or if they have, they aren’t yet as strong and restricting as they are after years of reinforcement. There was something different about these kids though, and it follows that there is something different about all kids today.
This generation of young people have never known anything other than having instant access to a world of resources. They have grown up with the ability to get answers to any question, and not just from one source but from a range of sources, from a range of perspectives. They can bounce ideas off anyone, anywhere in the world, not just their teachers, their friends and their families… and it’s not just that they can, it’s that they do!
That is why this is the generation which understands the intricacies of economics and the stock market at the age of 14. That is why this is the generation which knows everything about a DSLR camera and how to use it before they set foot in art class. That is why this generation get it BEFORE they’re told it. Where a young person without this connectivity could have thought of a hundred uses for a paperclip, this lot can think of a thousand. Young people’s creativity shows no bounds and their access to information and hunger for it acts as a multiplier .
As a society we hold a ‘what do they know’ attitude towards young people. We deprive everyone below the age of 18 the right to vote because we don’t trust that they have the understanding yet. We don’t think they care. We don’t think they have any idea.
They definitely do.
I’ve left this conference feeling inspired, feeling motivated but, most of all, feeling that those teens should have been on stage showing us, the adults, what paperclips can do.
