“Damn!” The mobile device I use daily not only wouldn’t come up to my apps, but kept rebooting every 60 seconds or so. The goofy tablet wouldn’t even shut off. We’ve probably all been there, and I knew what was needed—off to the local computer repair depot.

After explaining and demonstrating the issue to the 20-something at the counter, I left the device with a claim check, an appointment to pick it up at the end of the day, and an assurance that it’d be back to normal. “Right answer—good to go,” I thought.

Running late, I got to the store about 15 minutes before closing time and presented my claim check. A different 20-something (if she was even that old) took my claim check, retrieved my device, flipped it open, turned it on, and “VOILA” a familiar looking screen popped up with a message that a restore was in process. “Don’t worry about that,” she said, “it will finish when you get back home,” as she nervously watched the clock reach closing time and with her eye on the front door.

I settled up my account, took the device, and went home.  As soon as it connected to my home Wi-Fi, I left the unit to complete its download.

The next morning, I awoke, and while sipping my first cup of coffee, I checked to see if the download was complete (it was), and there was a familiar manufacturer splash page looking back at me.

But that was it. No apps screen, and I couldn’t even get to my device settings.

I hadn’t yet taken my morning blood pressure medication, and at this moment, it was apparent that I was going to need it. Whatever had been done the previous day was an “incomplete work,” and now as I faced a packed schedule for the day, I was going to have to take the damned thing back to the shop.

This time, I encountered another tech, looking even younger than the other two, and doing the best I could to control my frustration showed what I considered to be “unfinished business” from the day before.

The tech picked up the unit and said, “Oh, I’ll bet you didn’t do this yet” and pushed three separate different device buttons with three separate fingers in a series of moves that looked something like a short piano concerto.

“Wow!” I exclaimed at seeing my app screen come to life. What did you do? “Oh, that?” he said. “That’s what you have to do when you’ve restored your devices operating system to recover your settings.”

Despite familiarizing myself with the documentation for my mobile devices, I never saw anything like this maneuver.

Then it struck me.

This was a “digital native” who, since infancy, has held technology in their tiny hands. By the time they entered school, they knew the shortcuts, cheat codes, backdoors, etc., it took to master their environment, and already has a (global) network of resources teaching these eager minds how to circumvent any tech obstacle.

What I saw as an obstacle wasn’t even an afterthought for them.

This reminded me that the smart cities we’re building have blurred the boundaries between “traditional” knowledge, and “new knowledge.” Our awareness of the physical environment, people, and processes are being quickly transformed by new technologies that are changing the way we monitor events, processes, and devices, and dynamically adjusting operations to adapt to realtime situations. And also individuals who think dynamically.

40+ years ago when I read Alvin Toffler’s “Future Shock,” I was intrigued by the statement, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Perhaps it’s time we start to unlearn some things and relearn the way these “digital natives” think. In today’s world, we may need their unique skillset and realtime problem-solving perspective more than we realize.

Jim Kissane is a retired construction industry veteran, having served the design/construction industry for more than three decades. He can be reached at jim.kissane.tampa@gmail.com