In a time where TV is king, Don Tapscott shows that multimedia is something to be reckoned with.  At one point there were those who questioned the validity of just having computers in the home.  In the 1970’s computers were seen more as a machine for complex business work.  As Microsoft Windows came out and seeing prices drop, more and more homes were taking advantage of the personal computer revolution.  The affordability of computers made them part of the home and people began to use them for their word processing, spreadsheet and games.  Not too much later, computers were getting connected to the World Wide Web.  Here an ocean of information became available to be washed into our homes via the computer.

     With this mass amount of information available at our, and our kids’ fingertips, what are we as adults to do to protect them from the uncertainties of the Internet?  Is the Internet a connection that will corrupt our kids?  With all of the evils we hear on the news and rumors spread in our communities about the Internet, Don Tapscott an International leader in the thinking about the digital revolution gives us an optimistic answer. In his book Growing Up Digital; Tapscott pays attention to the fact that kids use the computer and the Internet as if by second nature.  Kids are more open and understand that this multimedia device is just another part of their life. In fact he gives the name to these 4-24 year olds as the “Net Generation.”   These N-Gen kids will produce a bigger impact wave than our Baby Boomers. This is the generation to pay attention to now.

    Tapscott creates a web site called the “Free Zone” where kids are to just be kids.  Here they interact and discover there is a life on and off the Internet.  The immersion in the Internet is not as detrimental as we may think.  At some points the Internet can be more safe than reality, where people do no judge you by looks, but on how you interact with each other.  This is a powerful understanding for kids in there teens that are screaming to be heard.

    Rather than having a television spit out information and entertain to people, the computer and Internet create an amazing interactive medium.  This medium is a two – way communication that has real people at the other end.  Rather than T.V. rule our time, kids are telling the Internet what they want, and if it does not please the kids, they have the ability to create what they like. In Growing Up Digital, Tapscott looks into the world that involves its younger people, and finds that they are growing up strong and informed.  This book will be a guide to those willing to hear the realities of what the Internet is creating.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to understand what the Net is doing to the “Net Generation,” now is the time to see in this book.  Call this book a map to see where our kids are going with interactive medium that is not finished growing.