Thank you for sharing this, Renata -- cool video!
But I think I'm taking the exact opposite from it. It makes me happy. It seems to me these kids love information -- and are eager to say so! -- and love books, too, most of them expressed sadness at the idea of books disappearing (but also, shock at the idea that an encyclopedia would cost $1500).
I do think you have a good point, that the absence of Wikipedia in our early lives provided big motivation for many of us to devote energy to creating Wikipedia. I'm not sure that spells doom for Wikipedia, though -- rather, I'd say different kinds of motivation (more specific to one's passions and interests, rather than a general desire to build a comprehensive compendium) will fuel the next wave of Wikipedians.
People will probably value knowledge in different ways as it becomes more abundant and less centralized, but I have a hard time believing they will *cease* to value knowledge.
Pete [[User:Peteforsyth]]
On Tue, Jul 14, 2015 at 1:22 PM, Renata St renatawiki@gmail.com wrote:
Hi.
So I saw this YouTube video yesterday about kids reacting to printed encyclopedia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aJ3xaDMuM&noredirect=1
It made me sad. And very fearful of the future of Wikipedia.
These kids do not appreciate knowledge and information because they grew up with its abundance. When I was growing up (and I am only 30), printed encyclopedia was the only research tool. These kids will never know the frustration when you tried looking something up in those dusty volumes only to find minimal information ("stub") or, worse yet, nothing on the topic. And the nagging feeling it left you with because your curiosity was not satisfied and you thirsted for more, but there was nothing else! And so when Wikipedia came around it was this wondrous thing where information was seemingly limitless and endless. And it was expanding at dizzying speeds. And you could add more! It was the answer to my childhood fantasy of having the limitless encyclopedia that answered every questions. And it filed my heart with joy and satisfaction not unlike the joy of a child in candy story (yes, I am a geek).
Those kids never deprived of knowledge and information will never know how precious it is. They will not have the same love that is required to edit Wikipedia and write quality articles. And it makes me sad.
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