Digital-native kids outshine middle-aged adults in tech-quotient test

They may not know who Steve Jobs was or even how to tie their own shoelaces, but the average six-year-old child understands more about digital technology than a 45-year-old adult, according to an authoritative report published yesterday.

The advent of broadband in 2000 has created a generation of digital natives, the UK communication watchdog Ofcom said in its annual study of British consumers. Born in the new millennium, these children have never known the dark ages of dial up internet, and the youngest are learning how to operate smartphones or tablets before they can talk.

"These younger people are shaping communications," said Jane Rumble, Ofcom's media research head. "As a result of growing up in the digital age, they are developing fundamentally different communication habits from older generations, even compared to what we call the early adopters, the 16 to 24 age group."

Ofcom devised a "digital quotient", or DQ test for 800 children and 2,000 adults, which rather than measuring intelligence attempts to gauge awareness and self confidence around gadgets from tablets to smart watches, knowledge of superfast internet, 4G mobile phone networks and mobile apps.

Among six to seven-year-olds, who have grown up with YouTube, Spotify music streaming and the BBC iPlayer, the average DQ score was 98. Those aged between 45 and 49 scored an average of 96. Digital understanding peaked among 14 to 15-year-olds, at 113, then dropped gradually throughout adulthood before falling rapidly in old age.

While half of all adults claimed to know a lot about smartphone and tablet apps, nearly half had never heard of Snapchat, the picture messaging service launched in 2011. Nearly half of all adults were unaware of the smart glasses being developed by Google, and the smart watch Apple is expected to launch before the end of the year.