As I've finished up part of my schooling in IT and am moving to the next chapter, I've found a fascinating trend. The number of parents who, inspired by their child's endless games of Guitar Hero or Halo, have decided that their child has unlimited potential in the IT field.

It's a ludicrous assumption absent evidence of other skilld, and I'd like to put a stop to it.

To most Americans, computers remain in that mysterious ether, not quite magical, not quite scientific. They don't know how it works, so they fill in what they don't know with "magic", and assume that anyone with any aptitude working with a computer must somehow be a computer genius. Sadly, that's not so, and, while I won't doubt an affinity for Guitar Hero among the IT set, proficiency at a video game does not translate into IT skill. It's about like saying because I enjoy driving, I should be a mechanic. While it's probably fair to say the majority of mechanics love to drive, the reverse is not necessarily true.

What the older generation needs to gradually accept and realize is that computers have become almost ubiquitous in American society, and a love of video games, like a love of driving, is simply an appreciation for part of the culture in which our children are raised.

Of course, the fact that I am saying this COULD have something to do with the 9,357th post-Christmas call from a 12 year old wanting me to guide them through setting up their router for wireless access for their XBox 360 over the phone. While I could certainly do most of it, I really don't want to be responsible for when little Johnny discovers the joys of configuring a router and thus subjects the family's bank accounting information to some 15 year old script kiddy who just learned how to scan ports. But it could also do with the unrealistic expectations of parents who have such precious little understanding of the world in which their kids live (although, I have to admit, it's quite amusing to watch parents desperately HOPING their child will be a geek!)

So, just because Jimmy reached 100,000 on "Guitar Hero" doesn't mean he will be programming for Microsoft next year (or playing for a rock band...but that's a WHOLE other story). But it doesn't mean he'll end up a bum and homeless either. Although if he does, you may want to point out to him that REAL guitars fret NOTHING like his "Guitar Hero" controller. It will certainly increase his take when he's playing on the subway crossover.