There is a growing body of research that provides evidence that today's late adolescents and college-age students have been affected in many ways, some adversely, by growing up in the ever-increasing technology-driven world--one in which they have been living, playing and communicating. The purpose of this article is to present recent research findings to assess what twenty-first century learning and thinking skills should be developed in young children to prepare them for the digital demands of daily life as they grow into pre-adolescence.