Young people today have lots of experience … interacting with new technologies, but a lot less so of creating [or] expressing themselves with new technologies. It's almost as if they can read but not write.

Resnick contrasts passive fluency with technology (using apps, devices, and platforms) against active fluency (building, programming, and creating with them). By likening today’s youth to people who “can read but not write,” he argues that consumption and navigation skills are often mistaken for genuine digital literacy. The remark reflects his broader advocacy—associated with constructionist learning and creative computing—for giving young people opportunities to design, code, and express ideas through technology rather than merely interact with finished products. The implication is civic and educational: without “writing” capabilities, users remain dependent on tools made by others and have less agency to shape digital culture.