Why not introduce digital storytelling earlier?

While reading the digital storytelling article, I kept having one reoccuring thought. I found it crazy that this was a tool that was discussed being used with college students and older individuals. As someone had stated in a previous response, the problems that are discussed in the article are the same problems that a student could encounter with a regular written assignment. However, writing a personal narrative is not something that is introduced to students in college, in fact it is an assignment that many pre-teens are often given in school. If a person found it diffuclt to produce a coherant narrative, odds are they would have had the same issue if this was a written assignment about the same topic. Even more so, kids these days are exposed to so much more technology earlier in life and tend to get excited to be able to use it, especially in school. I feel as though digital story telling would be so useful with younger kids that are first being introduced to personal narrative. At the younger ages, children tend to be a lot more comfortable using their oral language than written language since they have had more experience with it. It just makes sense to me to give these kids an assignment on personal narrative in which they are able to get comfortable with the topic using their oral skills. In terms of written assignments, one could have kids write out an outline or even a quick write up of their topic of choice. Once the kids get the concept of what it's like to produce a personal narrative, a written one can be given as an assignment.
Another issue I have about the article discussing this as something to be used to college aged students is that it says that it helps with establishing identity which is something that is important in the college years. Last I checked, most kids started to question their identity as soon as puberty hit. If this is a tool that can help people not only in terms of education but on a personal and social level, why keep it from students for so long?