Notion of Digital Natives - Essay Example

Digital Native By Due Digital Natives are people who are born and are brought up in an era that succeeds the time of introduction of digital technology. Digital Natives are well acquainted and well informed of the digital technology and are not that much fascinated by its development as the general public did almost 50 years ago. However, digital natives cannot imagine life without the availability of digital technology. This term was first coined by Marc Prensky in his work Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants which was published in 2001. He assigned this term to new students, whose lives were overwhelmed with digital technology i.e. computers, the Internet, video games etc. He defined another class of people who acclimatize to the “digital age” later in their lives and he called them Digital Immigrants. (Prensky, 2001a) Prensky seems to have derived the term “Digital Natives” from the fact that the new generation does not know any other context than to live its life in the digital world. This includes ‘age’ as the only factor for the determination of “Digital Nativity” of a particular person. However, Helsper and Eynon argue that, “...breadth of use, experience, self-efficacy and education are just as, if not more, important than age in explaining how people become digital natives” (2010, p. 504) They also expanded the scope of the term “Digital Native” for their study. They define it as, “…someone who multi-tasks, has access to a range of new technologies, is confident in their use of technologies, uses… the Internet as a first port of call for information and uses the Internet for learning as well as other activities.” (2010, p. 506) Prensky emphasizes that the biggest difference in Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants is that the Digital Immigrants retain some of their values that were inherent in them due to their upbringing in a different era (20011, p. 1). Digital Natives do not know any other context. The term “Digital Natives” has been very important and influential for many subsequent studies. Prensky devised this term in the context of education. According to him, the Digital Immigrants cannot understand the Digital Natives completely and that they are teaching the Natives. There is a gap in the understanding and thinking of the two groups and it is hard to fill. In order to fill that gap, the Digital Immigrants need to get themselves as closer to the Digital Natives as possible and this can be done by having exposure and experience. It would not be entirely wrong to say that Don Tapscott has taken up the term “Digital Natives” well than anybody else. If not explicitly, he is certainly concordant with the very idea that the term infers. In his books “Growing up Digital” and “Grown up Digital”, he openly admits that his research was inspired by looking at his own kids. He says that his kids were using the digital appliances very effectively and without difficulty at a very young age. They did not have much difficulty in getting to know and figure out every new piece of technology that was introduced in the house. He admits that his wife and he were perplexed by the new things while those were a child’s play for their kids. He observed that the friends of his children were equally talented and he started to call the new generation as the “Net Generation”. The biggest proof of his being in congruence with the idea of Digital Natives is his statement that, “Todays kids are so bathed in bits that they think its all part of the natural landscape.”(Tapscott, 2009) The major elements that determine the extent of one’s indulgence into the digital technology is how he receives and processes information. A Digital Immigrant might look for information in books, newspapers and then look for it on the Internet. A Digital Natives perceives the Internet to be the best source of information and will look for and process information on the internet first. Books and newspapers usually serve him in the last resort. However, Bennet et al argue that there is very little evidence that the young people’s method of processing and use of information is radically different from the adults. The proportion of young people is greatly higher than the adults that use the digital technology for various purposes. This fact tends to support the term “Digital Natives” but the various factors that lead up to this are mostly ignored. This is a complex model as it has been depicted in the studies of DiMaggio & Hargittai, 2001; Facer & Furlong 2001; Livingstone & Helsper, 2007; Hargittai & Hinnart, 2008. It is also very hard to determine and form a conclusive opinion that how effectively the young people are utilizing the digital technology. Prensky and Tapscott are impressed by the way the new generation is leading its life. According to them, it is because the new generation has grown up in an environment which is full of digital technology. They do not have to collect water from a well before they can take a bath nor they have to boil the water before drinking it. They trust the water filters blindly and think that is the best source of drinking water. On the contrary, the adults might have some qualms about the quality of water that comes through a water filter because they have come from the age when there were no water filters. They had other methods of obtaining drinking water and it is certain that one of the methods was deemed to be the best source. Some people are die-hard and water filters had to make their way into their minds to develop a trust. The new generation only understands one context i.e. the drinking water comes from the water filters. The preferences of the two age groups bring a gap between them. An average adult, a Digital Immigrant, does not prefer the use of internet to communicate with anyone. He might prefer a phone call. Or if he has to send a manuscript to someone, he does not feel content by sending an email. He trusts hard copy more than the soft copy. This lack of trust gives him less exposure to the digital technology. A young person trusts digital technology and prefers its use. His interest and preference gives him more exposure to it and spending more time gives him more experience and makes him more “Tech Savvy” (Helsper & Eynon, 2010). If there is a gap between the two generations, it is because of the state of mind of the Digital Immigrants. If we go back in history, a similar scenario can easily be pointed out where science began to dazzle the world. There were two groups of people then i.e. religious and scientologists. When car was invented, a major group of people was not ready to give up horses. The new generation thought it to be an absurd idea to travel via horses when cars were available. What happened then? Of course, the use of cars prevailed over the use of horses. The older generation accepted and acclimatized with the new technology. This shows that the flexibility of human mind is of paramount importance. McLuhan once argued that, “…the ‘message’ of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs …” (McLuhan 1964, p. 8) The development of digital technology changes our lifestyles to a great degree. It continues to present new “medium” to us and we must learn to adopt. Certain things become need of the time and they must be accepted to go through the time smoothly. It is no longer a mystery why the new generation is well acquainted with the digital world. The point Helsper and Enyon wanted to assert is that the breadth of use and exposure can transform Digital Immigrants into Digital Natives. All human beings are not the same. They differ from each other in various ways including intelligence, financial state, ethnicity, preferences and beliefs. As mentioned before, these factors have not been taken into account in most of the researches conducted in the past regarding Digital Natives. Most of the people do not have access to the digital technology. For instance, parents usually buy computers with internet access for their children’s study. Certainly, their children use it more than their parents as it is believed that the children use computers out of necessity while their parents do not feel such need. Some people cannot simply afford to have much digital products and their way of thinking is entirely different from the wealthy. Some people are naturally interested in digital technology and they “migrate” so well into the digital era that they become better than the Digital Natives. There is a major portion of their mind that is stuck in the past but their curiosity for the avant-garde and novel overpowers every other thought. Prensky drew his conclusions from the famous theory of neuroplasticity which suggests that our brains are plastic and flexible and they can be molded into any form (Pransky 2001b). However, the ability to “mould” one’s mind is not similar in every human being. A fair proportion of people do not allow new information to change their way of thinking. This gives them less exposure to novelty (digital technology) and they are content with staying old-fashioned. There is a “Digital Divide” that brings a gap among people. It means that some people have access to the Internet and other digital resources but others have not because either they do not accept it or they are deprived of that privilege. Literacy is of a big concern in this regard. The educational gap propels the digital gap. The ability to read has a lot to do in filling this gap. The portion of new generation which is deprived of the basic education and is unable to read cannot be expected to understand the various aspects of digital technology. Their way of thinking is entirely different. These people cannot be termed as Digital Natives because in order to be “Tech Savvy”, there are certain innate requirements which include the ability to read. For instance, a person who is not able to read cannot be expected to use the internet because he does not know how he can search for the content that he needs. I agree with the statement of Helsper and Enyon. The Digital Immigrants can transform into Digital Natives if they apply themselves more and accept the digital technology as the need of the time. The Breadth of usage and exposure can do that. The breadth of use of digital technology has a great impact on a person’s life. For instance, when mobile phones were not in existence, life was normal for everyone and nobody felt a void that induced the urge for a cell phone except on very exceptional instances. These days, if a person forgets his cell phone at home, he really feels its need and thinks about the people who would be trying to reach him. This effect is not only existent in people who were born after the mobile phones were invented, but also in the people who were born well before. They think of their lives before mobile phones and aspire to go back in time when there were no cell phones but they disregard the advantages of cell phones in doing so. We can easily find 50-60 year old people who use cell phones and require them as well as any 20 year old does. The Digital Immigrants can be as connected and immersed into digital technology as the young people provided that they have the similar amount of exposure and the breadth of usage. A young person with limited or no exposure to digital world cannot be termed as a Digital Native either. Therefore, in my opinion, the age is not the only factor in determination of the fact whether a person is a Digital Native. References DiMaggio, P. & Hargittai, E. (2001). From the digital divide to digital inequality: studying Internet use as penetration increases. Working Paper Series (15) Princeton University, Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies. Facer, K. & Furlong, R. (2001). Beyond the myth of the ‘Cyberkid’: young people at the margins of the information revolution, Journal of Youth Studies, 4(4), 451–469. Hargittai, E. & Hinnart, A. (2008). Digital inequality: differences in young adults’ use of the Internet, Communication Research, 35(5), 602–621. Helsper, E Enyon, R. (2010). Digital Natives: Where is the Evidence? British Educational Research Journal, 36(3), 503–520. Livingstone, S. & Helsper, E. (2007). Gradations in digital inclusion: children, young people and the digital divide, New Media & Society, 9, 671–696. McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding Media. Routledge, London Prensky, M. (2001a). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Part 1, On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. Prensky, M. (2001b). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Part 2: do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6), 1–6. Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: the rise of the net generation. (New York, McGraw-Hill). Tapscott, D. (2009). Grown up digital: how the net generation is changing your world. (New York, McGraw-Hill). Read More