Technology Advancement: ''Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants - Research Paper Example

Module Effects of Technology The only thing that is constant is change. People keep on changing with different generations and technology develops as years advance. Technology advancements have introduced many changes in the way individuals interact, learn, work, and communicate with each other. In the olden days, the radio and the television changed how people received information and even altered the way people were governed. Nowadays, technologies such as mobile phones and the internet have provided individuals with information, a reliable communication method, education, easy purchases, news, dating sites, and jobs among other services. Apparently, the older generation has never been very keen on technology but as times change, there has been an emphasis on utilization of technology in many areas such as businesses, industries and homes. This development has forced the older generation to adjust with the advancing technologies even though they use them quite minimally. On the other hand, the younger generation was exposed to technology at an early age. As technology develops, young people seem to adjust quickly and efficiently with it. Their appetite for technology is insatiable as evident in some individuals who cannot function normally without communication gadgets such as mobile phones, tablets, personal computers, and the internet (Ito et al. 1). This has introduced many changes in the interaction process between different people. I believe that technology advancement has brought detrimental effects in the way that people socialize and experts can confirm that a generational divide has been established between “digital natives” and “digital immigrants”. The generational divide between “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” is obvious. As a digital native, I have always found it easier to interact with others using my mobile phone and my personal computer. On the other hand, my parents can be termed as “digital immigrants” as they have started using these technologies some time later in their lives as a necessity to keep up with the changing home and work environment. Dr. Mizuko Ito and his team conducted a research showing that there were conflicts occurring between the older generations and the younger generations owing to the fact that they viewed the importance of technologies differently. They discovered that the young generation had adapted social media, online games, and technological gadgets such as mobile phones and iPads in their culture. They found out that technology and its accessories were embedded in the young generation’s norms. The youths used the gadgets to foster communication with their peers, establish friendships and express themselves (Ito et al. 1). On the other hand, the older generations does not view technology in the same light. Ito and his team discovered that a large percentage of the parents interviewed thought that the youths were wasting time on the technological gadgets and were sure that nothing constructive could emerge out them (Ito et al. 1). However, Ito found out that the youths used the gadgets to find new opportunities in the world, explore interests, experiment new forms of self-expression and develop technical skills. The activities that the youth carried out on the gadgets provided avenues for expanding their social world and increasing their knowledge. I concur with Ito’s findings as I can ascertain that I use my android phone and my computer to enhance communication with my peers, connect with other people on different forums in the internet and to educate myself. However, my parents do not understand why I usually spend a significant amount of time on my gadgets and it has led to a lot of conflicts in the house. They have even decided to ban the use of technological gadgets at dinner time. I echo Ito’s sentiments when he states that parents do not see technologies as an important part of socialization for the young generation in the contemporary world (Ito et al. 2). This clearly demonstrates the conflict between the digital immigrants and the digital natives in relation to technological advancements. In the workplaces there is conflict between the digital natives and digital immigrants as they use different modes of communication and utilize different methods to search for information (Ito et al. 2). The young generation is well-informed when it comes to matters concerning technology and they may use emails to communicate and send reports. The older generation may expect face to face interactions and physical submission of reports. The digital natives also use the internet to quickly search for information while the digital immigrants may take a longer time looking up information from books. Therefore, many workplaces are offering training services to ensure that all employees are well-informed in technology matters. However, it may be a daunting task for the digital immigrants to maintain the pace with the digital natives who easily grasp concepts involving technologies. These issues create a generational divide between the digital natives and the digital immigrants and affect their relationships both at work and at home. Technology advancement has brought a detrimental effect on the way people interact, learn and work. As Sherry Turkle states, people have been too attached to their technological gadgets to the extent of forgetting about the real world. Some individuals would rather solve their differences through texts and phone calls instead of solving them in a face to face interaction. Turkle realized that some adolescents are using technologies to evade the difficult phase of socializing, forming complicated relationships and intimacy. She states that they are completely disconnected from the world and find solace in their technological gadgets. This has resulted to complicated and failed relationships in the individuals’ future and the inability to hold proper conversations with others (Turkle). I agree with Turkle as I have witnessed a similar situation where individuals seem talkative and interesting on social media but in the real world they are shy and cannot bring themselves to hold a normal conversation. They mainly engage in social media for long hours and barely interact with people in the real world. Technology may facilitate communication between youths but it limits their ability to socialize when put in face to face conversations. This is one of the setbacks that some of the digital natives are facing in their day to day lives. Turkle also says that technologies have hindered the ability of students to think about complicated matters. She says that students cannot acquire critical thinking skills through teaching methods that incorporate technology such as PowerPoint presentations. This is because the presentations provide pictorial illustrations and bulleted points that have been easily retrieved from the internet, therefore, failing to exercise the students’ minds, which results to weak arguments. Furthermore, students can easily read shallow documents from the web pages, therefore, find it hard to read books that enhance their learning abilities (Turkle). I concur with Turkle on this issue as I have observed that many students do not like reading books or doing research but instead find easy solutions to their homework exercises by looking up information in the internet. Therefore, their critical thinking skills and writing skills have scaled down as well as their ability to interpret facts and develop strong arguments. Technology has caused the digital natives to fall back in terms of critical thinking abilities compared to the digital immigrants. CONCLUSION Technology advancement has brought detrimental effects in the way that people socialize. The paper shows that technological advancements have led some people to be excessively connected to these gadgets, therefore, causing isolation and the failure to form healthy relationships with others. The paper also shows that there is a generational divide established between “digital natives” and “digital immigrants”; apparently visible from the differing views that the two generations have on technology. The digital natives differ from the digital immigrants in that they are well-informed in technology and use it extensively, therefore, causing conflicts between them and the digital immigrants who may not understand its significance. The digital immigrants should understand that the young generation will continue to utilize technology to interact with their peers, explore their interests and connect with other people in the contemporary world. However, the digital natives should be aware of the detrimental effects of technology and try to incorporate some social skills from the digital immigrants in order to enhance their interaction processes. Works Cited Ito, Mizuko, Heather Horst, Patricia Lange, C.J. Pascoe, Laura Robinson, Sonja Baumer, Rachel Cody, Dilan Mahendran, Katynka Martínez, Dan Perkel, Christo Sims and Lisa Tripp. “Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project.” Berkeley, CA: Building the Field of Digital Learning Media, 2008. Print. http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/files/report/digitalyouth-TwoPageSummary.pdf Turkle, Sherry. "Digital Demands: The Challenges of Constant Connectivity." Nieman Reports. N.p., 1 June 2010. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=102403 Read More