Introduction
After reviewing blog posts created by my peers, I realised the difficulty in writing a concise, creative post that would appeal to readers. The word limit itself is a challenge to overcome, but the real task lies in the use of attractive infographics.
Digital Immigrants vs. Digital Natives Reflection
Finding other perspectives on this debate further enhanced my understanding. Joanna’s post explained how the age of an individual does not define a ‘native’ or ‘immigrant’, especially with the rise of the ‘silver surfers’ emerging (Whittaker-Wood, 2017). This was particularly intriguing, as I thought age was a crucial factor in determining digital skills (The Guardian, 2017).
Furthermore, statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show the small divide between age groups of Internet users (ONS, 2017). This agrees that age does not correlate to digital literacy. Support is available to enhance skills, especially for older users (see video below).
Sam’s post discussed activities that users undertake determine their profile. The continuum is constantly developed to analyse the relationship between users and the Web (White & Le Cornu, 2017). I agree that simple tasks such as liking pictures and sharing posts can define a ‘native’, identifying users as ‘tech-savvy’ (Kennedy et al, 2010). However, I am unsure whether this remain true in the future, especially when newer services such as MOOCs are changing the way we use the web (Laurillard, 2017).
Conclusion
In conclusion, I learnt that I encompass traits from both ‘native’ and ‘immigrant’ definitions. This places me in the middle of the continuum. However, it is interesting to identify this debate as a ‘myth’. There is no clear evidence that the younger generation like us are residents, and that this is all based on ‘fashion’ than evidence (Stillman, 2017). With technological advances still shaping the society, I am intrigued to see how this continuum will develop.
Word Count: 310 words
Comments
My comment on Sam’s Blog
My comment on Joanna’s Blog
References
Whittaker-Wood, F. (2017). The Rise Of The Silver Surfer: How Technology Is Enriching The Lives Of The Aging Population. [Blog] Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/fran-whittakerwood/the-rise-of-the-silver-su_b_16255428.html [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
The Guardian (2017). Millennial bug: why the ‘digital native’ is a myth. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2017/ aug/01/digital-native-tech-savvy-teenager-is-a-myth [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
Office of National Statistics (2017). Internet users in the UK: 2017. Office of National Statistics, pp.2-3. Available at https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/internetusers/2017 [Accessed 17th Feb 2018]
White, David S.; Le Cornu, Alison. Using ‘Visitors and Residents’ to visualise digital practices. First Monday, [S.l.], July 2017. ISSN 13960466. Available at: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/7802/6515 [Accessed 17th Feb 2018]
Kennedy, G., Judd, T., Dalgarno, B. and Waycott, J. (2010). Beyond natives and immigrants: exploring types of net generation students. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, [online] 26(5), pp.332-343. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00371.x/full [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
Laurillard, D. (2017). Moocs can still bring higher education to those who really need it. [Blog] Times Higher Education. Available at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/moocs-can-still-bring-higher-education-those-who-really-need-it [Accessed 18 Feb. 2018].
Stillman, J. (2017). The Idea of the ‘Digital Native’ Is a Total Myth, Science Says. [Blog] Inc. Available at: https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/science-digital-natives-are-no-better-at-tech-than.html) [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].
Chloe's Blog 