I have decided to change the title from digital immigrant to digital idiot for two reasons. First, of all I find the term digital immigrant extremely insulting, as others probably do as well. It seems to me that using terms such as native and immigrant implies that one belongs in a place while the other is trying desperately to fit in, which of course is not the case as research has proven over and over again. Despite what Prensky and his followers accept as true, in my opinion those of us born before the advent of digital technology developed personable skills that these young people seem to lack, perhaps because they spend all their time with a digital interface, rather than a real face! Additionally, my generation read a great deal more, (OK, so black and white TV with its four channels was not exactly riveting) but as a result I consider our language skills (reading, writing, grammar etc.) to be far superior to those of generations who have followed. Moreover, I was using computers without pretty little icons long before these digital natives were even born and have had no problem keeping up with technology or any other great innovation since. To suggest that older generations are unable or not good at using technology is absolutely ludicrous, as there are many adults who use it regularly and rather well I might add, just in a different way than their younger counterparts. (Bennett, Maton, Kervin, 2008, Owen, 2004).“Talk of a "digital generation" or people who are "born digital" willfully ignores the vast range of skills, knowledge, and experience of many segments of society” (Vaidhyanathan, 2008).
Furthermore, studies have shown that while the digital natives can use some technology far better than older generations, teachers and lecturers also use technology that many digital natives have never, nor may ever use (Churchward, Gray, Gregor, Judd , Kennedy Terry S, 2008, Owen, 2004). What Prensky seems to have neglected to add is that the digital native is not skilful with all technology, and I will go even further by saying that they lack the patience to use any type of technology that is difficult, time consuming or too technical This digital generation requires immediate gratification or they get frustrated rather easily (Bennett, Maton, Kervin, 2008). The second reason I am so averse to being labelled a digital immigrant is that I am neither a Luddite nor an idiot, although there are many out there. To claim that an entire generation due to their age are either opposed to technology or are technologically illiterate is a rather bold statement to make, as is claiming that anyone born after the digital invasion will somehow be instinctively far more tech savvy than those born before the digital age. It is simply ridiculous to imagine that either statement could be conceivable as there are far too many variables to consider, which obviously Prensky has not. That is not to say there are not a lot of people in each generation that cannot or do not use technology for any number of reasons, many of which have been highlighted in critiques of Prensky’s review, but to imply that older generations will never catch up to the digital native is not only unfair, but untrue.
What's more, there is another very significant component missing from Prensky’s assessment of the digital divide that is of empirical evidence to support his claims. (Bennett, Maton, Kervin, 2008, Buchanan, Chapman, 2009, Churchward et.al, Dalgamo, Bennett, Judd, Gray, Chang, 2008, Owen, 2004, and Vaidhyanathan 2008). It is easy to believe that these digital kids are technologically savvy since they have grown up in the digital age, but without any solid evidence to back up that claim, it is just an opinion.Besides that, there is a “growing evidence base that, while some differences exist, the ‘digital divide’ is not nearly as large as some would have us believe.” (Dalgamo, Bennett, Judd, Gray, Chang, 2008) (Owen, 2004). It would seem then that there are a lot of statements being made that are just not quantified, which in my opinion makes the debate on the digital divide unproductive. Instead of debating an issue that is clearly biased, perhaps time and effort would be better spent on researching how to narrow the gap in the real digital divide; that of marginalized people with no hope of keeping up with technology when they have had very little access to it from the start. Therefore might I suggest that instead of labelling those who use technology by their age, perhaps we should be called digital users and digital idiots, after all there really are a great number of people out there who will never get it regardless of how many times it is explained or maybe they just have no interest in learning!
References
Bayne, S., Ross, J. (2007), The ‘digital native’ and ‘digital immigrant’: a dangerous opposition. The Annual Conference of the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)
Bennett, S., Maton, K. and Kervin, L. (2008), The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39: 775–786. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00793.x
Buchanan, R., Chapman, A. (2009). Dialogue and Difference: The Sorry Story of the Digital Native. PESA December 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
Kennedy , Gregor, E., Judd , Terry S., Churchward, Anna., Gray, Kathleen. (2008). First year students’ experiences with technology: Are they really digital natives? Australasian Journal of Educational Technology , 2008, 24(1), pp.108-122
Kennedy, G., Dalgarno, B., Bennett, S., Judd, T., Gray, K. & Chang, R. (2008). Immigrants and natives: Investigating differences between staff and students’ use of technology. In Hello! Where are you in the landscape of educational technology? Proceedings ascilite Melbourne 2008. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/kennedy.pdf
Owen, M (2004) The myth of the digital native. Futurelab, June 2004. Retrieved from http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/publications_reports_articles/web_articles/Web_Article561Date of access: 18 November 2010.
Popova, M. (2010, October 6). Malcolm Gladwell Is #Wrong. Change Observer. Retrieved October 8, 2010, from http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=19008
Vaidhyanathan, S. (2008). Generational Myth: Not all young people are tech-savvy. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 55(4), B7-9. Retrieved from Education Full Text database
Furthermore, studies have shown that while the digital natives can use some technology far better than older generations, teachers and lecturers also use technology that many digital natives have never, nor may ever use (Churchward, Gray, Gregor, Judd , Kennedy Terry S, 2008, Owen, 2004). What Prensky seems to have neglected to add is that the digital native is not skilful with all technology, and I will go even further by saying that they lack the patience to use any type of technology that is difficult, time consuming or too technical This digital generation requires immediate gratification or they get frustrated rather easily (Bennett, Maton, Kervin, 2008). The second reason I am so averse to being labelled a digital immigrant is that I am neither a Luddite nor an idiot, although there are many out there. To claim that an entire generation due to their age are either opposed to technology or are technologically illiterate is a rather bold statement to make, as is claiming that anyone born after the digital invasion will somehow be instinctively far more tech savvy than those born before the digital age. It is simply ridiculous to imagine that either statement could be conceivable as there are far too many variables to consider, which obviously Prensky has not. That is not to say there are not a lot of people in each generation that cannot or do not use technology for any number of reasons, many of which have been highlighted in critiques of Prensky’s review, but to imply that older generations will never catch up to the digital native is not only unfair, but untrue.
What's more, there is another very significant component missing from Prensky’s assessment of the digital divide that is of empirical evidence to support his claims. (Bennett, Maton, Kervin, 2008, Buchanan, Chapman, 2009, Churchward et.al, Dalgamo, Bennett, Judd, Gray, Chang, 2008, Owen, 2004, and Vaidhyanathan 2008). It is easy to believe that these digital kids are technologically savvy since they have grown up in the digital age, but without any solid evidence to back up that claim, it is just an opinion.Besides that, there is a “growing evidence base that, while some differences exist, the ‘digital divide’ is not nearly as large as some would have us believe.” (Dalgamo, Bennett, Judd, Gray, Chang, 2008) (Owen, 2004). It would seem then that there are a lot of statements being made that are just not quantified, which in my opinion makes the debate on the digital divide unproductive. Instead of debating an issue that is clearly biased, perhaps time and effort would be better spent on researching how to narrow the gap in the real digital divide; that of marginalized people with no hope of keeping up with technology when they have had very little access to it from the start. Therefore might I suggest that instead of labelling those who use technology by their age, perhaps we should be called digital users and digital idiots, after all there really are a great number of people out there who will never get it regardless of how many times it is explained or maybe they just have no interest in learning!
References
Bayne, S., Ross, J. (2007), The ‘digital native’ and ‘digital immigrant’: a dangerous opposition. The Annual Conference of the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)
Bennett, S., Maton, K. and Kervin, L. (2008), The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39: 775–786. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00793.x
Buchanan, R., Chapman, A. (2009). Dialogue and Difference: The Sorry Story of the Digital Native. PESA December 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
Kennedy , Gregor, E., Judd , Terry S., Churchward, Anna., Gray, Kathleen. (2008). First year students’ experiences with technology: Are they really digital natives? Australasian Journal of Educational Technology , 2008, 24(1), pp.108-122
Kennedy, G., Dalgarno, B., Bennett, S., Judd, T., Gray, K. & Chang, R. (2008). Immigrants and natives: Investigating differences between staff and students’ use of technology. In Hello! Where are you in the landscape of educational technology? Proceedings ascilite Melbourne 2008. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/kennedy.pdf
Owen, M (2004) The myth of the digital native. Futurelab, June 2004. Retrieved from http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/publications_reports_articles/web_articles/Web_Article561Date of access: 18 November 2010.
Popova, M. (2010, October 6). Malcolm Gladwell Is #Wrong. Change Observer. Retrieved October 8, 2010, from http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=19008
Vaidhyanathan, S. (2008). Generational Myth: Not all young people are tech-savvy. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 55(4), B7-9. Retrieved from Education Full Text database