Within reading the article this week by Shah and Abraham, I felt like the term Digital Native was explained and broken down, however the tone carried a slight sense of worry. This digital age we are in becomes a sort of limbo of information. We, the digital age, are seeing things from a new perspective and in a new light then those not of the digital age. They have a sense of worry of the unknown, but I feel as if our age has more of a sense of wonder and curiosity towards the subject matter.
“The term ‘Digital Natives’ (Prensky, 2001) is slowly becoming ubiquitous amongst scholars and activists working in the youth-technology sector, especially in emerging Information Societies. The phrase is generally used to differentiate the generation that was born after 1980 – who has an unprecedented (and often inexplicable) relationship with information technology. It is a term used to make us aware of the fact that these people are everywhere”
‘Aware of the fact that these people are everywhere”… it almost makes Digital Natives sound like a bad omen. Instead I agreed more from this section of the text,
“Digital Natives are sensitive and thoughtful; it is time to listen to them and their ideas, and to focus on their development as responsible and active citizens rather than on their digital exploits or technologised interests.”
Digital natives should be embraced and accepted in a society where they are most prominent. However, I do not think we should punish or discriminate against adults who are not open to the group of digital natives. This is because our ways of ‘growing up’ were very different what we have is so different than what we had 30 years ago. Time increasingly changes perspectives of generations. In 30 years who knows maybe we will have evolved to a different set of technology and us as digital natives will be a thing of the past.
I came across a blog by Harvard summer Interns that highlights the experiences of being born in a digital age. Small teams of interns formed video interpretations and presentations from out of their own perspectives and experiences, as well as the ways in which the topic intersected with being a Digital Native.
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/youthandmediaalpha/publications/videos/borndigital/
I definitetly felt that worry as well. A lot of their research felt as though they were concerned for us, and them. Like older genreations probably think “who are these children who are self obsessed with selfies and little phone slaves”. But let me tell you it a lot harder than it looks. On Facebook alone I have over 800 friends, than you add other different social media sites, with the expectation of making an appearance. Then you add school, a career, family, friends, netflix, chocolate, wine, and all the other joys of life, and its as though there is no time. You constatnly have to be on top of it. But this is only now, present 2015. We shall see whats to come, and if then we are able to keep up!