Digital Natives: Reflecting on the Myth

Forward

"The problem here is not with the natives themselves, but rather with the rest of us, the "Digital Immigrants" who remain obstinately tied to older media, and who are failing to catch up with the times." (Buckingham)

You would think, at twenty-six years old, that I am extremely savvy with new technologies, but, alas, I am not. I grew up in the Xanga and Myspace age. When I got to high school, I began using Facebook. Now, I continue to use Facebook, today, and some other technologies I use on a daily basis are Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Words With Friends. The reason this quote struck a reaction in me is because I have a hard time following my MIDDLE SCHOOL students when they start talking about Snapchat, Tumblr, and whatever else they are using. I cling to my Facebook and Pinterest, and I refuse to go further into these new social medias than Instagram.

Chapter 1

"The current generation of young people will reinvent the workplace, and the society they live in. They will do it along the progressive lines that are built into the technology they use everyday--of networds, collaboration, co-production and participation." (Thomas; quoted from Green & Hannon, 2007, n.p.)

I agree strongly with this quote. I feel that our future will be filled with new technologies and leaders that will implement these new technologies in careers and other aspects of life. Technology is a nonstop train, and the only people that are going to be successful using and implementing technology are the ones that grow along with it. Older generations are beginning to realize the importance of new technologies, which is why you see ads for Computer Basics classes, introduction classes to social networking, etc., and the majority of people who attend these courses are your older generations of people who grew up in a time period when these technologies did not exist.

Chapter 2

"But the worst part, in my view, were those who thought I was making the absurd claim (or who themselves made the patently absurd assumption) that if someone was born after a certain date, and was therefore included as a Digital Native, that person automatically knew everything there was to know about digital technology." (Thomas)

I myself am proof that this is an absurd assumption, considering as I mentioned before, I am very behind the times with a lot of new technologies. Also, what I have found teaching middle school is that some students are incredibly up to date and knowledgeable of new digital technologies, while some students barely know how to run on a computer.

Chapter 3

"Universities are losing their grip on higher learning as the Internet is, inexorably, becoming the dominant infrastructure for knowledge--both as a container and as a global platform for knowledge exchange between people--and as a new generation of students requires a very different model of higher education." (Thomas; quoted from Tapscott & Williams, 2010, p.18)

I am sort of torn on how I feel about this quote because, on one hand, it is clearly evident that more people are getting their information and knowledge on particular topics from the Internet. On the other hand, though, I do not feel that this could ever completely replace learning from a University. Obviously, employers do not care what you learned from your independent research online, but they do care about the degree you received from such and such university. With that being said, though, I do believe that universities need to take charge in the ever evolving technology. Policies are going to have to reflect new technologies, as well as courses offered, means of taking courses, and even assignment requirements.

• If you would walk into a bus room at a school any given morning, it would clearly be evident that the concept of Digital Natives obviously exists. You would see students of almost any age, starting at middle school, with some type of technology in their hands, cell phone, handheld gaming system, tablet, etc. These are all technologies that children these ages have grown up with, therefore they are the embodiment of Digital Natives. To show the contrast, walk into a senior center on any given morning, and I would be willing to bet it would be a very different scene, especially in the terms of digital technology.
• I did not use a photo from Photos for Class because I had this image of my now 4 year old when he was just 10 months old. My husband and I always laughed at how being able to use things like a touch screen smart phone must be embedded in the DNA of children these days. Landon (my son) has known how to turn on my iPhone and swipe the screen since before he could walk on his own. If this is not a metaphor for what it means to be a Digital Native, I do not know what it.

Caption: Let me just update my status real quick before you change my diaper.