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{{Short description|Person who has grown up in the digital age}}
{{Short description|Person who has grown up in the digital age}}
{{about|people of the [[Digital Age]]|the Yasutaka Nakata album|Digital Native (album)|objects of the age|Born-digital}}
{{about|people of the [[Digital Age]]|the Yasutaka Nakata album|Digital Native (album)|objects of the age|Born-digital}}
[[File:Digital media use.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Adults using [[smartphone]]s]]
[[File:Child with Apple iPad.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|A child using a tablet]]
The term '''digital native''' describes a person who has grown up in the [[Information Age|information age]]. The term "digital native" was coined by Marc Prensky, an American writer, speaker and technologist who wrote several articles referencing this subject.<ref name=Selwyn2009>{{cite journal |last1=Selwyn |first1=Neil |title=The digital native – myth and reality |journal=ASLIB Proceedings |date=5 July 2009 |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=364–379 |id={{ProQuest|217758813}} |doi=10.1108/00012530910973776 }}</ref> This term specifically applied to the generation that grew up in the "digital age," predominantly regarding individuals born after the year 1980.<ref name=Selwyn2009/><ref name=Tufts2010/>
The term '''digital native''' describes a person who has grown up in the [[Information Age|information age]]. The term "digital native" was coined by [[Marc Prensky]], an American writer, speaker and technologist who wrote several articles referencing this subject.<ref name="Selwyn2009">{{Cite journal |last=Selwyn |first=Neil |date=5 July 2009 |title=The digital native – myth and reality |journal=ASLIB Proceedings |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=364–379 |doi=10.1108/00012530910973776 |id={{ProQuest|217758813}}}}</ref> This term specifically applied to the generation that grew up in the "digital age," predominantly regarding individuals born after the year 1980,<ref name=Selwyn2009/><ref name=Tufts2010/> namely [[Millennials]], [[Generation Z]], and [[Generation Alpha]]. Individuals from these demographic cohorts can quickly and comfortably locate, consume and send digital information through electronic devices and platforms such as [[computer]]s, [[mobile phone]]s, and [[social media]].


Digital natives are distinguished from digital immigrants, people who grew up in a world dominated by print and television, because they were born before the advent of the [[Internet]].<ref name="Prensky Sep 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Prensky |first1=Marc |title=Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1 |journal=On the Horizon |date=September 2001 |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1108/10748120110424816 |s2cid=145451571 |url=http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ESMP/article/view/58020 |hdl=11323/5915 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The digital generation grew up with increased confidence in the technology that they were encircled and engulfed in.<ref name="Selwyn2009" /> This was thanks in part to their predecessors growing interest into a subject that was previously an unknown. Due to their upbringing, this digital generation of youth became fixated on their technologies as it became an ingrained, integral and essential way of life.<ref name="Selwyn2009" /> Prensky concluded that due to the volume of daily interactions with technology, the digital native generation had developed a completely different way of thinking.<ref name="Tufts2010">{{cite thesis |id={{ProQuest|825550299}} |last1=Tufts |first1=Debra Roben |date=2010 |title=Digital adults: Beyond the myth of the digital native generation gap }}</ref> Though the brains may not have changed physically, pathways and thinking patterns had evolved, and brains had changed to be physiologically different than those of the bygone era.<ref name="Prensky Nov 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Prensky |first1=Marc |title=Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2: Do They Really Think Differently? |journal=On the Horizon |date=November 2001 |volume=9 |issue=6 |pages=1–6 |id={{ProQuest|214641811}} |doi=10.1108/10748120110424843 |s2cid=145201624 |url=https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/reinad/article/view/3649 }}</ref> Repeated exposure had helped grow and stimulate certain regions of the brain, while other unused parts of the brain were reduced in size.<ref name="Prensky Sep 2001" /> The terms ''digital native'' and ''digital immigrant'' are often used to describe the digital [[generation gap]] in terms of the ability of technological use among people born after 1980 and those born before.<ref name="Zenios-2018">{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-91152-6_8 |chapter=Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants Revisited: A Case of CALL |title=Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Learning and Teaching |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science |year=2018 |last1=Zenios |first1=Maria |last2=Ioannou |first2=Eleni |volume=10925 |pages=99–110 |isbn=978-3-319-91151-9 |chapter-url=https://clok.uclan.ac.uk/26448/1/ZeniosIoannouHCII_CALL.pdf }}</ref> The term ''digital native'' is a highly contested concept, being considered by many education researchers as a persistent myth not founded on empirical evidence,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Margaryan |first1=Anoush |last2=Littlejohn |first2=Allison |last3=Vojt |first3=Gabrielle |title=Are digital natives a myth or reality? University students' use of digital technologies |journal=Computers & Education |date=February 2011 |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=429–440 |doi=10.1016/j.compedu.2010.09.004 }}</ref><ref name="Bennett Maton Kervin 2008" /> and many argue for a more nuanced approach in understanding the relationship between digital media, learning and youth.
Often grouped into [[Millennials]], and [[Generation Z]], these individuals can consume digital information and stimuli quickly and comfortably through electronic devices and platforms such as [[computer]]s, [[mobile phone]]s, and [[social media]]. The term has given way to "Virtual Natives" coined in a book by Catherine D. Henry and Leslie Shannon (Wiley, 2023), to reflect [[Generation Alpha]], who are growing up in the virtual age, or the era of the 3D web.

Digital natives are distinguished from digital immigrants, people who grew up in a world dominated by print and television because they were born before the advent of the [[Internet]].<ref name="Prensky Sep 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Prensky |first1=Marc |title=Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1 |journal=On the Horizon |date=September 2001 |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1108/10748120110424816 |s2cid=145451571 |url=http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ESMP/article/view/58020 }}</ref> The digital generation grew up with increased confidence in the technology that they were encircled and engulfed in.<ref name=Selwyn2009/> This was thanks in part to their predecessors growing interest into a subject that was previously an unknown. Due to their upbringing, this digital generation of youth became fixated on their technologies as it became an engrained, integral and essential way of life.<ref name=Selwyn2009/> Prensky concluded that due to the volume of daily interactions with technology, the digital native generation had developed a completely different way of thinking.<ref name=Tufts2010>{{cite thesis |id={{ProQuest|825550299}} |last1=Tufts |first1=Debra Roben |date=2010 |title=Digital adults: Beyond the myth of the digital native generation gap }}</ref> Though the brains may not have changed physically, pathways and thinking patterns had evolved, and brains had changed to be physiologically different that those of the bygone era.<ref name="Prensky Nov 2001" >{{cite journal |last1=Prensky |first1=Marc |title=Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2: Do They Really Think Differently? |journal=On the Horizon |date=November 2001 |volume=9 |issue=6 |pages=1–6 |id={{ProQuest|214641811}} |doi=10.1108/10748120110424843 |s2cid=145201624 |url=https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/reinad/article/view/3649 }}</ref> Repeated exposure had helped grow and stimulate certain regions of the brain, while other unused parts of the brain were reduced in size.<ref name="Prensky Sep 2001"/> The terms digital native and digital immigrant are often used to describe the digital [[generation gap]] in terms of the ability of technological use among people born after 1980 and those born before.<ref name="Zenios-2018">{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-91152-6_8 |chapter=Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants Revisited: A Case of CALL |title=Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Learning and Teaching |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science |year=2018 |last1=Zenios |first1=Maria |last2=Ioannou |first2=Eleni |volume=10925 |pages=99–110 |isbn=978-3-319-91151-9 |chapter-url=https://clok.uclan.ac.uk/26448/1/ZeniosIoannouHCII_CALL.pdf }}</ref> The term digital native is a highly contested concept, being considered by many education researchers as a persistent myth not founded on empirical evidence<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Margaryan |first1=Anoush |last2=Littlejohn |first2=Allison |last3=Vojt |first3=Gabrielle |title=Are digital natives a myth or reality? University students' use of digital technologies |journal=Computers & Education |date=February 2011 |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=429–440 |doi=10.1016/j.compedu.2010.09.004 }}</ref><ref name="Bennett Maton Kervin 2008"/> and many argue for a more nuanced approach for understanding the relationship between digital media, learning and youth.


==Origin==
==Origin==
Native–immigrant analogy terms, referring to age groups' relationships with and understanding of the Internet, were used as early as 1995 by [[John Perry Barlow]] in an interview,<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Tunbridge |first1=Nat |title=The Cyberspace Cowboy |quote=Barlow: 'I would say that, generally speaking, at this stage, if you're over 25, you're an immigrant. If you're under 25 you're closer to being a native, in terms of understanding what it is and having a real basic sense of it.' |magazine=Australian Personal Computer |date=September 1995 |pages=2–4 }}</ref> and used again in 1996 as part of the ''[[A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace|Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barlow |first1=John Perry |title=A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace |url=https://www.eff.org/cyberspace-independence |work=Electronic Frontier Foundation |date=20 January 2016 |quote=You are terrified of your own children, since they are natives in a world where you will always be immigrants }}</ref>
Native–immigrant analogy terms, referring to age groups' relationships with and understanding of the Internet, were used as early as 1995 by [[John Perry Barlow]] in an interview,<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Tunbridge |first1=Nat |title=The Cyberspace Cowboy |quote=Barlow: 'I would say that, generally speaking, at this stage, if you're over 25, you're an immigrant. If you're under 25 you're closer to being a native, in terms of understanding what it is and having a real basic sense of it.' |magazine=Australian Personal Computer |date=September 1995 |pages=2–4 }}</ref> and used again in 1996 as part of the ''[[A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace|Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barlow |first1=John Perry |title=A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace |url=https://www.eff.org/cyberspace-independence |work=Electronic Frontier Foundation |date=20 January 2016 |quote=You are terrified of your own children, since they are natives in a world where you will always be immigrants }}</ref>


The specific terms "digital native" and "digital immigrant" were popularized by education consultant [[Marc Prensky]] in his 2001 article entitled ''Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants'', in which he relates the contemporary decline in American education to educators' failure to understand the needs of modern students.<ref name="Prensky Nov 2001"/> His article posited that "the arrival and rapid dissemination of [[digital electronics|digital technology]] in the last decade of the 20th century" had changed the way students think and process information, making it difficult for them to excel academically using the outdated teaching methods of the day. In other words, children raised in a digital, media-saturated world, require a media-rich learning environment to hold their attention, and Prensky dubbed these children "digital natives". He also goes on to say that Digital Natives have "spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers and videogames, digital music players, videocams, cell phones and all other toys and tools of the digital age".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Joiner |first1=Richard |last2=Gavin |first2=Jeff |last3=Brosnan |first3=Mark |last4=Cromby |first4=John |last5=Gregory |first5=Helen |last6=Guiller |first6=Jane |last7=Maras |first7=Pam |last8=Moon |first8=Amy |title=Comparing First and Second Generation Digital Natives' Internet Use, Internet Anxiety, and Internet Identification |journal=Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking |date=July 2013 |volume=16 |issue=7 |pages=549–552 |doi=10.1089/cyber.2012.0526 |pmid=23675995 |s2cid=6153092 |url=https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/4c6bca59-2d4c-487b-8e9e-662a662ba7a0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prensky |first1=Marc |title=Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1 |journal=On the Horizon |date=September 2001 |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1108/10748120110424816 |s2cid=145451571 |url=http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ESMP/article/view/58020 }}</ref>
The specific terms ''digital native'' and ''digital immigrant'' were popularized by education consultant [[Marc Prensky]] in his 2001 article entitled ''Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants'', in which he relates the contemporary decline in American education to educators' failure to understand the needs of modern students.<ref name="Prensky Nov 2001"/> His article posited that "the arrival and rapid dissemination of [[digital electronics|digital technology]] in the last decade of the 20th century" had changed the way students think and process information, making it difficult for them to excel academically using the outdated teaching methods of the day. In other words, children raised in a digital, media-saturated world, require a media-rich learning environment to hold their attention, and Prensky dubbed these children "digital natives". He also goes on to say that Digital Natives have "spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers and videogames, digital music players, videocams, cell phones and all other toys and tools of the digital age".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Joiner |first1=Richard |last2=Gavin |first2=Jeff |last3=Brosnan |first3=Mark |last4=Cromby |first4=John |last5=Gregory |first5=Helen |last6=Guiller |first6=Jane |last7=Maras |first7=Pam |last8=Moon |first8=Amy |title=Comparing First and Second Generation Digital Natives' Internet Use, Internet Anxiety, and Internet Identification |journal=Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking |date=July 2013 |volume=16 |issue=7 |pages=549–552 |doi=10.1089/cyber.2012.0526 |pmid=23675995 |s2cid=6153092 |url=https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/4c6bca59-2d4c-487b-8e9e-662a662ba7a0 }}</ref><ref name="Prensky Sep 2001"/>


Globally, 30 percent of the population born between 1988 and 1998 had used the Internet for over five years as of 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.news.gatech.edu/2013/10/07/where-world-are-young-people-using-internet |title=Where in the World are Young People Using the Internet? |date=October 7, 2013 |website=Georgia Tech News |location=ATLANTA, GA}}</ref>
Globally, 30 percent of the population born between 1988 and 1998 had used the Internet for over five years as of 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.news.gatech.edu/2013/10/07/where-world-are-young-people-using-internet |title=Where in the World are Young People Using the Internet? |date=October 7, 2013 |website=Georgia Tech News |location=ATLANTA, GA}}</ref>


== Conceptualization and development ==
== Conceptualization and development ==
''Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants'' [[Marc Prensky]] defines the term "digital native" and applies it to a new group of students enrolling in educational establishments referring to the young generation as "native speakers" of the digital language of computers, videos, video games, social media and other sites on the internet. Contextually, his ideas were introduced after a decade of worry over increased diagnosis of children with [[ADD]] and ADHD,<ref name="add adhd epidemic">{{cite journal|last1=Stolzer|first1=J. M.|title=The ADHD Epidemic in America|journal=Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry|date=January 1, 2007|volume=9|issue=2|pages=109–116|doi=10.1891/152315007782021204|s2cid=143352643}}<!--|access-date=1 March 2015--></ref> which itself turned out to be largely overblown.<ref name="add debate">{{cite web|last1=Merrow|first1=John|title=Attention Deficit Disorder: A Dubious Diagnosis?|url=https://www.pbs.org/merrow/repository/Television/Past/_attn/guide.html|website=www.pbs.org|publisher=PBS|access-date=2017-08-26|archive-date=2014-12-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227203302/http://www.pbs.org/merrow/repository/Television/Past/_attn/guide.html}}</ref> Prensky did not strictly define the digital native in his 2001 article, but it was later, arbitrarily, applied to children born after 1980, because computer [[bulletin board systems]] and [[Usenet]] were already in use at the time.
''Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants'' [[Marc Prensky]] defines the term "digital native" and applies it to a new group of students enrolling in educational establishments referring to the young generation as "native speakers" of the digital language of computers, videos, video games, social media and other sites on the internet. Contextually, his ideas were introduced after a decade of worry over increased diagnosis of children with [[ADD]] and ADHD,<ref name="add adhd epidemic">{{cite journal|last1=Stolzer|first1=J. M.|title=The ADHD Epidemic in America|journal=Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry|date=January 1, 2007|volume=9|issue=2|pages=109–116|doi=10.1891/152315007782021204|s2cid=143352643}}<!--|access-date=1 March 2015--></ref> which itself{{Clarify|date=November 2024}} turned out to be largely overblown.<ref name="add debate">{{cite web|last1=Merrow|first1=John|title=Attention Deficit Disorder: A Dubious Diagnosis?|url=https://www.pbs.org/merrow/repository/Television/Past/_attn/guide.html|website=www.pbs.org|publisher=PBS|access-date=2017-08-26|archive-date=2014-12-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227203302/http://www.pbs.org/merrow/repository/Television/Past/_attn/guide.html}}</ref> Prensky did not strictly define the digital native in his 2001 article, but it was later, arbitrarily, applied to children born after 1980, because computer [[bulletin board systems]] and [[Usenet]] were already in use at the time.


The idea became popular among educators and parents, whose children fell within Prensky's definition of a digital native, and has since been embraced as an effective marketing tool.<ref name="digital native marketing">{{cite web|last1=Kipke|first1=David|title=A Millennial's Digital Marketing Worldview|url=http://www.adknowledge.com/blog/millennial-view-of-digital-marketing/|website=www.adknowledge.com|access-date=1 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423080342/http://www.adknowledge.com/blog/millennial-view-of-digital-marketing/|archive-date=2015-04-23}}</ref> It is important to note that Prensky's original paper was not a scientific one, and that no empirical data exists to support his claims. However, the concept has been widely addressed in the academic literature since, mainly in education research,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Chris |last2=Shao |first2=Binhui |title=The net generation and digital natives: implications for higher education |website=The Open University |date=2011 |url=https://oro.open.ac.uk/30014/ |oclc=1358897974 }}{{self-published inline|date=February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Helsper |first1=Ellen Johanna |last2=Eynon |first2=Rebecca |title=Digital natives: where is the evidence? |journal=British Educational Research Journal |date=June 2010 |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=503–520 |doi=10.1080/01411920902989227 |url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/27739/1/Digital_natives_%28LSERO%29.pdf }}</ref> but also in health research.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cowey |first1=Aasha E |last2=Potts |first2=Henry W W |title=What can we learn from second generation digital natives? A qualitative study of undergraduates' views of digital health at one London university |journal=Digital Health |date=January 2018 |volume=4 |page=205520761878815 |doi=10.1177/2055207618788156 |pmid=30046453 |pmc=6055101 |s2cid=50782420 }}</ref>
The idea became popular among educators and parents whose children fell within Prensky's definition of a digital native, and has since been embraced as an effective marketing tool.<ref name="digital native marketing">{{cite web|last1=Kipke|first1=David|title=A Millennial's Digital Marketing Worldview|url=http://www.adknowledge.com/blog/millennial-view-of-digital-marketing/|website=www.adknowledge.com|access-date=1 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423080342/http://www.adknowledge.com/blog/millennial-view-of-digital-marketing/|archive-date=2015-04-23}}</ref> It is important to note that Prensky's original paper was not a scientific one, and that no empirical data exists to support his claims. However, the concept has been widely addressed in the academic literature since, mainly in education research,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Chris |last2=Shao |first2=Binhui |title=The net generation and digital natives: implications for higher education |website=The Open University |date=2011 |url=https://oro.open.ac.uk/30014/ |oclc=1358897974 }}{{self-published inline|date=February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Helsper |first1=Ellen Johanna |last2=Eynon |first2=Rebecca |title=Digital natives: where is the evidence? |journal=British Educational Research Journal |date=June 2010 |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=503–520 |doi=10.1080/01411920902989227 |url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/27739/1/Digital_natives_%28LSERO%29.pdf }}</ref> but also in health research.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cowey |first1=Aasha E |last2=Potts |first2=Henry W W |title=What can we learn from second generation digital natives? A qualitative study of undergraduates' views of digital health at one London university |journal=Digital Health |date=January 2018 |volume=4 |page=205520761878815 |doi=10.1177/2055207618788156 |pmid=30046453 |pmc=6055101 |s2cid=50782420 }}</ref> A review published in 2024 found nearly 1,900 academic articles to have used the term ''digital native'' since the mid-2000s, noting how the meaning of the term had evolved to cover everything from businesses and start-ups to new generations of "AI natives".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mertala |first=Pekka |date=March 2024 |title=Digital natives in the scientific literature: A topic modeling approach |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563223004272 |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |volume=152 |pages=108076 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2023.108076 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref>


Prensky has since abandoned his digital native metaphor in favor "digital wisdom".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Prensky|first1=Marc|title=From Digital Native to Digital Wisdom|url=http://marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-Intro_to_From_DN_to_DW.pdf|website=marcprensky.com|publisher=Marc Prensky|access-date=4 April 2015}}</ref> More recently, the [[Digital Visitor and Resident]] idea has been proposed as an alternative to understanding the various ways individuals engage with digital technology. It is also argued that digital native and digital immigrant are labels that oversimplify the classification scheme and that there are categories that can be considered "undetermined" based from the framework of the previous assignations.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WIPFBQAAQBAJ&q=%22digital+native%22+%22digital+immigrant%22&pg=PT128|title=Rethinking Learning for a Digital Age: How Learners are Shaping their Own Experiences|last1=Sharpe|first1=Rhona|last2=Beetham|first2=Helen|last3=Freitas|first3=Sara de|date=2010-07-02|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-97387-1|language=en}}</ref>
Prensky has since abandoned his digital native metaphor in favor of "digital wisdom".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Prensky |first1=Marc |author-link=Marc Prensky |title=From Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom |url=http://marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-Intro_to_From_DN_to_DW.pdf |access-date=4 April 2015 |website=marcprensky.com |publisher=Marc Prensky}}</ref> The [[Digital Visitor and Resident]] idea has been proposed as one alternative to understanding the various ways individuals engage with digital technology. It is also argued that digital native and digital immigrant are labels that oversimplify the classification scheme and that there are categories that can be considered "undetermined" based from the framework of the previous assignations.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WIPFBQAAQBAJ&q=%22digital+native%22+%22digital+immigrant%22&pg=PT128|title=Rethinking Learning for a Digital Age: How Learners are Shaping their Own Experiences|last1=Sharpe|first1=Rhona|last2=Beetham|first2=Helen|last3=Freitas|first3=Sara de|date=2010-07-02|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-97387-1|language=en}}</ref>


The critique of Prensky's conceptualization has resulted in further refinement of the terms.<ref name="Zenios-2018" /> For instance, digital natives have been further classified into three: the ''avoiders'', ''minimalists'', and ''enthusiastic participants''. The avoiders are those who do not depend on technological devices and use technology minimally while the minimalists make use of the trends, although not as often as the enthusiastic participants.<ref name="Zenios-2018" />
The critique of Prensky's conceptualization has resulted in further refinement of the terms.<ref name="Zenios-2018" /> For instance, digital natives have been further classified into three types: the ''avoiders'', ''minimalists'', and ''enthusiastic participants''. The avoiders are those who do not depend on technological devices and use technology minimally while the minimalists make use of the trends, although not as often as the enthusiastic participants.<ref name="Zenios-2018" />


People who were "born digital", first appeared in a series of presentations by [[Josh Spear]] beginning in May 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-riD8N0Dt4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/l-riD8N0Dt4 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Josh Spear presentation at Zeitgeist Europe 2007 |publisher=Youtube.com |access-date=2013-12-10}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iabuk.net/en/1/borndigitalgeneration071207.mxs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821130213/http://www.iabuk.net/en/1/borndigitalgeneration071207.mxs |archive-date=2008-08-21 |title=Wanna go to digital rehab? No No No: Talking to the born digital generation |publisher=Iabuk.net |date=2007-11-18 |access-date=2013-12-10 }}</ref> A Digital Native research project<ref>[http://www.digital-native.org/ digital-native.org]</ref> is being run jointly by the [[Harvard Law School#Berkman Center for Internet & Society|Berkman Center for Internet & Society]] at [[Harvard Law School]] and the Research Center for Information Law at the [[University of St. Gallen]] in Switzerland. A collaborative research project<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Digital-Natives-with-a-Cause |title=Digital Natives with a Cause? / Themes / Hivos Knowledge Programme / Home - Ontwikkelingsorganisatie Hivos |publisher=Hivos.net |access-date=2013-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213092523/http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Digital-Natives-with-a-Cause |archive-date=2013-12-13 }}</ref> is being run by [[Hivos|Hivos, Netherlands]] and the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society. The Net Generation Encountering e-learning at university project<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/netgeneration/ |title=The Net Generation encountering e-learning at university |publisher=Open.ac.uk |access-date=2013-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213131439/http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/netgeneration/ |archive-date=2013-12-13 }}</ref> funded by the UK research councils was completed in March 2010. More recently the Museum of Social Media,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subject/code/000037/homepage/museum_of_social_media__home.htm |title=Communication & Media Studies - Museum of Social Media: HOME - Wiley Online Library |publisher=Onlinelibrary.wiley.com |access-date=2013-12-10}}</ref> launched in 2012, has included an exhibition about "Digital Natives & Friends."
People who were "born digital" first appeared in a series of presentations by [[Josh Spear]] beginning in May 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-riD8N0Dt4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/l-riD8N0Dt4 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Josh Spear presentation at Zeitgeist Europe 2007 |date=25 May 2007 |publisher=Youtube.com |access-date=2013-12-10}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iabuk.net/en/1/borndigitalgeneration071207.mxs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821130213/http://www.iabuk.net/en/1/borndigitalgeneration071207.mxs |archive-date=2008-08-21 |title=Wanna go to digital rehab? No No No: Talking to the born digital generation |publisher=Iabuk.net |date=2007-11-18 |access-date=2013-12-10 }}</ref> A Digital Native research project<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.digital-native.org/|title=Welcome to...|website=www.digital-native.org}}</ref> is being run jointly by the [[Harvard Law School#Berkman Center for Internet & Society|Berkman Center for Internet & Society]] at [[Harvard Law School]] and the Research Center for Information Law at the [[University of St. Gallen]] in Switzerland. A collaborative research project<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Digital-Natives-with-a-Cause |title=Digital Natives with a Cause? / Themes / Hivos Knowledge Programme / Home Ontwikkelingsorganisatie Hivos |publisher=Hivos.net |access-date=2013-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213092523/http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Digital-Natives-with-a-Cause |archive-date=2013-12-13 }}</ref> is being run by [[Hivos|Hivos, Netherlands]] and the Bangalore-based [[Centre for Internet and Society (India)|Centre for Internet and Society]]. The Net Generation Encountering eLearning at University Project<ref>{{cite web |title=The Net Generation encountering e-learning at university |url=http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/netgeneration/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213131439/http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/netgeneration/ |archive-date=2013-12-13 |access-date=2013-12-10 |publisher=[[Open University]]}}</ref> funded by the UK research councils was completed in March 2010. More recently the Museum of Social Media, launched in 2012, has included an exhibition about "Digital Natives & Friends".<ref>{{cite web |title=Communication & Media Studies Museum of Social Media: HOME Wiley Online Library |url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subject/code/000037/homepage/museum_of_social_media__home.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903224624/http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com:80/subject/code/000037/homepage/museum_of_social_media__home.htm |archive-date=September 3, 2013 |access-date=2013-12-10 |website=[[Wiley Online Library]] |publisher=}}</ref>


==Conflicts between generations==
==Conflicts between generations==
[[File:Child with Apple iPad.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|A child using a tablet]]
[[File:Students-using-laptop.jpg|thumb|Schoolchildren working with laptop computers|300x300px]]
The generational changes between digital natives, and their predecessors, the digital immigrant, have been astronomical. According to a study conducted by Tapscott, after interviewing and studying 11,000 young digital natives, he was able to determine eight different social norms between digital natives and the digital immigrants before them.<ref name=Tufts2010/> Digital natives were offered the freedom, creativity to customize and ability to scrutinize, unlike their predecessors. For this digital generation, digital natives looked for corporate integrity and openness when it was time for them to choose a career. These digital youth also began to seek entertaining and innovating career choices. Corporate integrity and openness also applied to consumer products, with digital natives more likely to choose products recommended by their friends. With playful mentalities, this new generation also brought with them a need for speed.<ref name=Tufts2010/> The eight social norms differentiated these digital natives, as well as the development of the need for approval from their peer groups.<ref name=Tufts2010/>
The generational changes between digital natives, and their predecessors, the digital immigrant, have been astronomical. According to a study conducted by Tapscott, after interviewing and studying 11,000 young digital natives, he was able to determine eight different social norms between digital natives and the digital immigrants before them.<ref name=Tufts2010/> Digital natives were offered the freedom, creativity to customize and ability to scrutinize, unlike their predecessors.{{Vague|date=November 2024}} For this generation, digital natives prioritized corporate integrity and openness when it was time for them to choose a career. These digital natives also began to seek entertaining and innovating career choices. Corporate integrity and openness also applied to consumer products, with digital natives more likely to choose products recommended by their friends. With playful mentalities, this new generation also brought with them a "need for speed".<ref name=Tufts2010/> The eight social norms differentiated these digital natives, as well as the development of the need for approval from their peer groups.<ref name=Tufts2010/>



Because many digital immigrants are used to a life without digital technology or may be hesitant to adapt to it,<ref name="Wang Myers Sundaram 2013">{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Qian |last2=Myers |first2=Michael D. |last3=Sundaram |first3=David |title=Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants: Towards a Model of Digital Fluency |journal=Business & Information Systems Engineering |date=December 2013 |volume=5 |issue=6 |pages=409–419 |doi=10.1007/s12599-013-0296-y |s2cid=14893367 }}</ref> they can sometimes be at variance with digital natives in their view of it.<ref name="Wang Myers Sundaram 2013"/> The everyday regimen of work-life is becoming more technologically dependent with advancements such as computers in offices, improved telecommunication, and more complex machinery in industry.<ref name="Brody & Rubin 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Brody |first1=Charles J. |last2=Rubin |first2=Beth A. |title=Generational Differences in the Effects of Insecurity, Restructured Workplace Temporalities, and Technology on Organizational Loyalty |journal=Sociological Spectrum |date=7 February 2011 |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=163–192 |doi=10.1080/02732173.2011.541341 |s2cid=144354787 }}</ref> This can make it difficult for digital immigrants to keep pace, which has the potential to create conflict between older supervisors and managers and an increasingly younger workforce.<ref name="Brody & Rubin 2011"/> Similarly, parents of digital natives clash with their children at home over gaming, texting, YouTube, Facebook and other Internet technology issues. Much of the world's [[Millennials]] and [[Generation Z]] members are digital natives.<ref>Shapiro, Evan. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-shapiro/tv-cord-cutters_b_1568919.html "TV: An Intervention."] HuffPost TV. June 5, 2012</ref> According to law professor and educator [[John Palfrey]], there may be substantial differences between digital natives and non digital natives, in terms of how people see relationships and institutions and how they access information.<ref name="tws313">{{cite news
Because many digital immigrants are used to a life without digital technology or may be hesitant to adapt to it,<ref name="Wang Myers Sundaram 2013">{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Qian |last2=Myers |first2=Michael D. |last3=Sundaram |first3=David |title=Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants: Towards a Model of Digital Fluency |journal=Business & Information Systems Engineering |date=December 2013 |volume=5 |issue=6 |pages=409–419 |doi=10.1007/s12599-013-0296-y |s2cid=14893367 }}</ref> they can sometimes be at variance with digital natives in their view of it.<ref name="Wang Myers Sundaram 2013"/> The everyday regimen of work-life is becoming more technologically dependent with advancements such as computers in offices, improved telecommunication, and more complex machinery in industry.<ref name="Brody & Rubin 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Brody |first1=Charles J. |last2=Rubin |first2=Beth A. |title=Generational Differences in the Effects of Insecurity, Restructured Workplace Temporalities, and Technology on Organizational Loyalty |journal=Sociological Spectrum |date=7 February 2011 |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=163–192 |doi=10.1080/02732173.2011.541341 |s2cid=144354787 }}</ref> This can make it difficult for digital immigrants to keep pace, which has the potential to create conflict between older supervisors and managers and an increasingly younger workforce.<ref name="Brody & Rubin 2011"/> Similarly, parents of digital natives clash with their children at home over gaming, texting, YouTube, Facebook and other Internet technology issues. Much of the world's [[Millennials]] and [[Generation Z]] members are digital natives.<ref>Shapiro, Evan. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-shapiro/tv-cord-cutters_b_1568919.html "TV: An Intervention."] HuffPost TV. June 5, 2012</ref> According to law professor and educator [[John Palfrey]], there may be substantial differences between digital natives and non digital natives, in terms of how people see relationships and institutions and how they access information.<ref name="tws313">{{cite news
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|date= October 17, 2008
|date= October 17, 2008
|url= http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2008/10/tech_podcast_features_john_pal.html
|url= http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2008/10/tech_podcast_features_john_pal.html
|archive-url= https://archive.today/20130412032319/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2008/10/tech_podcast_features_john_pal.html
|url-status= dead
|archive-date= April 12, 2013
|access-date= 2013-02-03
|access-date= 2013-02-03
}}</ref> In spite of this, the timetable for training young and old on new technology is about the same.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Salajan | first1 = F. | last2 = Schonwetter | first2 = D. | last3 = Cleghorn | first3 = B. | year = 2010 | title = Student and faculty inter-generational digital divide: fact or fiction? | journal = Computers and Education | volume = 53 | issue = 3| pages = 1393–1403 | doi = 10.1016/j.compedu.2010.06.017 }}</ref>
}}</ref> In spite of this, the timetable for training young and old on new technology is about the same.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Salajan | first1 = F. | last2 = Schonwetter | first2 = D. | last3 = Cleghorn | first3 = B. | year = 2010 | title = Student and faculty inter-generational digital divide: fact or fiction? | journal = Computers and Education | volume = 53 | issue = 3| pages = 1393–1403 | doi = 10.1016/j.compedu.2010.06.017 }}</ref>


Prensky states that education is the single largest problem facing the [[digital world]] as digital immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language. Digital natives have had an increased exposure to technology, which has changed the way they interact and respond to digital devices.<ref name="Morgan, 2014">Morgan, 2014</ref> In order to meet the unique learning needs of digital natives, teachers need to move away from traditional teaching methods that are disconnected with the way students now learn.<ref name="Morgan, 2014"/> For the last 20 years,{{when|date=April 2021}} [[Technical trainer|technology training]] for teachers has been at the forefront of policy.<ref>{{cite journal |id={{ERIC|EJ835233}} |last1=Lei |first1=Jing |title=Digital Natives as Preservice Teachers: What Technology Preparation Is Needed? |journal=Journal of Computing in Teacher Education |date=2009 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=87–97 }}</ref> However, immigrants suffer complications in teaching natives how to understand an environment which is "native" to them and foreign to immigrants. Teachers not only struggle with proficiency levels and their abilities to integrate technology into the classroom, but also, display resistance towards the integration of digital tools.<ref name="Hicks, 2011">Hicks, 2011</ref> Since technology can be frustrating and complicated at times, some teachers worry about maintaining their level or professionalism within the classroom.<ref name="Hicks, 2011"/> Teachers worry about appearing "unprofessional" in front of their students.<ref name="Hicks, 2011"/> Although technology presents challenges in the classroom, it is still very important for teachers to understand how natural and useful these digital tools are for students.<ref name="Hicks, 2011"/>
Prensky states that education is the single largest problem facing the digital world as digital immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language. Digital natives have had an increased exposure to technology, which has changed the way they interact and respond to digital devices.<ref name="Morgan, 2014">Morgan, 2014</ref> In order to meet the unique learning needs of digital natives, teachers need to move away from traditional teaching methods that are disconnected with the way students now learn.<ref name="Morgan, 2014"/> For the last 20 years,{{when|date=April 2021}} [[Technical trainer|technology training]] for teachers has been at the forefront of policy.<ref>{{cite journal |id={{ERIC|EJ835233}} |last1=Lei |first1=Jing |title=Digital Natives as Preservice Teachers: What Technology Preparation Is Needed? |journal=Journal of Computing in Teacher Education |date=2009 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=87–97 }}</ref> However, immigrants suffer complications in teaching natives how to understand an environment which is "native" to them and foreign to immigrants. Teachers not only struggle with proficiency levels and their abilities to integrate technology into the classroom, but also, display resistance towards the integration of digital tools.<ref name="Hicks, 2011">Hicks, 2011</ref> Since technology can be frustrating and complicated at times, some teachers worry about maintaining their level or professionalism within the classroom.<ref name="Hicks, 2011"/> Teachers worry about appearing "unprofessional" in front of their students.<ref name="Hicks, 2011"/> Although technology presents challenges in the classroom, it is still very important for teachers to understand how natural and useful these digital tools are for students.<ref name="Hicks, 2011"/>


To meet the unique learning needs of digital natives, Forzani and Leu suggest that digital tools are able to respond immediately to the natural, exploratory, and interactive learning style of students today. Learning how to use these digital tools not only provides unique learning opportunities for digital natives, but they also provide necessary skills that will define their future success in the digital age. One preference to this problem is to invent [[computer game]]s to teach digital natives the lessons they need to learn, no matter how serious. This ideology has already been introduced to a number of serious practicalities. For example, piloting an [[unmanned aerial vehicle]] (UAV) in the army consists of someone sitting in front of a computer screen issuing commands to the UAV via a [[Game controller|hand-held controller]] which resembles, in detail, the model of controllers that are used to play games on an [[Xbox 360]] game console. (Jodie C Spreadbury, Army Recruiting and Training Division).<ref>[http://www.pyrosoft.co.uk/blog/2007/11/04/army-fly-uav-spy-plane-with-xbox-360-controller/ Public email b November 4th, 2007 by Paul Maunder] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115151054/http://www.pyrosoft.co.uk/blog/2007/11/04/army-fly-uav-spy-plane-with-xbox-360-controller/ |date=2010-11-15 }} s</ref>
To meet the unique learning needs of digital natives, Forzani and Leu suggest that digital tools are able to respond immediately to the natural, exploratory, and interactive learning style of students today. Learning how to use these digital tools not only provides unique learning opportunities for digital natives, but they also provide necessary skills that will define their future success in the digital age. One preference to this problem is to invent [[computer game]]s to teach digital natives the lessons they need to learn, no matter how serious. This ideology has already been introduced to a number of serious practicalities. For example, piloting an [[unmanned aerial vehicle]] (UAV) in the army consists of someone sitting in front of a computer screen issuing commands to the UAV via a [[Game controller|hand-held controller]] which resembles, in detail, the model of controllers that are used to play games on an [[Xbox 360]] game console. (Jodie C Spreadbury, Army Recruiting and Training Division).<ref>[http://www.pyrosoft.co.uk/blog/2007/11/04/army-fly-uav-spy-plane-with-xbox-360-controller/ Public email b November 4th, 2007 by Paul Maunder] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115151054/http://www.pyrosoft.co.uk/blog/2007/11/04/army-fly-uav-spy-plane-with-xbox-360-controller/ |date=2010-11-15 }} s</ref>


[[Gamification]] as a teaching tool has sparked interest in education, and Gee suggests this is because games have special properties that books cannot offer for digital natives.<ref name = "gee">{{cite journal |last1=Gee |first1=James Paul |title=The Old and the New in the New Digital Literacies |journal=The Educational Forum |date=October 2012 |volume=76 |issue=4 |pages=418–420 |doi=10.1080/00131725.2012.708622 |s2cid=145236354 }}</ref> For instance, gamification provides an interactive environment for students to engage and practice 21st century skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, and digital literacy. Gee presents four reasons why gamification provides a distinct way of learning to promote 21st century skills. First, games are based on problem solving and not on ones ability to memorize content knowledge. Second, gamification promotes creativity in digital natives where they are encouraged to think like a designer or modify to redesign games. Third, digital natives are beginning to co-author their games through the choices they make to solve problems and face challenges. Therefore, students' thinking is stimulated to promote [[metacognition]] since they have to think about their choices and how they will alter the course and outcome of the game. Lastly, through online gaming, digital natives are able to collaborate and learn in a more social environment.<ref name = "gee" /> Based on the literature, one can see the potential and unique benefits digital tools have. For example, online games help digital natives meet their unique learning needs. Furthermore, online gaming seems to provide an interactive and engaging environment that promotes the necessary skills digital natives will need to be successful in their future.
[[Gamification]] as a teaching tool has sparked interest in education, and Gee suggests this is because games have special properties that books cannot offer for digital natives.<ref name = "gee">{{cite journal |last1=Gee |first1=James Paul |title=The Old and the New in the New Digital Literacies |journal=The Educational Forum |date=October 2012 |volume=76 |issue=4 |pages=418–420 |doi=10.1080/00131725.2012.708622 |s2cid=145236354 }}</ref> For instance, gamification provides an interactive environment for students to engage and practice 21st century skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, and digital literacy. Gee presents four reasons why gamification provides a distinct way of learning to promote 21st century skills. First, games are based on problem solving and not on ones ability to memorize content knowledge. Second, gamification promotes creativity in digital natives where they are encouraged to think like a designer or modify to redesign games. Third, digital natives are beginning to co-author their games through the choices they make to solve problems and face challenges. Therefore, students' thinking is stimulated to promote [[metacognition]] since they have to think about their choices and how they will alter the course and outcome of the game. Lastly, through online gaming, digital natives are able to collaborate and learn in a more social environment.<ref name = "gee" /> Positive effects from gaming have been seen, one effect is expanding social relationships either preexisting or forming new social bonds.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Trepte |first1=Sabine |last2=Reinecke |first2=Leonard |last3=Juechems |first3=Keno |date=2012-05-01 |title=The social side of gaming: How playing online computer games creates online and offline social support |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563211002706 |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=832–839 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2011.12.003 |s2cid=14511879 |issn=0747-5632}}</ref> Based on the literature, one can see the potential and unique benefits digital tools have. For example, online games help digital natives meet their unique learning needs. Furthermore, online gaming seems to provide an interactive and engaging environment that promotes the necessary skills digital natives will need to be successful in their future.


== Implication of technological and media landscapes ==
== Implication of technological and media landscapes ==
[[File:Different Approaches to Educate the Digital Native.jpg|thumb|Different approaches to educate the digital native]]
[[File:Different Approaches to Educate the Digital Native.jpg|thumb|Different approaches to educate the digital native]]


Digital Natives vary in demographic based on their region's technological and media landscapes. Not everyone agrees with the language and underlying connotations of the digital native. The term, by definition, makes the assumption that all digital natives has the same familiarity with technology. Similarly, the term digital immigrants implies that this entire age group struggles with technological advancements. For instance, those on the disadvantaged side of the [[digital divide]] lack access to technology. In its application, the concept of the digital native preferences those who grow up with technology as having a special status, ignoring the significant difference between familiarity and creative application.<ref name="Bennett Maton Kervin 2008">{{cite journal |last1=Bennett |first1=Sue |last2=Maton |first2=Karl |last3=Kervin |first3=Lisa |title=The 'digital natives' debate: A critical review of the evidence |journal=British Journal of Educational Technology |date=September 2008 |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=775–786 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00793.x |s2cid=15145996 }}</ref>
Digital natives vary in demographic based on their region's technological and media landscapes. Not everyone agrees with the language and underlying connotations of the digital native. The term, by definition, makes the assumption that all digital natives have the same base familiarity with technology. Similarly, the term digital immigrants implies that this entire age group struggles with technological advancements. For instance, those on the disadvantaged side of the [[digital divide]] lack access to technology. In its application, the concept of the digital native preferences those who grow up with technology as having a special status, ignoring the significant difference between familiarity and creative application.<ref name="Bennett Maton Kervin 2008">{{cite journal |last1=Bennett |first1=Sue |last2=Maton |first2=Karl |last3=Kervin |first3=Lisa |title=The 'digital natives' debate: A critical review of the evidence |journal=British Journal of Educational Technology |date=September 2008 |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=775–786 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00793.x |s2cid=15145996 }}</ref>


Digital Natives are determined based on their educational and cultural backgrounds as well as their access to technology.<ref name="Akçayır Dündar Akçayır 2016">{{cite journal |last1=Akçayır |first1=Murat |last2=Dündar |first2=Hakan |last3=Akçayır |first3=Gökçe |title=What makes you a digital native? Is it enough to be born after 1980? |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |date=July 2016 |volume=60 |pages=435–440 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2016.02.089 }}</ref> As the adoption of digital technology hasn't been a unified phenomenon worldwide, digital natives are not all in the same age group. Self-perception also plays a role: individuals who do not feel confident in their use of technology will not be considered a native regardless of the formally mentioned factors.<ref name="Akçayır Dündar Akçayır 2016"/>
Digital Natives are determined based on their educational and cultural backgrounds as well as their access to technology.<ref name="Akçayır Dündar Akçayır 2016">{{cite journal |last1=Akçayır |first1=Murat |last2=Dündar |first2=Hakan |last3=Akçayır |first3=Gökçe |title=What makes you a digital native? Is it enough to be born after 1980? |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |date=July 2016 |volume=60 |pages=435–440 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2016.02.089 |s2cid=471926 }}</ref> As the adoption of digital technology hasn't been a unified phenomenon worldwide, digital natives are not all in the same age group. Self-perception also plays a role: individuals who do not feel confident in their use of technology will not be considered a native regardless of the formally mentioned factors.<ref name="Akçayır Dündar Akçayır 2016"/>


Referring to some generations using terminologies such as  "Digital Natives" is made because these groups can create their own culture and characteristics. Here are some of the cultures and characteristics of "Digital Natives" (according to self-description):
Referring to some generations using terminologies such as  "Digital Natives" is made because these groups can create their own culture and characteristics. Here are some of the cultures and characteristics of "Digital Natives" (according to self-description):
Line 59: Line 59:
# They tend to be [[Individualism|individualistic]].
# They tend to be [[Individualism|individualistic]].
# They can multitask or focus on a single medium when needed.<ref name=Thompson2015/>
# They can multitask or focus on a single medium when needed.<ref name=Thompson2015/>
# They are realistic. Raised in affluence, "Digital Natives"  think their future is unclear due to the prolonged economic recession and the [[Fourth Industrial Revolution]]. This kind of thinking makes them focus more on their reality.
# They are realistic. Raised in affluence, "Digital Natives"  think their future is unclear due to the prolonged economic recession and the [[Fourth Industrial Revolution]]. This kind of thinking makes them focus more on their reality

== Teaching digital natives ==
[[File:Gear toy and young girl.jpg|thumb|285x285px|Young girl learning how gears work with the use of a toy]]
Prensky states that as digital natives grew up in the age of technology, they embraced new ways to gather information and communicate. This can be through social media, or through different computer programs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Ng |first=Wan |date=2012-11-01 |title=Can we teach digital natives digital literacy? |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131512001005 |journal=Computers & Education |volume=59 |issue=3 |pages=1065–1078 |doi=10.1016/j.compedu.2012.04.016 |s2cid=41954703 |issn=0360-1315}}</ref> Digital natives have become comfortable with the use of technology, often possessing different levels of [[digital literacy]]. This does not mean all digital natives possess the same skill level or know how to use proper digital literacy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tran |first1=Trung |last2=Ho |first2=Manh-Toan |last3=Pham |first3=Thanh-Hang |last4=Nguyen |first4=Minh-Hoang |last5=Nguyen |first5=Khanh-Linh P. |last6=Vuong |first6=Thu-Trang |last7=Nguyen |first7=Thanh-Huyen T. |last8=Nguyen |first8=Thanh-Dung |last9=Nguyen |first9=Thi-Linh |last10=Khuc |first10=Quy |last11=La |first11=Viet-Phuong |last12=Vuong |first12=Quan-Hoang |date=2020 |title=How Digital Natives Learn and Thrive in the Digital Age: Evidence from an Emerging Economy |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=12 |issue=9 |pages=3819 |doi=10.3390/su12093819 |issn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Digital natives developed these skills through the use of computers, phones, social media, research, etc. outside of formal education.<ref name=":0" />

Technology being a part of and introduced to classrooms meets the needs of digital natives. [[Educational technology]] in schools does not mean removing human relationships, as teacher-student relationships are essential to learning.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Cornu |first=Bernard |date=2011 |title=Digital Natives: How Do They Learn? How To Teach Them? |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000216681.locale=en |access-date=2 November 2023 |website=UNESDOC Digital Library}}</ref> &nbsp;Digital natives tend to be "masters" of multitasking; the ability to access and process large amounts of information at a time can allow digital natives to jump from one task to another or in parallel. There is a noted preference for visual and graphic learning rather than plain text.<ref name=":1" />&nbsp;Concentration and attentiveness differs among digital natives compared to their predecessors; use of technology in the classroom increases student interactivity, and visuals such as [[Slide show|slide shows]] allow for educators to share information easily while increasing student attentiveness.{{cn|date=January 2024}} Digital natives must be interested in what they are learning; interactivity is important to aid in engagement, application of learned material, and in learning to connect various pieces of knowledge to each other.<ref name=":1" /> Applying skills, whether it be in a game, program, creating a blog, etc., provides digital natives with first-hand experiences of events, observations, and manipulation of natural processes.{{cn|date=January 2024}} Digital natives like to be challenged in what they are learning as it is an opportunity to discover new information. Further learning is stimulated by the desire to know more and exploration of new information.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gaston |first=Jim |date=2006-01-01 |title=Reaching and Teaching the Digital Natives |url=https://doi.org/10.1108/07419050610668124 |journal=Library Hi Tech News |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=12–13 |doi=10.1108/07419050610668124 |issn=0741-9058}}</ref> This type of engagement gives natives a chance to be creative, to explore, research, and increases their ability to explain, elaborate, and evaluate what they have done in a meaningful way.<ref name=":0" />

==Age discrimination in recruitment==
The popular adoption of the term "digital native" has caused concern to equality campaigners in various countries, including the United States<ref>{{Cite web |last=Breyer |first=Michelle |date=2019-01-16 |title=Digital Native: Ageism's New Code Words? |url=https://www.ageist.com/career/digital-native-ageisms-new-code-words/ |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=AGEIST |language=en-US}}</ref> and the UK,<ref>{{Cite web |last=May 2024 |first=Lauren Brown 1 |title=Over 55s being 'locked out' of workplace skills training, research suggests |url=https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1870986?utm_source=website&utm_medium=social |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=www.peoplemanagement.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> where the term has been used as a process for selection in recruitment. This has resulted in a number of [[Cause of action|successful legal claims]].

=== USA ===
In 2017, in the USA, evidence had been provided to the [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] that a test case needed to come before the courts to consider the lawfulness of recruiting for "digital natives".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Written Testimony of Laurie A. McCann, AARP Foundation Litigation |url=https://www.eeoc.gov/meetings/meeting-may-18-2016-promoting-diverse-and-inclusive-workplaces-tech-sector/mccann |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=US EEOC |language=en}}</ref> In January 2018, Maurice Anscombe, Lura Callahan, and the CWA filed complaints with the [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]], claiming that the [[Target Corporation]] published job ads on a social media platform in 2017 that were directed to younger workers within certain age ranges only, and not to older workers. On 17th May 2023, in a voluntary agreement announced in a press release issued by [[AARP]], the corporation confirmed that they would not exclude applicants based on "adjectives that describe people in relation to their age (such as “millennial” or “digital native”)."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parties Reach Amicable Resolution in Social Media Job Ads Dispute |url=https://press.aarp.org/2023-5-17-Parties-Reach-Amicable-Resolution-Social-Media-Job-Ads-Dispute |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=MediaRoom |language=en}}</ref>

=== Germany ===
On 18th January 2024, a 51-year-old in Germany brought a case in the ArbG Heilbronn 8th Chamber which ruled that the wording “digital native” in the job advertisement discriminated against them on the grounds of age and violated the prohibition set forth in Section 7 of the Equal Treatment Act (AGG),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Landesrecht BW |url=https://www.landesrecht-bw.de/bsbw/document/NJRE001564787 |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=www.landesrecht-bw.de}}</ref> Germany's law created as a result of the [[Equality Directive 2000]].

=== UK ===
In 2024, in the UK, a 54-year-old who had been rejected from roles within the [[Civil Service (United Kingdom)]] advertising both for "digital natives" and "social media natives" began litigation in the [[UK courts]] to force the British Government to stop using the terms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paul Shuttleworth {{!}} Digital Native Test Case |url=https://www.paulshuttleworth.com/ |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=Paul Shuttleworth |language=en}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|2000s|2010s|Society}}
* [[Digital addict]]
* [[Digital addict]]
* [[Digital phobic]]
* [[Digital phobic]]
Line 71: Line 90:
* [[Online identity]]
* [[Online identity]]
* [[Social Age]]
* [[Social Age]]
* [[Thumb tribe]]


==References==
==References==
Line 84: Line 104:
* {{cite web |author=Paul Maunders |url=http://www.pyrosoft.co.uk/blog/2007/11/04/army-fly-uav-spy-plane-with-xbox-360-controller/ |title=Public email to army about Xbox UAVs: Army fly UAV Spy Plane with Xbox 360 Controller &#124; Paul Maunders &#124; Web log |publisher=Pyrosoft.co.uk |date=2007-11-04 |access-date=2013-12-10 |archive-date=2013-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216084415/http://www.pyrosoft.co.uk/blog/2007/11/04/army-fly-uav-spy-plane-with-xbox-360-controller/ }}
* {{cite web |author=Paul Maunders |url=http://www.pyrosoft.co.uk/blog/2007/11/04/army-fly-uav-spy-plane-with-xbox-360-controller/ |title=Public email to army about Xbox UAVs: Army fly UAV Spy Plane with Xbox 360 Controller &#124; Paul Maunders &#124; Web log |publisher=Pyrosoft.co.uk |date=2007-11-04 |access-date=2013-12-10 |archive-date=2013-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216084415/http://www.pyrosoft.co.uk/blog/2007/11/04/army-fly-uav-spy-plane-with-xbox-360-controller/ }}
* Shah Nishant and Sunil Abraham, Digital Natives with a Cause? (2009) [http://www.cis-india.org/research/dn/uploads/dnrep1 available online]
* Shah Nishant and Sunil Abraham, Digital Natives with a Cause? (2009) [http://www.cis-india.org/research/dn/uploads/dnrep1 available online]
* {{cite journal |last1=White |first1=David S. |last2=Le Cornu |first2=Alison |title=Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement |journal=First Monday |date=23 August 2011 |doi=10.5210/fm.v16i9.3171 |hdl=10818/12424 |hdl-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=White |first1=David S. |last2=Le Cornu |first2=Alison |title=Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement |journal=First Monday |date=23 August 2011 |doi=10.5210/fm.v16i9.3171 |hdl=10818/12424 |hdl-access=free |doi-access=free }}
* Rojas, Viviana. "Communities, Cultural Capital and the Digital Divide" Media Access: Social and Psychological Dimensions of New Technology Use. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
* Rojas, Viviana. "Communities, Cultural Capital and the Digital Divide" Media Access: Social and Psychological Dimensions of New Technology Use. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
* {{cite web|last=Jenkins|first=Henry|title=Reconsidering Digital Immigrants|date=4 December 2007 |url=http://henryjenkins.org/2007/12/reconsidering_digital_immigran.html|access-date=5 December 2007}}
* {{cite web|last=Jenkins|first=Henry|title=Reconsidering Digital Immigrants|date=4 December 2007 |url=http://henryjenkins.org/2007/12/reconsidering_digital_immigran.html|access-date=5 December 2007}}
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* Debate on [http://www.discusscafe.com/drkhturner/digital-natives Digital Native]
* Debate on [http://www.discusscafe.com/drkhturner/digital-natives Digital Native]
* EDUCAUSE 2007 Podcast: [https://web.archive.org/web/20071101042341/http://connect.educause.edu/blog/gbayne/e07podcasttomorrowss/45344 Tomorrow's Students: Are We Ready for the New 21st-Century Learners?]
* EDUCAUSE 2007 Podcast: [https://web.archive.org/web/20071101042341/http://connect.educause.edu/blog/gbayne/e07podcasttomorrowss/45344 Tomorrow's Students: Are We Ready for the New 21st-Century Learners?]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716153152/http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=bgsu1249505318 Commercial Media Viewing Habits: Digital Natives versus Digital Immigrants] - Graduate Thesis Paper
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716153152/http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=bgsu1249505318 Commercial Media Viewing Habits: Digital Natives versus Digital Immigrants] Graduate Thesis Paper
* [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdjjhf_when-a-baby-discovers-the-ipad_tech Video experience on a 20-month-old baby who discovers a touchscreen]
* [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdjjhf_when-a-baby-discovers-the-ipad_tech Video experience on a 20-month-old baby who discovers a touchscreen]
* [http://www.digitalnatives.in/ Ongoing research project 'Digital Natives with a cause' being conducted by www.cis-india.org in India ]
* [http://www.digitalnatives.in/ Ongoing research project 'Digital Natives with a cause' being conducted by www.cis-india.org in India ]

Revision as of 17:27, 17 December 2024

A child using a tablet

The term digital native describes a person who has grown up in the information age. The term "digital native" was coined by Marc Prensky, an American writer, speaker and technologist who wrote several articles referencing this subject.[1] This term specifically applied to the generation that grew up in the "digital age," predominantly regarding individuals born after the year 1980,[1][2] namely Millennials, Generation Z, and Generation Alpha. Individuals from these demographic cohorts can quickly and comfortably locate, consume and send digital information through electronic devices and platforms such as computers, mobile phones, and social media.

Digital natives are distinguished from digital immigrants, people who grew up in a world dominated by print and television, because they were born before the advent of the Internet.[3] The digital generation grew up with increased confidence in the technology that they were encircled and engulfed in.[1] This was thanks in part to their predecessors growing interest into a subject that was previously an unknown. Due to their upbringing, this digital generation of youth became fixated on their technologies as it became an ingrained, integral and essential way of life.[1] Prensky concluded that due to the volume of daily interactions with technology, the digital native generation had developed a completely different way of thinking.[2] Though the brains may not have changed physically, pathways and thinking patterns had evolved, and brains had changed to be physiologically different than those of the bygone era.[4] Repeated exposure had helped grow and stimulate certain regions of the brain, while other unused parts of the brain were reduced in size.[3] The terms digital native and digital immigrant are often used to describe the digital generation gap in terms of the ability of technological use among people born after 1980 and those born before.[5] The term digital native is a highly contested concept, being considered by many education researchers as a persistent myth not founded on empirical evidence,[6][7] and many argue for a more nuanced approach in understanding the relationship between digital media, learning and youth.

Origin

Native–immigrant analogy terms, referring to age groups' relationships with and understanding of the Internet, were used as early as 1995 by John Perry Barlow in an interview,[8] and used again in 1996 as part of the Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace.[9]

The specific terms digital native and digital immigrant were popularized by education consultant Marc Prensky in his 2001 article entitled Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, in which he relates the contemporary decline in American education to educators' failure to understand the needs of modern students.[4] His article posited that "the arrival and rapid dissemination of digital technology in the last decade of the 20th century" had changed the way students think and process information, making it difficult for them to excel academically using the outdated teaching methods of the day. In other words, children raised in a digital, media-saturated world, require a media-rich learning environment to hold their attention, and Prensky dubbed these children "digital natives". He also goes on to say that Digital Natives have "spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers and videogames, digital music players, videocams, cell phones and all other toys and tools of the digital age".[10][3]

Globally, 30 percent of the population born between 1988 and 1998 had used the Internet for over five years as of 2013.[11]

Conceptualization and development

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Marc Prensky defines the term "digital native" and applies it to a new group of students enrolling in educational establishments referring to the young generation as "native speakers" of the digital language of computers, videos, video games, social media and other sites on the internet. Contextually, his ideas were introduced after a decade of worry over increased diagnosis of children with ADD and ADHD,[12] which itself[clarification needed] turned out to be largely overblown.[13] Prensky did not strictly define the digital native in his 2001 article, but it was later, arbitrarily, applied to children born after 1980, because computer bulletin board systems and Usenet were already in use at the time.

The idea became popular among educators and parents whose children fell within Prensky's definition of a digital native, and has since been embraced as an effective marketing tool.[14] It is important to note that Prensky's original paper was not a scientific one, and that no empirical data exists to support his claims. However, the concept has been widely addressed in the academic literature since, mainly in education research,[15][16] but also in health research.[17] A review published in 2024 found nearly 1,900 academic articles to have used the term digital native since the mid-2000s, noting how the meaning of the term had evolved to cover everything from businesses and start-ups to new generations of "AI natives".[18]

Prensky has since abandoned his digital native metaphor in favor of "digital wisdom".[19] The Digital Visitor and Resident idea has been proposed as one alternative to understanding the various ways individuals engage with digital technology. It is also argued that digital native and digital immigrant are labels that oversimplify the classification scheme and that there are categories that can be considered "undetermined" based from the framework of the previous assignations.[20]

The critique of Prensky's conceptualization has resulted in further refinement of the terms.[5] For instance, digital natives have been further classified into three types: the avoiders, minimalists, and enthusiastic participants. The avoiders are those who do not depend on technological devices and use technology minimally while the minimalists make use of the trends, although not as often as the enthusiastic participants.[5]

People who were "born digital" first appeared in a series of presentations by Josh Spear beginning in May 2007.[21][22] A Digital Native research project[23] is being run jointly by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School and the Research Center for Information Law at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. A collaborative research project[24] is being run by Hivos, Netherlands and the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society. The Net Generation Encountering eLearning at University Project[25] funded by the UK research councils was completed in March 2010. More recently the Museum of Social Media, launched in 2012, has included an exhibition about "Digital Natives & Friends".[26]

Conflicts between generations

Schoolchildren working with laptop computers

The generational changes between digital natives, and their predecessors, the digital immigrant, have been astronomical. According to a study conducted by Tapscott, after interviewing and studying 11,000 young digital natives, he was able to determine eight different social norms between digital natives and the digital immigrants before them.[2] Digital natives were offered the freedom, creativity to customize and ability to scrutinize, unlike their predecessors.[vague] For this generation, digital natives prioritized corporate integrity and openness when it was time for them to choose a career. These digital natives also began to seek entertaining and innovating career choices. Corporate integrity and openness also applied to consumer products, with digital natives more likely to choose products recommended by their friends. With playful mentalities, this new generation also brought with them a "need for speed".[2] The eight social norms differentiated these digital natives, as well as the development of the need for approval from their peer groups.[2]

Because many digital immigrants are used to a life without digital technology or may be hesitant to adapt to it,[27] they can sometimes be at variance with digital natives in their view of it.[27] The everyday regimen of work-life is becoming more technologically dependent with advancements such as computers in offices, improved telecommunication, and more complex machinery in industry.[28] This can make it difficult for digital immigrants to keep pace, which has the potential to create conflict between older supervisors and managers and an increasingly younger workforce.[28] Similarly, parents of digital natives clash with their children at home over gaming, texting, YouTube, Facebook and other Internet technology issues. Much of the world's Millennials and Generation Z members are digital natives.[29] According to law professor and educator John Palfrey, there may be substantial differences between digital natives and non digital natives, in terms of how people see relationships and institutions and how they access information.[30] In spite of this, the timetable for training young and old on new technology is about the same.[31]

Prensky states that education is the single largest problem facing the digital world as digital immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language. Digital natives have had an increased exposure to technology, which has changed the way they interact and respond to digital devices.[32] In order to meet the unique learning needs of digital natives, teachers need to move away from traditional teaching methods that are disconnected with the way students now learn.[32] For the last 20 years,[when?] technology training for teachers has been at the forefront of policy.[33] However, immigrants suffer complications in teaching natives how to understand an environment which is "native" to them and foreign to immigrants. Teachers not only struggle with proficiency levels and their abilities to integrate technology into the classroom, but also, display resistance towards the integration of digital tools.[34] Since technology can be frustrating and complicated at times, some teachers worry about maintaining their level or professionalism within the classroom.[34] Teachers worry about appearing "unprofessional" in front of their students.[34] Although technology presents challenges in the classroom, it is still very important for teachers to understand how natural and useful these digital tools are for students.[34]

To meet the unique learning needs of digital natives, Forzani and Leu suggest that digital tools are able to respond immediately to the natural, exploratory, and interactive learning style of students today. Learning how to use these digital tools not only provides unique learning opportunities for digital natives, but they also provide necessary skills that will define their future success in the digital age. One preference to this problem is to invent computer games to teach digital natives the lessons they need to learn, no matter how serious. This ideology has already been introduced to a number of serious practicalities. For example, piloting an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the army consists of someone sitting in front of a computer screen issuing commands to the UAV via a hand-held controller which resembles, in detail, the model of controllers that are used to play games on an Xbox 360 game console. (Jodie C Spreadbury, Army Recruiting and Training Division).[35]

Gamification as a teaching tool has sparked interest in education, and Gee suggests this is because games have special properties that books cannot offer for digital natives.[36] For instance, gamification provides an interactive environment for students to engage and practice 21st century skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, and digital literacy. Gee presents four reasons why gamification provides a distinct way of learning to promote 21st century skills. First, games are based on problem solving and not on ones ability to memorize content knowledge. Second, gamification promotes creativity in digital natives where they are encouraged to think like a designer or modify to redesign games. Third, digital natives are beginning to co-author their games through the choices they make to solve problems and face challenges. Therefore, students' thinking is stimulated to promote metacognition since they have to think about their choices and how they will alter the course and outcome of the game. Lastly, through online gaming, digital natives are able to collaborate and learn in a more social environment.[36] Positive effects from gaming have been seen, one effect is expanding social relationships either preexisting or forming new social bonds.[37] Based on the literature, one can see the potential and unique benefits digital tools have. For example, online games help digital natives meet their unique learning needs. Furthermore, online gaming seems to provide an interactive and engaging environment that promotes the necessary skills digital natives will need to be successful in their future.

Implication of technological and media landscapes

Different approaches to educate the digital native

Digital natives vary in demographic based on their region's technological and media landscapes. Not everyone agrees with the language and underlying connotations of the digital native. The term, by definition, makes the assumption that all digital natives have the same base familiarity with technology. Similarly, the term digital immigrants implies that this entire age group struggles with technological advancements. For instance, those on the disadvantaged side of the digital divide lack access to technology. In its application, the concept of the digital native preferences those who grow up with technology as having a special status, ignoring the significant difference between familiarity and creative application.[7]

Digital Natives are determined based on their educational and cultural backgrounds as well as their access to technology.[38] As the adoption of digital technology hasn't been a unified phenomenon worldwide, digital natives are not all in the same age group. Self-perception also plays a role: individuals who do not feel confident in their use of technology will not be considered a native regardless of the formally mentioned factors.[38]

Referring to some generations using terminologies such as  "Digital Natives" is made because these groups can create their own culture and characteristics. Here are some of the cultures and characteristics of "Digital Natives" (according to self-description):

  1. They feel familiar with digital devices. 54% of them have a smartphone as their first personal mobile phone. These devices are used for entertainment and as a requirement in educational endeavours.[39]
  2. They tend to be individualistic.
  3. They can multitask or focus on a single medium when needed.[39]
  4. They are realistic. Raised in affluence, "Digital Natives"  think their future is unclear due to the prolonged economic recession and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This kind of thinking makes them focus more on their reality

Teaching digital natives

Young girl learning how gears work with the use of a toy

Prensky states that as digital natives grew up in the age of technology, they embraced new ways to gather information and communicate. This can be through social media, or through different computer programs.[40] Digital natives have become comfortable with the use of technology, often possessing different levels of digital literacy. This does not mean all digital natives possess the same skill level or know how to use proper digital literacy.[41] Digital natives developed these skills through the use of computers, phones, social media, research, etc. outside of formal education.[40]

Technology being a part of and introduced to classrooms meets the needs of digital natives. Educational technology in schools does not mean removing human relationships, as teacher-student relationships are essential to learning.[42]  Digital natives tend to be "masters" of multitasking; the ability to access and process large amounts of information at a time can allow digital natives to jump from one task to another or in parallel. There is a noted preference for visual and graphic learning rather than plain text.[42] Concentration and attentiveness differs among digital natives compared to their predecessors; use of technology in the classroom increases student interactivity, and visuals such as slide shows allow for educators to share information easily while increasing student attentiveness.[citation needed] Digital natives must be interested in what they are learning; interactivity is important to aid in engagement, application of learned material, and in learning to connect various pieces of knowledge to each other.[42] Applying skills, whether it be in a game, program, creating a blog, etc., provides digital natives with first-hand experiences of events, observations, and manipulation of natural processes.[citation needed] Digital natives like to be challenged in what they are learning as it is an opportunity to discover new information. Further learning is stimulated by the desire to know more and exploration of new information.[43] This type of engagement gives natives a chance to be creative, to explore, research, and increases their ability to explain, elaborate, and evaluate what they have done in a meaningful way.[40]

Age discrimination in recruitment

The popular adoption of the term "digital native" has caused concern to equality campaigners in various countries, including the United States[44] and the UK,[45] where the term has been used as a process for selection in recruitment. This has resulted in a number of successful legal claims.

USA

In 2017, in the USA, evidence had been provided to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that a test case needed to come before the courts to consider the lawfulness of recruiting for "digital natives".[46] In January 2018, Maurice Anscombe, Lura Callahan, and the CWA filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that the Target Corporation published job ads on a social media platform in 2017 that were directed to younger workers within certain age ranges only, and not to older workers. On 17th May 2023, in a voluntary agreement announced in a press release issued by AARP, the corporation confirmed that they would not exclude applicants based on "adjectives that describe people in relation to their age (such as “millennial” or “digital native”)."[47]

Germany

On 18th January 2024, a 51-year-old in Germany brought a case in the ArbG Heilbronn 8th Chamber which ruled that the wording “digital native” in the job advertisement discriminated against them on the grounds of age and violated the prohibition set forth in Section 7 of the Equal Treatment Act (AGG),[48] Germany's law created as a result of the Equality Directive 2000.

UK

In 2024, in the UK, a 54-year-old who had been rejected from roles within the Civil Service (United Kingdom) advertising both for "digital natives" and "social media natives" began litigation in the UK courts to force the British Government to stop using the terms.[49]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Selwyn, Neil (5 July 2009). "The digital native – myth and reality". ASLIB Proceedings. 61 (4): 364–379. doi:10.1108/00012530910973776. ProQuest 217758813.
  2. ^ a b c d e Tufts, Debra Roben (2010). Digital adults: Beyond the myth of the digital native generation gap (Thesis). ProQuest 825550299.
  3. ^ a b c Prensky, Marc (September 2001). "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1". On the Horizon. 9 (5): 1–6. doi:10.1108/10748120110424816. hdl:11323/5915. S2CID 145451571.
  4. ^ a b Prensky, Marc (November 2001). "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2: Do They Really Think Differently?". On the Horizon. 9 (6): 1–6. doi:10.1108/10748120110424843. S2CID 145201624. ProQuest 214641811.
  5. ^ a b c Zenios, Maria; Ioannou, Eleni (2018). "Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants Revisited: A Case of CALL" (PDF). Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Learning and Teaching. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 10925. pp. 99–110. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-91152-6_8. ISBN 978-3-319-91151-9.
  6. ^ Margaryan, Anoush; Littlejohn, Allison; Vojt, Gabrielle (February 2011). "Are digital natives a myth or reality? University students' use of digital technologies". Computers & Education. 56 (2): 429–440. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.09.004.
  7. ^ a b Bennett, Sue; Maton, Karl; Kervin, Lisa (September 2008). "The 'digital natives' debate: A critical review of the evidence". British Journal of Educational Technology. 39 (5): 775–786. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00793.x. S2CID 15145996.
  8. ^ Tunbridge, Nat (September 1995). "The Cyberspace Cowboy". Australian Personal Computer. pp. 2–4. Barlow: 'I would say that, generally speaking, at this stage, if you're over 25, you're an immigrant. If you're under 25 you're closer to being a native, in terms of understanding what it is and having a real basic sense of it.'
  9. ^ Barlow, John Perry (20 January 2016). "A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace". Electronic Frontier Foundation. You are terrified of your own children, since they are natives in a world where you will always be immigrants
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Notes

Further reading