The Internet: a Unique Immigration Story
The internet is a vast landscape of sites, applications, services and entertainment that has radically shifted our society in a way that has never been done before; the very fabric of who we are has changed as a result of the advent of the internet and its byproducts. Our social, economic, political and personal lives are now intertwined with the internet, and we likely would not be able to function if one day the internet were to cease to exist; we rely on it for everything and anything. Even those who are not active participants experience the effects of the internet and social media — my 88-year-old grandfather, despite not knowing the first thing about Facebook, has invested a small fortune in Facebook’s stock knowing it was something that could give him a solid ROI (return on investment). While I am only 23, I didn’t grow up with the internet as a staple of my life, but now use it every day for work, school and personal reasons.
My experience is similar to many around my age, but those who were born a few years after me likely grew up with the world of technology in the palms of their hands, and those born a few years before me likely didn’t get that privilege until they were in their adolescent years. Those born decades before me and my generation experienced the internet in profoundly different ways, making everyone’s experience with it unique and worthy of exploration.
David White from the University of Oxford did a phenomenal job at explaining how previously, this phenomenon was explained as an “immigration” versus “native” story (coined by Prensky). In summation of that article, Prensky explains how those who grow up in an environment that fosters technology as a daily part of life will be so fluent in its use that they are the equivalent of “natives” in the digital landscape we are all (in)voluntarily part of. Inversely, those who did not grow up in an environment that was encapsulated by technology are “immigrants” in this landscape, and will never achieve true fluency in its use. I find this to be a very practical and understandable analogy, but it certainly has its flaws, which White explores and expands upon.
While it is true that people who are older than the technology they are attempting to use and/or not tech-savvy may have a more difficult time understanding its practicality or adapting to a more technological society, the accessibility and fluidity of the technology of our day and age have enabled nearly every generation and age group to use it. Studies from the Pew Research Center have highlighted the fact that many of social media’s users are actually over 50 years old, and this number only continues to rise at an exponential rate.
White choose to shift from the immigration model poised by Prensky to a model of residency and visitors. In essence, White argues that it is a continuum, not a dichotomy; we can shift back and forth between being residents, or long-time users (e.g. social media users, content creators, gamers, etc.) and visitors, or users of the internet for a very particular purpose (e.g. searching for an answer on Google, then using that answer to solve a problem — much like a tool in a toolbox). This is then broken down further between personal and industrial (work) purposes, but overall it is a very solid and easy-to-understand methodology for explaining how we as people in our globalized society choose to perceive and use the internet. The internet is a wonderful tool for us to utilize, and whether we are all immigrants on a journey to something greater or residents who have settled in for the long haul, we can all benefit from its tremendous capabilities if we use it for the betterment of ourselves and our globalized society as a whole.
