What Does it Take to be Considered Digitally Literate?

Technology has been around for a fair amount of time and for this new generation, it has been an influential and huge part of our lives growing up whether that be through using the internet for research or using social media for interactions between friends and family. Growing up in a digital age, we have been learning and evolving our knowledge of technology as it evolves itself. The fact that age was considered a predominant factor in the success of digital communication and the internet is because as stated earlier, this generation has learned their way around the internet and technology and as technology evolved, so did they. In terms of the term and idea of “digital natives” there are many assumptions that are made regarding the idea. The idea is that those who have grown up learning and gaining skills in technology to the point that we know our way around the internet like it is the back of our hands encompasses the idea that we are digital natives. This can be compared to the idea that since we were born, we were taught and taught ourselves how to speak English, or whatever the first language may be, we contain certain skills and knowledge regarding the topic that others, as Prensky would call them, “immigrants,” or those who are trying to learn a new language or learn the skills to be knowledgeable in using the internet. For the majority, I would say that the idea behind digital natives is accurate but there are also some limitations that need to be considered. Some parents may raise their children without using the internet or social media which would put them a few steps behind those who grew up with the internet. Along with that, some may not be fortunate enough to have access to the internet at any time of the day which restricts their ability to learn the skills and knowledge that others may have. So to answer the question of whether or not the assumptions are correct, yes and no. Many will grow up in this generation being around and exposed to technology their whole life while others might be raised away from technology or not have access to it.

In an article titled, “The Internet and Youth Culture,” by Gustavo Mesch, he writes, “Thus, the internet is seen not as generating a new online world but as mostly reflecting the existing conditions of society; individuals use the internet to do old things in new ways…(Mesch, 56)” This was an interesting way of thinking about technology and how it affects our society. Based off of what Mesch stated, we are essentially doing the same thing that we would do face to face, such as face-to-face interactions, learning through reading, sending mail to one another but instead of this being done in real life, it has been moved to a virtual/digital world. We are now having face-to-face interactions through applications such as FaceTime or Skype. We are still learning through reading but instead of going to a library, finding a book and flipping the pages, we are now typing in a search bar and scrolling/clicking through a piece of reading. Instead of writing a note on paper and taking it to the post office, we now send e-mails which reach the recipient within seconds. This is a perfect segway into another piece of writing titled, “Visitors and Residents: A New Typology for Online Engagement,” by David White and Alison Le Cornu. When talking about different platforms that have similar functions they wrote, “… a set of generally-accepted principles of good practice emerged relating to what users needed and how they could access this most effectively with the result that users could develop a set of transferable skills applicable across a range of platforms (White, Le Cornu, 2011).” This was an interesting idea that I have never considered but reading it, I noticed that I do it all the time. A new platform or app comes out and we all learn our way around it and then a few years later a similar app comes out with the same goal and instead of having to learn how to navigate the app we already have knowledge of how to use it because of the previous experience with the old app. As technology and the internet evolves we are constantly learning as well as using past knowledge to evolve with it.

Technology has been around for a fair amount of time and for this new generation, it has been an influential and huge part of our lives growing up whether that be through using the internet for research or using social media for interactions between friends and family. Growing up in a digital age, we have been learning and evolving our knowledge of technology as it evolves itself. The fact that age was considered a predominant factor in the success of digital communication and the internet is because as stated earlier, this generation has learned their way around the internet and technology and as technology evolved, so did they. In terms of the term and idea of “digital natives” there are many assumptions that are made regarding the idea. The idea is that those who have grown up learning and gaining skills in technology to the point that we know our way around the internet like it is the back of our hands encompasses the idea that we are digital natives. This can be compared to the idea that since we were born, we were taught and taught ourselves how to speak English, or whatever the first language may be, we contain certain skills and knowledge regarding the topic that others, as Prensky would call them, “immigrants,” or those who are trying to learn a new language or learn the skills to be knowledgeable in using the internet. For the majority, I would say that the idea behind digital natives is accurate but there are also some limitations that need to be considered. Some parents may raise their children without using the internet or social media which would put them a few steps behind those who grew up with the internet. Along with that, some may not be fortunate enough to have access to the internet at any time of the day which restricts their ability to learn the skills and knowledge that others may have. So to answer the question of whether or not the assumptions are correct, yes and no. Many will grow up in this generation being around and exposed to technology their whole life while others might be raised away from technology or not have access to it.

In an article titled, “The Internet and Youth Culture,” by Gustavo Mesch, he writes, “Thus, the internet is seen not as generating a new online world but as mostly reflecting the existing conditions of society; individuals use the internet to do old things in new ways…(Mesch, 56)” This was an interesting way of thinking about technology and how it affects our society. Based off of what Mesch stated, we are essentially doing the same thing that we would do face to face, such as face-to-face interactions, learning through reading, sending mail to one another but instead of this being done in real life, it has been moved to a virtual/digital world. We are now having face-to-face interactions through applications such as FaceTime or Skype. We are still learning through reading but instead of going to a library, finding a book and flipping the pages, we are now typing in a search bar and scrolling/clicking through a piece of reading. Instead of writing a note on paper and taking it to the post office, we now send e-mails which reach the recipient within seconds. This is a perfect segway into another piece of writing titled, “Visitors and Residents: A New Typology for Online Engagement,” by David White and Alison Le Cornu. When talking about different platforms that have similar functions they wrote, “… a set of generally-accepted principles of good practice emerged relating to what users needed and how they could access this most effectively with the result that users could develop a set of transferable skills applicable across a range of platforms (White, Le Cornu, 2011).” This was an interesting idea that I have never considered but reading it, I noticed that I do it all the time. A new platform or app comes out and we all learn our way around it and then a few years later a similar app comes out with the same goal and instead of having to learn how to navigate the app we already have knowledge of how to use it because of the previous experience with the old app. As technology and the internet evolves we are constantly learning as well as using past knowledge to evolve with it.

David White’s Visitors and Residents Concept (via Google).

What would I consider myself in the world of technology? A digital native as well as a resident. Growing up always surrounded by technology and more specifically the internet and social media I have been learning my way around all of the platforms old and new to a point where I could teach anyone how to use it just as a teacher would teach us math. Using these platforms comes easy. Along with that, I would consider myself a resident of the internet. In Part 1 of David White’s, “Visitors and Residents,” video he categorizes a resident as someone that constantly returns to the internet, is active when doing so and leaves a trace when they go offline. The reason I consider myself a resident is because of the constant interaction I have with social media as well as the internet, whether it be school based or interaction with friends and family based, I am active when using technology and also have social media accounts satisfying the idea that residents leave a trace when they go offline.