ILP1: Defining Digital Natives

I found many news articles related to Digital Natives during my research.  Each article seemed credible. Two of the articles found were from popular sources where most people read or hear about their current events.” I was successful at finding articles on the CNN and New York Times websites. The other two sources were not on credible sites, but referenced a specific person who researched and wrote a book about “digital natives.” I think each article gave good insight about Digital Natives and were fitting in their own way. Some articles had different opinions about Digital Natives, but had a persuading argument with credible sources to make me understand their viewpoint.

Oliver Joy’s response in "What Does It Mean to Be a Digital Native?" and Erview Lewin’s response in his interview in "Digital Natives Customs and Their Customs," are similar from the excerpt in Born Digital. Both Joy and Lewin agree on there being a participation gap in the digital society. There are the “natives” that have grown up with technology, and the “immigrants”, that grew up in an analog world. They are also similar to the excerpt by showcasing that there are both positives and negatives to being a Digital Native. They both agree that being Digital Natives do not have the traditional friendships or relationships with people where they talk on phones or in person. They rather text or instant message, but they get along with any ethnic background or culture with ease. Last, the responses come to an agreement that too much of the uncontrolled digital environment could be bad because it can attract pedophiles, bullying or an addiction.

VanSlyke has different views from the excerpt from Born Digital. He explains in his article that he finds it hard to believe that “ a neurological structures could change to such a dramatic extent from one generation to the next.” He later goes on to say that even though the “Digital Natives” think and learn somewhat differently than older generations, “they may be doing them a disservice to de-emphasize "legacy" content such as reading, writing, and logical thinking, or to say that the methodologies we have used in the past are no longer relevant.” He gives the example of the younger students using the web, but not being able to perform advance searches. Last, he states that today’s electronics cause for as much critical thinking and research skills, contrary to believe of some.

Each article is similar in the aspect of identifying “digital natives” to be a renovated generation that is comfortable with using technology on a daily. One article explained that there was a generation gap separating today's students, known as the "Digital Natives", from their teachers, known as the "Digital Immigrants (Timothy VanSlye)." Another article expressed that the “digital native-immigrant” concept describes the generational switchover where people are defined by the technological culture which they're familiar with (Oliver Joy).  

A couple of the articles went into detail of the pros and cons in having “digital natives”. The New York Time’s article writes, “These are kids who come with real digital skills, who are interested in global issues and who deal with diversity better than any generation before them (Erview Lewin).” On the contrary, Lewin also wrote, “This generation is not very good at face-to-face relationships.” He later goes on to explain that the “Digital Natives” all want to have intimate relationships, they want to get married and have kids, but that’s hard to do if you don’t know how to talk with another person (Erview Lwein). 

Works Cited

"Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Some Thoughts from the Generation Gap." The  

              Technology Source.Timothy VanSlyke, May-June 2003. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.  

             <http://depd.wisc.edu/html/TSarticles/Digital%20Natives.htm>.

Joy, Oliver. "What Does It Mean to Be a Digital Native?" CNN. Cable News Network, 08 Dec.

                2012. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.

Lewin, Erview By Tamar. "Digital Natives and Their Customs." The New York Times.

 The New York Times, 04 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.

"The Definition: What Makes A Digital Native  Different? “ Threeminds." Threeminds. N.p., n.d.

Web. 22 Jan. 2013.