While this post is late for my Digital Media Class (I posted on the wrong reading) I still wanted to discuss this reading.
Palfred and Gassee discuss what it means to be born digital. They use the term "Digital Native" to refer to the generations that are born into technology. Somehow this mean anyone after 1980. In their introduction they give examples of how Digital Natives are affected by being "native". One of the examples is that an eight year old may be able to beat you at video games. This is common. My little brother who is nine is better than me at video games, but this is because he owns practically every gaming console there is. I on the other hand only owned a Super Nintendo (so I could probably beat him at that).
The authors stated that while Digital Natives may have great qualities there are some annoyances, such as how most Digital Natives do not know how to write emails or letters correctly or that most do not even know what a library card is. First off, I take extreme offense to this. I was born in the early 90's but I know what a library card is and how to write a proper email or letter. Just because I am considered a Digital Native does not mean that I am naive and stupid when it comes to "old fashioned" technologies. It seems that while the authors are saying us Digital Natives are smart, we're stupid at the same time. I do remember printed letters because I still write printed letters.
Being able to have the technical knowledge be at such a high level allows younger and younger generations to change their environments. The term "Digital Immigrant" was used to categorize the people who were born before 1980. While I know that my mom can use a computer, operate a digital camera, and figure out Facebook, my grandparents may not know how (In reality my grandma was one of the people that taught me how to use a computer and how to type). The older generations are being taught by the younger generations. Advancing technologies are shifting the roles of mentor and student.
Palfred and Gassee discuss what it means to be born digital. They use the term "Digital Native" to refer to the generations that are born into technology. Somehow this mean anyone after 1980. In their introduction they give examples of how Digital Natives are affected by being "native". One of the examples is that an eight year old may be able to beat you at video games. This is common. My little brother who is nine is better than me at video games, but this is because he owns practically every gaming console there is. I on the other hand only owned a Super Nintendo (so I could probably beat him at that).
The authors stated that while Digital Natives may have great qualities there are some annoyances, such as how most Digital Natives do not know how to write emails or letters correctly or that most do not even know what a library card is. First off, I take extreme offense to this. I was born in the early 90's but I know what a library card is and how to write a proper email or letter. Just because I am considered a Digital Native does not mean that I am naive and stupid when it comes to "old fashioned" technologies. It seems that while the authors are saying us Digital Natives are smart, we're stupid at the same time. I do remember printed letters because I still write printed letters.
Being able to have the technical knowledge be at such a high level allows younger and younger generations to change their environments. The term "Digital Immigrant" was used to categorize the people who were born before 1980. While I know that my mom can use a computer, operate a digital camera, and figure out Facebook, my grandparents may not know how (In reality my grandma was one of the people that taught me how to use a computer and how to type). The older generations are being taught by the younger generations. Advancing technologies are shifting the roles of mentor and student.
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