Are digital natives a myth or reality?

Technology has played a major role in shaping what is now known as modern-day society and I can’t seem to imagine a world without it. We use it to stay in touch with our loved ones, listen to music, travel the world, etc. Technology is all around us, everywhere we go, and in everything that we do - encompassing the life we live.

Digital Natives vs Digital Immigrants

The term ‘Digital Natives’ was fabricated by Marc Prensky in the early 2000s, describing the generation of people where technology plays an integral role in their everyday lives. In the educational world, this comes with a huge stereotype; that digital native students have advanced technological skills, meaning that traditional schooling methods are ineffective and unfit for these conditions.

Digital immigrants are the older generations that grew up before the digital age. Meaning, they had to adapt and learn the new technologies they were presented with (Prensky, 2001).

Digital Natives: Myth or Reality?

When I first started reading about Digital Natives, I agreed with Prensky’s conclusions that Digital Natives think and process information in radically different ways compared to digital immigrants. However, as I continued my research, I concluded that the term ‘Digital Natives’ is a reality. The use of technology and the impact that it has on children’s’ development played a huge role as to why my views have changed. As the eldest of three, and being raised during a time where rapid technological advancements have been introduced, I have seen the effects of technology in education.

Don't get me wrong, technology has plenty of benefits within education. Inventions such as the internet and computers has helped with education in numerous aspects such as:

- Preparing future generations for the ever-growing technological world,

- Making it easier for students to bind and connect with their friends i.e. communicating with friends via text message and a phone call,

- Having more resources, allowing a wider range of knowledge and more!

Despite the benefits of technology, I believe that it has more of a negative effect on a child's education. An example of this was when my brother - who was 7 at the time, was asked to write a story using his imagination (also known as a narrative (Merriam-Webster., 2021) . He was so set on the movie and series' that he was currently watching on TV, that he was unable to produce an original creative piece of writing. How can you create a cure for cancer if you can't look beyond what you already know? Without thinking outside the box?

Which is why I believe that digital natives is a reality because they are so consumed with technology, that they would not know how to problem solve without the usage of it. Although digital natives can use technology, are they able to apply it to the real world? For example, they may know how to use a calculator to solve a math question, but do they know how to get to the answer without a calculator? (Margaryan et al., 2001)

References:

Margaryan, A., Littlejohn, A., Vojt, G. (2011). Are digital natives a myth or reality? University students’use of digital technologies. Elsevier, 429-440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.09.004

Merriam-Webster. (2021). Definition of Narrative. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/narrative

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/docview/214629645?accountid=8194