Palfry & Gasser "Born Digital'

[This was one of the main readings that helped me choose my keyword.]

First, this paper revolves around the phrase "Digital Natives." These are people who "were all born after 1980, when social technologies, such as Usenet and bulletin board systems, came online. They all have access to networked digital technologies. And they all have the skills to use these technologies." As a definition this is pretty clear, you aren't really left scratching your head as to what it means. Do I fit into this definition, yes. Will most of you fall into this category? Most likely.

"Digital Natives live much of their lives online, without distinguishing between online and the offline. instead of thinking of their digital identity and their real-space identity as separate things, they just have an identity." (4) There is this seamless connection between all of our Facebook tagging and status updates and who we are in "real-space." But, an older generation (like my mom's) probably doesn't have such a seamless connection. They were not "born into" these technologies. Laptops and software, social networking sites and even email, may have been difficult for older generations to learn because it wasn't required of them (or it just didn't exist). They learn how to use these technologies because they are growing in their importance. My mom, for example, has a Facebook. Yes, it's strange but she still has problems understanding everything that it can do, even almost two years after. For those who are outside of the "Digital Native" generation, understanding these technologies may take a long time to understand depending of the willingness of the learner.

But I believe that this definition has spread past being only a way to describe a certain group of people by age. It certainly describes a large group of people, but it's more than just an age division. It now describes a group of people (a large group of people) who use, or really, depend, on various amounts of technology daily. Facebook has become more than just a college-age oriented social network, Twitter is for the over-sharers (like me), our textual lives are saved on our laptops, desktops, and external hard-drives. We watch and save videos on YouTube and we check our bank statements and grades online. Many of us have smart phones that function as our computer home away from home and, admit it, you'd probably have a brain aneurysm if you ever lost or broke this phone. We are all digital natives.

Are all of these technologies bad? Palfrey and Gasser do not necessarily believe so. If the information was monitored (not controlled and filtered). "We too often overestimate the ways in which the online environment is different from real space, to our detriment." (10) But this is where I may disagree. I do not believe that we need to continue trying to separate the two aspects of our lives. Instead, the Digital Native may need to take responsibility and try to make sure the internet is a safe place for the younger generations. It's like a circus out there.