CI 2312 — Week 3 Reflection
When we think of those who are tech-savvy, younger generations are more likely to come to mind rather than older generations. Age tends to be considered a factor in the successful engagement with digital technologies and the Internet. There is a common misconception that older adults cannot use technology, but they are actually using technologies similar to young people, just not to the same extent Younger generations went to schools where they had to take computer classes which taught them the basics about digital technologies and the internet, this was not available to older generations who have to teach themselves or depended upon the younger generation to teach them. There are many assumptions about digital natives, just because they were brought up with digital technology and are fairly familiar with computers and the Internet does not mean they possess more technical abilities than older generations.
Digital technologies and the Internet are rapidly changing and even if a person has grown up with these things does not mean they have digital literacy skills. It is imperative that we continue to teach younger generations critical digital literacy skills. While they may not need to learn the basics of how to turn on a computer or how to search for information on Google, there are other aspects of these technologies that the younger generations must learn about. For example, the Internet has led to a lot of misinformation being spread, because of this we must teach the younger generations about which sources are more credible and how-to fact check information. We must also be teaching younger generations about the types of data that is being collected about individuals by tech companies such as Facebook and Google so they can have a better understanding about their own rights on the Internet.
I would consider myself to be a digital native, resident, and visitor. I consider myself to be a digital native because I grew up with digital technologies, we had a computer in my house when I was born and throughout the years, we bought newer computers, laptops, phones, and tablets. At an early age I used the Internet to play online games such as Webkinz, as I grew up, I began to use the Internet for social reasons, I made social media accounts to connect with friends. My usage of social media has led to me also being considered a digital resident. I am active on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok and spend a lot of time using them. Occasionally I would consider myself to be a digital visitor as I search the Internet for directions to specific locations or as I look up different recipes.
