Digital Native Americans

1553 Words4 Pages

Technology is a prime tool that has increased the speed of advancement for society, yet technology has also created a divide between those who are technologically savvy and those who are not. Van Dijk coined the term Digital Divide to describe the divide between Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives. The Digital Divide has a duality in which both solutions and problems are created depending upon what side of the divide you belong on. Digital Immigrants are individuals who live by traditional values that were influential before the Internet Age, while Digital Natives are individuals who live by modern values that are influenced by the Internet Age. The Internet Age birthed the ability to share information around the world in seconds with the …show more content…

Although, escape from the social structures of society seemed impossible for Digital Immigrants, Digital Natives have exerted massive force to overcome the boundaries of the Non-Internet Age. Digital Natives have changed the thought that we can’t create the world we live in with the help of technological advancement. Digital Natives have sacrificed physical labor for brain power. The attempt to overstep traditional boundaries has birthed the Age of Ideas. Creativity is at an all-time high, as Digital Natives are aiming to make great things greater. I would tell Digital Immigrants that the work ethic of Digital Natives hasn’t declined, it has just been optimized. The goal of advancement no longer depends on how hard you work physically, instead it depends on how strong your capabilities are mentally. I would tell Digital Immigrants that Digital Natives have become more entitled because of the increase in successful entrepreneurship that has occurred since the birth of the Internet Age. As creativity has increased, the number of authentic inventions have increased, yet the authenticity of these inventions should not only be credited to the first person who thought of the idea but should also be credited to the individuals who help further develop the idea to create a new invention. With the increase of non-autodidact members in society, which are those individuals who do not possess the ability to learn things on their own, many of society’s inventions today will be inspired by those who came before them. This trend has helped build some of the most unique platforms that have changed the norms of yesterday such as Facebook, Twitter, Napster, Instagram, Snapchat, and many more, yet all these platforms wouldn’t be possible without the original idea to advance communication. From telegraphs to telephones.

Open Document