On Digital Immigrants & Digital Natives
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Reflection on how the digital-generational divide between parents, employers, educators, and therapists and the younger generations can create tension and disharmony at home, workplace, schools and in therapy rooms Opening Statement By Azzia Zur, B.A. (Digital Native) and Ofer Zur, Ph.D. (Digital Immigrant) One of the biggest questions of our time is how technology affects individuals, families, working environments, psychotherapy, culture and the world at large. Many parents, teachers, counselors and therapists face teenagers who love and embrace new technologies and often spend enormous amounts of time with them - texting, gaming, IMing, Facebooking and the like. Technology has become a "thing to do" - hence the popular culture term "Googling" to mean "search." Digital natives play on these digital mediums, while their digital immigrant counterparts often struggle to catch up. From a digital immigrant perspective, technology has changed our culture in ways that may not be welcome: Faster pace of life, more casual social protocol for communication, raised expectations for response time and availability. In the midst of these changes, perhaps the most distressing is how to stay connected with the digital natives who often far surpass them in interest and talent for technology. In the context of this possible disconnect, digital immigrant parents, teachers and therapists are imbued with the responsibility to guide the younger generations to healthy balance with what life offers them - which these days, means technology. Thus digital immigrants are in the position of raising young people who are in balance with technology, when the immigrants themselves may not even like technology. Clearly, any native who picks up on this will be less likely to listen to advice and boundaries Some places where the digital divide crops up:
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Tracy Potter, B.S. wrote:
I've been having the experience recently that my 6-month old is watching his parents spend too much time on the internet. Even though we are often at the computer for work, we also spend excessive amounts of time on Facebook and email. I got to the point where I'd compulsively check between the two programs even though absolutely nothing was happening when I could have been interacting with my baby.
I want my son to know that he's more important to me than my Facebook page. So now I make a point of logging off those programs when I don't have anything that I need to communicate to the outside world. I also make a point of physically taking him outside on hikes. Being outside keeps my other senses active, but it also helps my son realize there's a world outside of our keyboard (which he already loves to play with). Texting during class or job interviews is also interesting. I appreciate my Blackberry as much as anyone, but I also recognize that there are contexts in which using it are inappropriate. I think students and children need to be taught that technology is a tool that is supposed to help them communicate or gather information--it shouldn't impede their ability to interact with and focus on people who are right in front of them.
05/05/10 10:29:27
Tom Smith, Ph.D. wrote:
Just another comment: Recent research indicates that true, efficient multitasking is a myth. It is an illusion that we are getting more done. Something suffers.
I like to play my violin ... one "task" with many components, executed in "real time" requiring exquisite attention to great detail experienced in the body, the instrument, the music, and emotional expression. I am alive! I feel alive! I touch myself and others through their ears. Every moment is different and real. Everyday I play a couple of hours as an antidote to the techno-poison of virtual experience. I remain in my body and am required to be out of my head ... not to think, but rather to be.
05/05/10 01:39:52
Tom Smith, Ph.D. wrote:
We went through this in a similar way when the telephone was invented. At first, many thought it would never catch on as a ubiquitous ever used communication device. Now, we think nothing of picking up the phone and conversing for hours with someone on the other end of the world. Determining what is appropriate requires cultural context derived from one's nationality, age, and other demographics. Regarding "healthy use", just remember the caveat "moderation in all things" and pass that on to the children with the usual structure, rules and consistency that goes into raising them. Of great concern is the prospect of social alienation and the lack of developed social skills to communicate effectively. Emoticons just don't cut it. Spiritual life is derived from life itself ... flesh. A computer is not warm and cuddly nor does it provide the opportunity for mystical experience or the experience of the transcendent. The virtual world is a mechanical derivative. The computer is a machine. Humans are not machines no matter what Descartes said. The real world is what truly matters and that must be taught to the children. Look what has happened in Korea with young parents abandoning their children to die. Imagine that!
05/04/10 12:52:55
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