Boyd & Prensky

This video, is a really interesting prospective. The person is 46 and according to Prensky, would be a "digital immigrant," but based off many of the things he has done, without knowing his age, may be more likely to be thought of as a "digital native."

I feel like when Boyd says, "Many of today’s teens are indeed deeply engaged with social media and are active participants in networked publics, but this does not mean that they inherently have the knowledge or skills to make the most of their online experiences" that the the "digital natives" still needing to learn is extremely accurate. However, I feel as though that learning comes a little easier, than the "digital immigrants" because they have been fully immersed. When I think about school and teaching ESL, we surround our students with the language that helps them to pick  it up faster. As a "digital immigrant", adults are not as surround. The natives or younger generation use it to communicate, for schoolwork,, for fun, and to learn other skills. They have the time to invest in learning it. 

That being said, I agree with Boyd when he says, "Becoming literate in a networked age requires hard work, regardless of age." I think that the "immigrants" can become just as literate, however it may take longer to learn, or while literate in the digital world it may take longer to accomplish a digital based task. Boyd also says, "Those who were not ‘born digital’ can be just as connected, if not more so, than their younger counterparts. And not everyone born since, say, 1982, happens to be a digital native.” I feel like this statement is interesting because based off of Prensky's definitions, I did not see myself as a "native" necessarily. While I do think I am more literate that many people I encounter who are older than me, I still feel out of the loop in many areas, and feel like I have to work harder to accomplish tasks that my students can easily accomplish.

Boyd makes the statement, "I also talked with teens who didn’t know the difference between a web browser and the Internet," and I laughed for a minute, because I had to pause and think about that for a moment. I do know the difference, but "the Internet" has become such a common phrase involving looking anything up, that I do no think I have heard anyone use the term "web browser" in a long time. That being said, the photo below links to this idea. I think 'digital natives' are extremely used to getting the quick fix, so that when they need to work to fix a problem, they struggle, because it is not an immediate solution. 

All of that being said, I am unsure where I land on the idea of a digital native, because it is so complex. I  think anyone can become fully digitally literate, but I think that "natives" have a much easier time being literate.