"Digital native" VS. "Digital Wisdom"

        Boyd and Prensky have divergent positions regarding the term, “digital native”. Boyd (2014) stated that when, “Marc Prensky popularized the notion of digital natives, he never expected this metaphor to have a significant life”(Boyd, 2014, p.197) I would agree with that statement. I do not believe that Prensky had any idea that this term would have such an impact within our culture. Prensky argued that “digital native” means the young people of today are assumed to be digitally literate because they were born into an era where there has always been the internet. In addition, youth, “should be called “digital natives” because they are all ‘native speakers’ of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet”(Boyd, 2014, p.179). Prensky used this term to imply that today’s youth inherently understand technology, its processes, and how to be critical consumers and producers of the content provided to them. To assume that because they have grown up with it and therefore are competent consumers of all things technology is, in my opinion, naive. Opposite this idea, Boyd believes that we cannot assume all youth are technologically literate for a number of reasons. Simply calling them “digital natives” implies they already know what it means to be a critical contributor within the technological world. The reality is that youth must must be taught how to be critical of the content they are consuming or producing and ask questions about its reliability and credibility, “Empowering youth requires much more than calling them native participants”(Boyd, 2014, p.183) I believe that adults and teachers, to some extent, believe that because our youth have grown up in a world that has always had the internet, they automatically understand new technology (Boyd, 2014, p.176). I also believe that Prensky was well intended when he used the term “digital native”. Personally, the use of this term within society frightens me. It implies an “us” vs. “them” mindset. “Digital native” also assumes and/or implies that young people have equal access to technology and technological experiences, when in reality, more privileged youth have more access and opportunities to develop their technological skills.

My beliefs resonate more with Boyd’s argument that, “The notion of the digital native, whether constructed positively or negatively, has serious unintended consequences. Not only is it fraught, but it obscures the uneven distribution of technological skills and media literacy across the youth population, presenting an inaccurate portrait of young people as uniformly prepared for the digital era and ignoring the assumed level of privilege required to be “native ” (Boyd, 2014, p.179).

I do believe that this term will have consequences if we do not reshape it into a phrase that acknowledges the gap in technology skills which is directly connected to youths' position within the culture of power. Furthermore, we need to teach our youth HOW to be critical consumers, HOW to QUESTION the content they read and see, HOW technology works, and provide equal access to learn these comprehensive skills. The more we empower our youth to be curious about technology, the more they will learn to be responsible and critical users.

Resources:

Boyd, Danah, (2014).  It’s Complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Yale University Press, New Haven and London.