Prensky (2001) defined digital natives as those who grew up with technology and intuitively have an ability to efficiently utilise technology and the internet. This is in contrast with digital immigrants, people from an older generation that are just now learning how to use technology and as a result, cannot skilfully utilise it. After reading about the digital immigrant definition, I instantly thought about my IT illiterate parents. Being unable to open whatsapp messages and telling me in great detail, involving several steps as to how to navigate to a particular website, rather than simply sending the link are common examples of my mum’s experience with technology.
However more recent evidence and logic has challenged these definitions, Bennett et al. (2008) comment that only a proportion of young people are skilled using technology; a significant proportion do not have technology skills, contradicting Prensky’s definition. More recently a refined definition of how people use technology has been put forward, as opposed to a definition based on age (as with Prensky’s). White and Cornu (2011) state that individuals that use technology can be split into 2 main categories: digital visitors and digital residents.
The digital visitor uses the web in an organised manner, they have a focused need to use the web for a specific purpose and may put aside a specific time to surf the web. Visitors are dubious about projecting a personal identity online and are less likely to express their personal opinions. In comparison, digital residents spend a proportion of their time online, they belong to an online community and use this to build and maintain relationships as well as express their opinions.
White and Conru’s visitor and resident continuum
White and Conru also explain that a continuum exists between visitors and residents. Rather than being at the extremes of the scale, individuals generally move around the blue central box above, based on their motivations. Personally I know that as I’ve become older my use of the internet has been more as a resident than a visitor. An example illustrating this is the recent junior doctors strike in which I was very active retweeting and sharing relevant news articles in an attempt to use the power of social media to get the facts into the public domain. Through my choice to take this module, perhaps this is further evidence of my transition into a genuine digital resident.
Some of the news articles and posts I have made regarding the junior doctors strike
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References
Marc Prensky (2001) “Digital natives, digital immigrants,” On the Horizon. 9(5) Available at:http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf, [Accessed 9 February 2016]
Sue Bennett, Karl Maton and Lisa Kervin (2008) “The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence,” British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(5):775-786. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00793.x [Accessed 9 February 2016]
White, D. (2016). TALL blog » Blog Archive » Not ‘Natives’ & ‘Immigrants’ but ‘Visitors’ & ‘Residents’. [online] Tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk. Available at:http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2008/07/23/not-natives-immigrants-but-visitors-residents/ [Accessed 12 February 2016]
David, S. White & Alison Le Cornu. (2011). Visitors and Residences: A new topology for online engagement. First Monday, 16(9) Available at: http://firstmonday.org/article/view/3171/3049%20https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/%7Etefko/Courses/Zadar/Readings/Selwyn%20dig%20natives,%20Aslib%20Proceedings%202009.pdf. [Accessed 9 February 2016]
Richard Dalton 
I enjoyed reading your blog post which was well written and made good points. I liked how you explained that people are generally found within the blue box on the diagram you used, as it’s also something I found that it’s easy to divide people into residents and visitors when in reality it’s much less black and white.
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Hi Tom, Yes I think it is really quite rare to get the extremes of the scale as either a resident or a visitor. Even those who are very apprehensive about revealing personal details and views online still have some aspects of their web use that would be classed as using the web as a resident. I have found that as I have got older and more mature I have become increasingly open to using the web as a resident, this is partly because I have become more aware as to how I can limit posts to a select audience so I don’t feel like my privacy is being breached. Where would you place yourself on White’s continuum? Has your place on the scale has changed with age?
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Hi Richard,
I really like your writing style and your anecdotes about your parents. My parents are a bit different, while my mother lacks the general digital literacy most of us have, my dad is a bit of a tech wiz (so much so that its difficult to keep up with him!!).
Very clear explanations of the visitor and resident concept. How else do you feel that your web experience has changed growing up, and why are you more of a resident? Do you think being more of a resident benefits you in any way?
Do you think that as you’ve become a resident, you feel like you’re more “digitally literate”? I have definitely found that the more I use the internet and technology for things like blogging, the more I’m comfortable with it. My opinion is that students benefit greatly from being digitally literate, as JISC illustrates in this image I found: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/sites/default/files/six-elements-wide.jpg
What are your thoughts?
S
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Hi Shriya, thanks for reading my blog post. I think being a resident allows me to raise awareness of news stories that I think need to be publicised (like the junior doctors contract that I mentioned in my blog). I would like to become more of a resident online and I think choosing to take this module was the first step in making the transition over from a visitor. Hopefully through this module I will able to develop a professional profile on sites like Linkedin, these are undoubtedly powerful tools build online, professional relationships. Yes I definitely think that as I have spent more of my time online and become more of a resident I have become alot quicker and more confident with using the internet. However, I still have some reservations about sharing personal details. Yes I agree, students definitely benefit from being digitally literate with a large proportion of study now taking place online. But do you think being a resident has distinct advantages over being a competent digital visitor when it comes to online study?
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Hi Richard,
I really like your writing style and your anecdotes about your parents. My parents are a bit different, while my mother lacks the general digital literacy most of us have, my dad is a bit of a tech wiz (so much so that its difficult to keep up with him!!).
Very clear explanations of the visitor and resident concept. How else do you feel that your web experience has changed growing up, and why are you more of a resident? Do you think being more of a resident benefits you in any way?
Do you think that as you’ve become a resident, you feel like you’re more “digitally literate”? I have definitely found that the more I use the internet and technology for things like blogging, the more I’m comfortable with it. My opinion is that students benefit greatly from being digitally literate.
What are your thoughts?
S
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Your points are very well explained. It was encouraging to see how after more research you changed your initial views of the concept.
I can note that your parents use of the web contrasts to that of my mum who uses both whatsapp and snapchat. I do agree that effective use of digital platforms is not related to age because of this.
I am sure that younger generations that’s ourselves will grow up with a knowledge of computers but what’s to say they will be a resident as they may not be able to use the full benefits of the web and other resources around them that the web may not supply. It’s great to see how you’ve used digital means, to focus on causes close to your heart such as the recent junior doctors strikes. This strikes me as a way that more people will be forced into becoming residents, perhaps one day voting and polling will all be online and those not digitally literate will be missing out? I’d love to hear your thoughts?
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Hi Richard, I hope you’re well.
I would like to start by congratulating you on your first blog post. I thoroughly enjoyed reading not only your blog but also your communication with fellow students through the comments section.
You have a very academic, clear and concise writing style something I certainly aspire to have myself! I feel your use of a YouTube video was a fantastic idea; having the information straight from the horse’s mouth in a video format is a very reliable and clear source of information.
I like the personal touch you have put on your blog by talking about both your mums online experiences as well as your own. This also just reinforces how clear your blog is as by providing examples readers are able to relate and understand what you have written.
You have used a wide range of sources, and maybe it would be a good idea to set yourself up a goodreads page to allow others to see and use any good sources you come across? I’d love to hear your thoughts and look forward to seeing the developments of your blog.
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