When we look at the digital divide between digital native and immigrants, there may also be an effect on the social economy in the society we live in. For example, with the digital natives being use to using the online buying sites such as eBay and Amazon (two are the largest sites in the UK), a majority of the items they purchase is done from the comfort of their own home.
Even now with food. The day of physically popping out to the shops for the week’s food shop is over as now a large number of people are ordering from home, only to have it delivered a couple of days later.
This may have a effect on this already large digital divide, however in terms of the economy, it is only helping as more and more businesses are benefitting from this service. For example more of the brand high street shops are turning to the internet as well, to fit in with this digital age.
Where as with the digital immigrants, they still remain leaving the house and doing the jobs and shopping in person.
This is another aspect in the fact that we are losing a sense of communication between people and things we do. Such as for kids, they are turning to technology instead of going out for a kick about and most of us now use social networks and instant messaging to talk instead of in person. Now it seems it is turning to the world of economy and consumption.
If we were to look at global access issues across countries and regions, we may tend to think towards how this digital divide and advances have created opportunities to keep in contact with those we cannot reach in person.
So when we have people we know in the other side of the world such as friends and family (myself included), this new digital way of talking to one another seems to have it’s benefits.
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You raise some good points here, you have thought about the question in a slightly different way to me. Online shopping is definitely on the increase. I think this goes back to the issues of convenience and natives wanting 'instant gratification'. It is this need for everything to be instant is what may be pushing the divide further apart. As technology and convenience develops, natives will adapt with it, but immigrants will be 'left behind'.
ReplyDeleteHow long will immigrants be left behind though? If we apply Prensky's theory then in a few years, the digital natives will be in the positions of the supposed digital immigrants, yet they will still be natives. Do you think technology will keep advancing so that natives will eventually not be able to keep up? Or will there just be a society full of digital natives? (Obviously if we look at this through Prensky's notions.)
ReplyDeleteIt is possible that immigrants will always be 'left behind'. The natives of today will not stay natives forever, there will be a point at which they take over as the immigrants (but who knows when that will be). This may sound a little deep, but to me the development of technology is a bit like space- we cannot imagine it being a never-ending thing, because everything to us MUST have an ending. Therefore it is hard to also say whether there will be a point at which natives can't keep up.
ReplyDeleteIn reality I think natives will always be able to keep up with technology, because otherwise ourselves (and Prensky) would not be able to call them natives anymore.