Digital native vs Digital Immigrant and the myth of Multitasking

 This week in the course we deep dive more on how Web 2.0 and social media changed our lives and how pretty much everybody had to adjust to this new technology and how it caused a generational gap at the beginning. To read about this during Covid is very interesting because in the last year pretty much everybody had to be as digital savvy as possible overnight to be able to work and study from home. The readings also made me reflect on my own experience and to determine if the terms digital native and digital immigrant still apply. First, let’s go through some definitions:

Digital natives: are millennials, Generation Z basically everybody who was born after 1984 and it has been immersed in the digital revolution since the beginning (Kirschner & De Bruyckere, 2017, p. 136)

Digital immigrants: are the ones who according to Prensky (2001, p. 2) pretty much had to play catch up to get up to date with the digital innovations. Some of them did a very good transition others not so much.

According to Prensky, these differentiations has caused that in the classroom it is harder to get student’s attention because the teachers are using an “outdated language” ( 2001, p. 2) or technique. According to Prensky, they should take advantage of the new technologies and the ability for the Digital natives to receive and process information faster than previous generations and their ability to multitask.

Now Kirschner and Bruyckere also did research about this to show that this terminology it is incorrect and to take advantage of multitasking might actually be a mistake.

Now, when I reflect on my own experience according to these terms, I will be considered a Digital Native. It is true that I did have access to a computer at the age of 6. When I was able to use the computer, I didn’t actually go online a lot because as many might remember the internet used to be connected to the phone landline, so you needed to disconnect every time someone needed to use the phone. What I remember doing a lot was playing. I did play a lot of solitaire, minesweeper and the other free games that came with Microsoft. Once I started getting older, I did use it to complete school assignments and when Youtube started I did spend a good amount of time watching videos or catching up on old Anime shows (pre-Netflix era)

Looking back on these activities my digital toolkit was pretty simple and pretty much everything that I did outside school assignments was for entertainment purposes. I feel the access we have now to other tools both for entertainment and educational purposes has increased the opportunity for students to learn things faster, but it doesn’t necessarily makes them experts on the topic.

So, what about the digital immigrants? If we follow the definitions both of my parents are digital immigrants. My dad due to his job did need to get up to speed fast, as his company switch from the regular computers to the personal laptops. He also needed to learn different software to get the job done. My mom on the other hand she didn’t have the need to learn anything digital until smartphones appear and we moved out of Venezuela and it became a great tool to stay in touch with family. The only “computer” she operates is her iPhone and she is pretty good at it.

Going back to definitions I am considered a digital native because of my age, but because of knowledge not really. Being a digital native, it implies that I didn’t need to learn how to operate a computer, surf the web or post things on Social Media which is not true. When I started using Google for research, I needed to learn how to use the best word combinations to get the information I wanted. When I was 6 years old, I didn’t know all the different parts that make a computer I just needed to know the basics. The only difference I see with social media is that when it started, I had a natural instinct about how to use the tool. This could be also because I was older and if you think about to open a social media account you just need to follow instructions and there is always a small tutorial to teach you the basics: post, share, find people. If I think about my dad (my mom doesn’t have social media) he was able to follow the same instructions and open his account with no problem.

According to Prensky this “natural instinct” it’s what allows digital natives to multitask and “learn more”. Nowadays, we know that multitasking is a myth as it is point out by Krischner and Bruyckere. Our brains can multitask when it is routine tasks that it requires very little brain power, but when you are trying to learn something new or reading a chapter for a school assignment constantly checking your phone basically makes your brain jump from focus to focus and at the end nothing gets done (Krischner & Bruyckere, 2017 p. 138).

Be honest you have asked yourself this before 😂

I believe during the pandemic is when we really realized than multitasking is a myth. First of all, the grand majority we were constantly checking the news to see what was happening, then we had to work or study, or both inside our house which makes checking your phone more tempting because you don’t have to worry about your teacher or boss checking on you. Then if you had children you had to multitask taking care of them and make sure they got their schoolwork done (Shoutout to all the parents who continue to do this!!!💪). In addition to that in the spirits to help people cope with quarantine the amount of Facebook events that appear was overwhelming (at least for me). At the end of the day, you ended up exhausted and nothing really got done.

Can anybody relate to SpongeBob here?

So yes, I completely agree that multitasking is a myth, and I am glad more organizations are recognizing this.

Prensky wrote his article in 2001 exactly 20 years ago!!! 😱

We can all agree that a lot has happened and maybe in 2001 his points were very valid in terms that educational institutions needed to catch up with technology to engage with learners better. I think after a whole year in quarantine it is safe to say that if any educational institution had doubts about the power of technology and how it can improve the learning experience, those doubts were erased completely.

So, as we move on in our technology journey because things will continue to change what matters is to provide the learners the correct interface that will engage them and allow them to play by doing.

Sources

KirscKirschner, P. A & De Bruyckere, P. (2017). The myths of the digital native and the multitasker. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 135-142. Doi: 10.106/j.tate.2017.06.001

PrenPrensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital immigrants. On the Horizon MCB University Press, 9(5), 1-6. Retrieved from https://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf