Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Digital Generation

Our generation is set apart by more than the mere factor of time. Older generations have started leading dual lives, a digital life as well as a normal one, but we are the first to combine the two and switch seamlessly from one to the other. While older generations haphazardly attempt to navigate even the most basic of websites, we fluidly traverse from one to the next, not even recognizing the relative complications that stop others from efficiently using the web.
Digital literacy is more than a mere understanding of the efficient use of technology and it surpasses knowledge of web-based nomenclature. Rather, it is the embracing of technology into ones life. It includes the psychological and emotional effects that having a digital life has upon us. For digital illiterates, the power of peer recognition seems almost laughable and yet, in reality, it is one of the most powerful sources on the web.

2 comments:

  1. sources:

    http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cpb.2004.7.421

    http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LMnQXLjfbqJ2B45M042QvLMtdNBlBLBHb9Q2Gc8TY22gF3Yvs55y!1384420092!748858375?docId=5006612796

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  2. You have made some interesting comments about our generation being the first to combine the digital life and "normal life". I agree that even though we always use technology in our daily life, most of the time we do not realize how we have come to have or use those advanced technologies.
    You could have been more thorough in explaining what you mean by "normal life" - do you simply mean life without technology? (I believe that since technology is so deeply embedded in today's society, this life we are living now, - with sophisticated technology- could be considered "normal life")
    Also, you could have taken further steps in defining the digital literacy by, for exmple, providing examples, discussing the significance of digital literacy, etc.

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