My elder son Oli is almost 15 and way beyond the stage where I might usefully
help with his homework. But in the run-up to his recent end-of-year exams, I
felt compelled to take a hovering interest in his revision. This chiefly
involved loitering on the landing and popping into his room at frequent
intervals laden with the laundered contents of his sock drawer.
Every time I crossed the threshold, the scene was the same: textbooks remained
firmly closed in his bag while the laptop was open on his desk.
On the screen was some history/ physics/English document, but also his
Facebook and iTunes pages. In his ears were the iPod plugs, playing back a
podcast. And sometimes, just to fracture his concentration even further, he
might have had a half-played video running on YouTube as well.
If you are the parent of a teenager, this vignette will be familiar. We each
have our breaking points and one night during that exam period I reached
mine. How, I wanted to know, as I scooped up the laptop and announced that I
was confiscating it until further notice, could he be absorbing the finer
points of photosynthesis and his French vocab if he treated his mind like a
pogo stick?
Was I being an unreasonable, autocratic, helicopter mother? My son would tell
you definitely yes, while friends battling with their own teenagers assure
me I'm not. It took the impartiality of my geeky acquaintance Ben, however,
to unearth the truth: “He's a digital native; you're a digital immigrant.
Your brains are never going to be on the same circuit system.”
Digital natives and digital immigrants are terms coined by the American
futurist Marc Prensky to distinguish between those who have grown up with
technology and those who have adapted to it. As an immigrant, I may be
computer-proficient, but I still print out documents to read them, call
people to check they received my e-mail and keep a dictionary by my desk.
And I can remember (admittedly only in a vague way) that when it came to
exam revision, I spent many hours sealed in my room away from the TV and
other distractions, my head burrowed in books. Natives, in contrast,
multi-task, thrive on instant gratification and claim to function best when
networked. None of this is new. Prensky first wrote about natives and
immigrants (and the startling fact that today's average student will, before
graduating, spend 10,000 hours computer-game playing, but only 5,000 hours
reading books) seven years ago.
What is new and perturbing is the emerging evidence of the consequences of
this digital divide. According to researchers we are in the midst of a sea
change in the way that we read and think. Our digitally native children have
wonderfully flexible minds. They absorb information quickly, adapt to
changes and are adept at culling from multiple sources. But they are also
suffering from internet-induced attention deficit disorder.
Rose Luckin, Professor of Learner- Centred Design at the London Knowledge Lab
and a visiting professor at the University of Sussex, is working on a study
examining the internet's impact on pupils' critical and meta-cognitive
skills. “The worrying view coming through is that students are lacking in
reflective awareness,” she says. “Technology makes it easy for them to
collate information, but not to analyse and understand it. Much of the
evidence suggests that what is going on out there is quite superficial.”
The experience with which my generation grew up, of absorbing oneself in a
single book and allowing its themes to meander into the mind before forming
considered judgments, is in danger of being eclipsed by the new, digital
world order.
This year, researchers at University College London reported the results of a
five-year study into the “Google Generation”. When they examined the
behaviour of those logging on to the websites of journals, e-books and other
sources of written information, they found widespread evidence of “skimming
activity”. Users viewed no more than three pages before “bouncing out”.
This wasn't just the norm for students. “The same has happened to professors
and lecturers. Everyone exhibits a bouncing/flicking behaviour, which sees
them searching horizontally rather than vertically. Power browsing is the
norm.”
Power browsing, I have to concede, has become the norm for me. Google has been
my godsend as a writer. Research that once required hours of trawling
through reports and cuttings, and days of fielding calls to source experts,
can be done in a few clicks of a mouse.
The difference, though, is that as a digital immigrant, my mind has baseline
skills in concentration, contemplation and knowledge construction. My fear -
and the reason why I wrested my son's laptop away from him - is that the
acquisition of those skills is being lost in the twitch-speed of our new Web
2.0 world.
Brian Kelly has been championing the digital revolution since setting up one
of the first educational websites at the University of Leeds in 1993. He's
now a national adviser to higher education, based at the University of Bath.
I'm not surprised when he tells me I was wrong to confiscate my son's
computer. “When I was doing my physics A level, I had one standard textbook
in which everything was gospel. Your son can go online, find information
that challenges the text and then he can network with others, compare notes
and even e-mail the experts.”
I can see that that broadens his knowledge, but does it deepen it? “Education
has always been about absorbing the facts first and reflecting on them
second. Technology is not hampering that, but take away his laptop and you
are just setting him up for a rebellion,” Kelly says. “The technology tide
is unstoppable.”
Wilma Clark, a former IT teacher and now a researcher at the Institute of
Education at the University of London, is more sympathetic to my panic
measures. “I shouldn't worry about him being on Facebook. All he is doing is
using technology to replace the friend who might have come to do his
homework with him,” she says. She points out that when teaching, she often
encouraged students to listen to their iPods during practical tasks,
“because it prevents them from chatting and losing concentration”.
Children do have the capacity to assimilate learning faster and simultaneously
from multiple sources, says Clark. “The downside is that they expect more
variety, so their boredom threshold is falling. Some teaching is adapting to
that and becoming more dynamic, some is not.”
When faced with a homework deadline or an exam, though, she is convinced that
pupils do focus. “But like all of us, they won't do something until they
have to, unless they are passionate about it.”
I recovered quickly enough from my hissy fit and returned my son's laptop the
next evening. The proof of the pudding would be in his results, I decided,
and now that they have come in, I have to concede that the social
networking/internet surfing/revision combo threw up no surprises. From the
pleasing to the mediocre, his grades were predictable.
Today's teenagers have an assumed ownership of technology. Like many parents,
I haven't joined Facebook, MySpace or other social networking sites. I've
resisted on the basis that it would be as embarrassing to my children as it
would be if I hung out with them dressed in a miniskirt. But, having spoken
to various experts, I realise I have been misguided in allowing him to think
of all internet innovations as his domain. It's worth remembering, after
all, that it was the creative, ground-breaking minds of digital immigrants
that invented the internet.
“Because they have been using digital technology all their lives, our children
feel they have authority over it,” says Rose Luckin. “But technology cannot
teach them to reflect upon and evaluate the information they are gathering
online. For that, the role of teachers and parents remains fundamentally
important. You are in the hot seat. They still need you to open that
conversation.”
NATIVES v IMMIGRANTS
Digital natives
Like receiving information quickly from multiple media sources.
Like parallel processing and multi-tasking.
Like processing pictures, sounds and video before text.
Like random access to hyperlinked multimedia information.
Like to network with others.
Like to learn “just in time”.
Digital immigrants
Like slow and controlled release of information from limited sources.
Like singular processing and single or limited tasking.
Like processing text before pictures, sounds and video.
Like to receive information linearly, logically and sequentially.
Like to work independently.
Like to learn “just in case”.
Why worry about different learning wiring? We came down from books, they come up from screens...just wait and see if the world would be the same or not in 20 years time...only then SOS for inmigrants vs natives...funny I am 52 but I do find myself among your natives!!!!
reggie, santiago, Chile
Well, I'm a Boomer and in my day my folks were worried about me in front of the tv or with blaring rock music doing homework. Parents are always concerned about the wellbeing of their children... and should be. Multitasking isn't new. And some immigrants integrate into their new worlds quite well.
Rosmairta, Menlo Park, USA
My 17 year old son often sits in front of the computer for 15 hours without a break and goes off to school sometimes having had no sleep at all.
One week I disconnected the internet - his grades improved, he was able to concentrate at school, he was less tired and we had fewer arguments.
Jutka Fischer, Budapest, Hungary
if you read books once in a while as well as surf the internet, you get the benefits of both worlds. it doesn't matter whether or not you read an encyclopedia or a romance novel or a scifi fantasy, you still gain the deep thinking processes that many are lacking, while surfing the web makesItFaster
Shae, Auburn, USA
This article is only about half correct. Sure teens today like myself have grown up in the network era and have become internet natives, but that doesn't mean we are all the same.
I know many people younger than me that still get the best studying out of a textbook. I personally can work with both.
William Thomas, Claremont, USA
this article commits seems to assumes that everyone is the same. I am 16 and i cannot even study for all classes the same way. To get my straight A's I study for each class differently. In math i study like your son, but in History i lock myself in the bathroom and read the textbook for three hours.
Kyle, Boulder, USA
Wrong. I'm 16 and study a hell of a lot worse watching a video. I understand that the internet can help or maybe even listening to music, but just take an ipod to the library and you're sorted.
This is just my say though.
Richard, Leeds, England
Digital Native is old news. See Henry Jenkin's post: http://tinyurl.com/39r9q3. Too many "tech savvy" folks/kids never learn information literacy -- the ability to do research well -- evaluate and use credible sources in an insightful manner. (I'm a Millenial.)
Erika, Minneapolis, USA
Great Article! As a teenager, I have to agree with everything in this... (I am listening to iTunes, texting, reading this, and burning a CD...) Spot on article!
Bill , Weeki Wachee, USA
Wonderful article. Your son studies like my 15 year old daughter. Don't forget they can talk on the cell and text at the same time they're doing all that! Marketing is all about "stereotyping" it's not really stereotyping - it's profiling. I'm all for multi-tasking! Loved your article!
Jacqueline, Cattaraugus, USA
i agree with the article. i think that people from all generations
have qualities form both immigrant & native. in the end it comes down to who you are. I believe technology is just going to continue to be more widely used, from this we'll learn to understand & adjust to how each 'generation' work
Georgia , Wedderburn,
I think that your son could be just a computer nerd and that you are sterio typying the rest of the younger community. Not every child in the present generation is like you describe your son. I do agree that the internet is growing and more people are reling on it but not everybody is the same.
Jess, Wedderburn, Australia
I think you have based this story on sterotypes automatically associating teens as digital natives, this is not always neccesarily true. You have catergorised people wrongly, especially in comparing natives to immigrants. Next time be more open minded.
Lisa, Wedderburn, Australia
I am only 15 but i dont believe that i am a digital native, sure i'm ok with computers but i like to focus on just one thing at a time otherwise i get to distracted, i also prefer to read books and get information out of them rather then off the internet.
Beck , Victoria, Australia
i allways listen to music while doing homework and study then i keep listeing to music
Richard, Wedderburn, Australia
What about us folks that like to learn because it's enjoyable, or interesting? These two definitions both imply that learning of any kind is only "for" things. I need to learn that because I need it "for" this project or that essay, and I'll either do so just in time or will already know it...
David, Sth Shields,
it's my first time 4 me this idea. I think the way technology Identifies us is the result of what we get in the end. but as as Digital immigrant there's always a deferent is just like what people say ," It's old school staff " as more we grow we learn new thing in life.
Lonin, Hampton , Australia
I'm a digital native - totally read the whole thing.
Jason, Fayetteville,
Funny thing is that long, rambling, text-heavy articles like this are just the kind of thing that completely turns off people who would be considered "Digital Natives".
Maybe just add a line 80% of the way through that says "If you are still reading this, you are most certainly a Digital Immigrant"
Luke, Sydney, Australia
As a student, I will not stress this enough. Stop criticizing our lifestyles! Many of you (our parents), born in the 60's, are from the same generation of those holding political and business authority today, and simply look at the mess you (pl) have left for us to worry about in the future!
Sean, Toronto,
bla bla bla bla
I am not going to read it until you make it short and concise.
Abaddon, CC,
I'm not sure this has anything much to do with children. By every one of your definitions I'm a digital native, but I'm 41 :)
Brfian, Cirencester, UK
I have to say that I don't necessarily agree with the idea that "Power Browsing" is such a negative thing. Where in the past we would base our opinions on 1 or 2 different sources now we can base it on 4 or 5! Not necessarily with the depth of focus, but the breadth creates more rounded opinion.
Andrew, Sydney, Australia
Next generation will think even more differently. We all should now be aware that we are in the need of understanding these rapid changes. Children who like to use their brain are always out there anyway. If they do not get the freedom of using the technology they will never show how good they are.
Ruggero, Bath,
It is unfair to suggest that digital immigrants learn "just in case" while digital natives learn "just in time." I think you are misinterpreting what is simply a difference in maturity between you and your son.
Dave, Chicago,
Every hour that I have spent playing videogames, I wish I spent reading instead. However, it is the parents' job to encourage these behaviors in their kids. Kids don't know what is good for them and simply seek gratification. Simply blaming technology for this change ignores the parents' blame.
Dave, Chicago,
All sounds like a lot of intellectualising and making excuses for the fact that her son is not really revising and is probably spending too much time in front of the computer anyway.
Carl, Manchester, UK
The saddest thing is that many children and adults think Google and Wikipedia as their main source, and pretend that eith one is accurate or authortative, which they often aren't. I hate to see researched distilled down to such meager results.
Dianne, San Diego,
I think summing up learning methods in that way is too simplistic. Everyone likes to learn differently, whether digital immigrant or not (and just what we need, more media buzzwords).
Tony, Islington, UK,
learning is subject sensitive.
Where the topic is qualitative i.e history, the arts etc, an abundance of sources & info is a positive.
Where the topic is quantitative i.e. maths, physics etc, the fundamentals do not change & simply need to be repeated until learned. No fun but necessary!
James, Leeds,
Catherine O'Brien, I think you should get your son away from the computer and down the park doing some much-needed exercise.
James, London,
I saw a study (can't remember where) showing that people who revise/work with music/sounds in the background may need music to aid in their recall abilities. So your son should probably try revising without noise as well to simulate working in an exam atmosphere.
Jonathan L, tel-aviv, Israel
The nature of learning has never been static. Up until the Renaissance, it was possible to assimilate everything in one human lifetime. Then you could only assimilate all of, say, natural philosophy. Then all of chemistry...
We need up-to-date sources. And the capacity to evaluate their worth.
Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK
I don't agree (Bob). The kids don't need to sit down and quietly revise and "meander into the mind before forming considered judgments". Simply beacause they can google for the available judgements, read them and make up their minds by using what is avaiable! Why invent the wheel twice?
Ivan , Newcastle,
What a load of nonsense. Physics is physics; you're not going to
"go online to find information that challenges the text" etc. If you want to learn physics, you have to sit down with the text, read the material and do the problems at the back of the chapter.
Prof. DM Sherman, Bristol, UK
When I was revising for my GCSEs and A-levels as well as doing coursework, my mother was convinced I was not working and refused to go to parents' evenings because she knew I was "a slacker". She finally got over that when I went to university, as I have never got anything below a B grade!
Leanne, Manchester, UK
This is the first time I've come across the Immigrant v Native idea. I think it's brilliant and explains the success of phenomena like FaceBook and YouTube.
I think I must be a Digital Emigrant. I do digital photography and iTunes but can't be doing with Facebook, YouTube and other such.
Steve Walker, Chobham, UK
Hi, I'm 50, two teens' mother, and teach them to use Skype, pendrive, download music, movies, connect Ipod and so on...I'd like I had pc when I was young!
It's simply fantastic they can do all that!
Daniela, Florence, Italy
It's not the google generation, it's every generation. I liked to revise for exams in front of the tv or listening to loud music when I was young. It was daft, but I survived. Oli's revision style is no different.
William, Ilkley,
An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing. The internet is turning us into the opposite. We know less and less about more and more until we know nothing about everything.
Eric Richard, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
well done!D...the teaching of teaching skilss must be reinvented..ya think?
susan mills, st.pete beach,Florida, USA
the idea of confiscating the child's laptop, of a fundamental lack of understanding of children, of control through coercion when arguments fail to persuade (or are never even used) sounds familiar - do I hear the footsteps of a society that is forever "immigrant" in the territory of "children"?
Professor E Rosenthal-Wein, London,