This week when I saw my in-laws they had a clipping of an article from the Free Press to give me that they thought I would be interested in reading. On our way home, my husband and I were discussing that no one in our generation clips articles from the newspaper anymore. Heck, very few of our friends even get a physical paper anymore. Instead, they read the paper online and if there was an interesting article to share, we would forward the link. I have read that newspaper subsciptions are down and that it is predicted that we may not see hard-copy newspapers in the future, however I guess I never really thought about it until I got that clipping.
My in-laws would be completely lost if there was only an online paper. They are always phoning my husband for help on the computer, and it always makes me laugh listening to his end of the conversation... "what do you mean you have no icons on your screen" or "press the end key to get to the end of the line. The end key... do you see a key that has the letters 'e-n-d' on your keyboard? Yes, press it". I laugh while my husband gets frustrated beyond belief! They are definitely digital immigrants, however they have not yet learned the language!
My mom is the same way. I think she has the most underutilized I-phone out there. All she knows how to do is use it for phone calls (although even then she hangs up on you in the middle of a conversation because her check touches the keypad, or accidently calls you because she forgets to lock her phone). She cannot text, can reply to emails (in giant purple bubble letters no less) but cannot create a new one, and has no idea how to use the internet on her phone. She has no need for an I-phone, however my dad thought she should have the newest, greatest gadget. She is also a digital immigrant, does not know the language, but tries to cover that up by having the latest gear.
I myself am a digital immigrant, however their are obviously varying degrees of immigrant-ness (yes I know this is not a real word). Perhaps we need to have an expansion in the terms... Louise, do you find that your digital native students have varying abilities in using tech?
Hi Kristin -
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. It made me think about my in-laws. A few years ago they really wanted a computer so we gave them our 'old' one when we upgraded. My husband gave them a few 'lessons' and they were quite keen for the first few weeks, but then they just got frustrated. I think they were too proud to ask for more help. Eventually it just sat in the corner and collected dust and they got rid of it. They decided they didn't need it. Maybe there is a point in life (they were in their late 70's/ early 80's at the time), when learning the newest technology just isn't that important any more. Maybe not being able to master it makes people feel old or maybe they already have enough ways to interact with the world and other people that work for them.
Theresa