NEC Digital Immigrant or Native
Regarding the question about whether I am a Digital Immigrant or a Digital Native, I would have to say that I am both a Digital Immigrant and a Digital Native. I would say that I am a Digital Native, because I have been using different types of social media since “Myspace” was opened to the public. I became instantly very active in the digital world and quickly found myself linked to other resources such as “Facebook”, “Pinterest” and “Twitter”. I found that these platforms were easy to use and surprisingly convenient for staying in touch with friends and family. No longer would long distance be the monster of an issue it once was. With all of these sites, not only can I express my feelings of what was happening in my life, day by day, minute by minute, but I found that it provided me with easy access to my peers and colleagues, just like myself. By using social media, it quickly became second nature to me and I found myself absorbed and accepted into a digital community that was constructed of merely words and digital imagery. Although one social media might look the same as any other and it might even act as the same as far as its job in communication, I assure you that it’s not. Due to my current class, I suddenly found myself out-of-place in a sea of additional digital networks. So, although I consider myself a Digital Native, I have come to realize that I am also a Digital Immigrant when it comes to the new evolving social media platforms, such as “Klout”, “Storify” or even “Tumblr”. I find that each network may use the same words and ideas, but that they all take different roads to get to the same familiar places. Some tasks, such as just trying to follow someone on “Twitter” is quite simple to me, but it actually took me several attempts to try and follow someone on “Tumblr”. Interestingly, I usually find that the unknown is nerve-racking at times, but I still believe that the communities of social media are not just the wave of the millennials, but I believe that it is has become a fundamental resource to all of the future generations.