010. Baby, I Was Born This Way

I found it interesting that the introduction was written in a way that addresses those outside the Digital Natives group. It seems like something that my mom could understand. I am that daughter that shows up late at dinner and texts under the table…

The concept of Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants is an interesting way of describing the technologically adept generation and the analog generation. I guess I was born a Digital Native? I’m not really quite sure. According to the article, the World Wide Web debuted on the year I was born. Even so, I still remembered the days where I didn’t have internet at home. All my family had was free dial-up from Netzero. I know what a tape cassette is, what a Walkman is, what a postage stamp is. Yet I’m still incredibly adept at using a computer. Am I a Digital Native or am I part of the transition generation?

Digital Immigrants in my family would definitely be my parents and everyone within their generation. My mom barely knows how to operate Yahoo! Mail much less the internet itself. However, she has a knack for finding and printing out online coupons. Actually, my dad isn’t as much of a Digital Immigrant. He understands computers very well, but then again, he works and my mom doesn’t so he’s required to be knowledgeable about these technologies. He has a lot more exposure to the digital realm than my mom does.

In terms of protecting kids online through laws, it’s a hard thing to do. There’s always going to be lines in censorship that can’t be crossed. Parents can’t always expect the law to protect the kids. Kids can develop their own judgment about right and wrong online. If your kids are smart, you don’t have to worry about them being sexually solicited because they’ll know how to ignore shady messages. Pornographic images? You have to trust your kids with that one. Unless they’re out looking for nude pictures, they’re going to have a hard time accidentally stumbling on such sites. If something happens, they can exit the site (unless they have their own secret agendas…).