Defining the Digital Native

In a world full of technology, there are people who were practically born texting and tweeting, and others who had to acquire such sills in adulthood.  Naturally, this leads to a divide between those who are fully fluent in the language of technology use and those who live with a permanent accent.  What does this mean for education?  Well, as most students today are so-called "digital natives", teachers must learn the characteristics of this tech-saavy generation and adapt teaching methods to satisfy their needs. 

So, who are these digital natives?  They are young people who have grown up with technology.  This includes most Americans under the age of 30.  In fact, 80% of America's infant to 5-year-old population  uses the internet on a weekly basis.These are kids who can surf the web before they can read!   As such, they are adept at using it and integrate it seemlessly into their daily lives.  For example, more than 80% of digital natives use social networking sites. In terms of the youngest digital natives, 77% of teens have a cellular phone.  Despite this, their reliance on phone conversations is decreasing, with almost a third of teens reporting they never talk on the phone.  Instead, teens aremore likely to communicate via text message, with 68% saying they text daily. 

Digital natives spend more time in front of a screen, be it television, computer, or cell phone, than reading.  To the traditional educator, this might seem counterproductive and signal a lack of academic skill.  However, students are actually spending time using the tools and skills they will need to navigate through both their social and profeccional lives in the future.  We need to embrace this new population and their tech-saavy ways and invite them to bring their natural skillset into the classroom on a daily basis.

Resources:
Pew, R. (2012, July 11). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/PewInternet/teens-2012-truth-trends-and-myths-about-teen-online-behavior

Suarez, R. (2011, July ). The real digital natives: 80% of children under age 5 use the internet http://ramonsuarez.com/the-real-digital-natives-80-of-children-under