Marc Prensky will go down in history for coining the concept of the digital native and digital immigrant in 2001. The terms, well known in educational circles have always left me wondering. It is clear that between the great divide of immigrant and native there must be others, those who do not fit into these two extreme camps.
Researching a paper I recently came across Cheri Toledo's further musing on the concept in which she further identifies key players in the digital age: the Digital Recluse, Digital Refugee, Digital Explorer, Digital Innovator, Digital Addict, and Digital Tourist.
A Digital Recluse is one who uses technology because he or she has to. Computers are an accepted evil in the work world and are banned in the home. Similarly, a Digital Refugee is one who is forced to utilize technology. One to whom a hard copy is a thing of beauty, as all electronic copies are but fleeting versions of the truth. The Digital Explorer can be seen up late on twitter, facebook or other social media sites, looking for new horizons to conquer and new ways to incorporate technology into the landscape. Digital Innovators adapt and change old tools to suit new tasks. While the Digital Addict is relient on technology and will actually go through a withdrawal phase when it is removed. Finally, the Digital Tourist embraces the language and tools of the digital age only while in contact with it. They resist the application of technology to their personal and professional lives.
What caught me initially was the fact that these definitions still fail to describe me. What I initially saw as a series of different identities, I quickly came to recognize as many similar facets of the same person. What is the true difference between a Recluse, a Refugee and a Tourist? Is an addict a true sub-category, or a set of traits that can be applied to any native?
I feel a new definition is required, and try as I might I cannot escape the use of the term Refugee to describe my place in the digital age.
By definition a refugee has no place to call home. Feeling persecuted in their birth place they seek shelter in a new land. This nicely defines my position in the technological world. I am not a native. I can readily identify vast differences in the way they think in comparison to my own perceptions. While I understand much of the language, there are nuances that I can never hope to recognize. New patterns evolve daily and I am forced to try to keep up to keep my footing in an alien world.
Yet I am no digital immigrant. A computer is no closed book to me. I willingly use technology to meet all of my goals, and do recognize its potential. I utilize it in my professional and personal life to attain ends impossible to describe. Sitting down in front of a computer is not a fear-invoking experience. It evokes no emotional response whatsoever. My computers are a part of my life, and thus they cut me off from the world of the Digital Immigrant. I am no Babes in Toyland - and yes, I fully understand that reference.
It is time for a new meaning to be attached to the term Digital Refugee. I am reclaiming the label for all who are a kin to myself. Those who feel adrift in a digital ocean, looking for a port to call home.
Will you join me?
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