Essay on Digitalization Divides Society: Generational Gap & Digital Natives/Immigrants

Section 1

It is more critical to examine the radical changes in modern society. It is, however, worth understanding that the digitalization of the world causes societal differences. It signifies that the contemporary society may perhaps be categorized into two groups. In this context, it is required for the consideration of the generational gap, which had led to the existence of the so-called 'digital natives.' Therefore, the presence of the latter reflects the so-called 'Digital immigrants.' The world is undergoing tremendous changes that had influenced almost every aspect of human being. In the past century, the world saw innovative technology, and it is today bringing unusual changes into societal institutions like education, health care, agriculture, and so on. The use of various technologies such as videogames, computers, the internet, video cams, social media, and cell phones reflects the new generation. Nevertheless, this subject is more significant due to the exploration of an effective and efficient system for society. In this context, it is clear that technological innovations had not been in previous generations, and the coming generations are more likely to experience more technologies.

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Section 2: The Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants in the Modern World

In the 21st century, the lifestyle of the society is substantially changing through the use of technology. And this paved the way for the new generation to emerge with a different perception of the world as compared to the previous generations. In this perspective, there is a need for the consideration of educational institutions as a practical example that reflects the interaction of the digital natives and digital immigrants (Prensky, 2001). The majority of college students had grown in an environment where technological devices were easily accessible, hence making it easy for the incorporation of technology into their daily life. There is a need for the realization of the impacts of technologies on the brain of the users. The impressions left into the mind of the technological users correlate with the frequency of using digital technology (Prensky, 2001). As aforementioned, the young generation had grown using them in every aspect of their life. And its influences had also shaped the lifestyle of the young ages, and it includes the language, entertainment, education, and so on (Guo et al., 2008). In this perspective, the current teachers are more likely to disagree with their students due to the diversity of perceptions regarding how things should be done.

The current generation spends more time on digital devices for various purposes, such as entertainment, information acquisition, and education. For instance, the latter is deemed to have spent 20,000 hours on the television. It is coupled with 5,000 hours reading on the internet and computers, and as well as 10,000 hours on video games (Prensky, 2001). Today, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, and many others; are emerging as the most accessible technology to young people in particular. And it is becoming the easiest way for instant messaging and information searching (Prensky, 2009). As previously mentioned, the use of digital greatly influences the behaviors of the users. The digital immigrants have no appreciation of the skills and knowledge acquired through the use of digital devices by young people (Prensky, 2001). However, this is merely caused by their lack of skills and expertise to use digital technology as the young people had achieved. Indeed, young people seem resistant to the traditional way of learning, communication, researches, entertainment, and working (Guo et al., 2008). The older generation is too far to use technology as young people, and they still hold their way of living as an exemplar way for future generations.

Even though digital immigrants are used to slowing information processing, digital natives are more likely to be bored by the mode of teaching by their professors who are digital immigrants. Besides, digital natives are suitable for parallel learning and able to focus on multiple tasks at the same time. For example, they can learn while listening to music or even watching the television (Prensky, 2001). And this seems impossible for the digital immigrants who consider such activities as a disturbance to their learning or teaching. Concerning this, it implies the changes that the society had gone through over the years starting in the last century. It is, therefore, worth realizing the need for the reconsideration of the new generation (Guo et al., 2008). And this provides the basis at which a new methodology can be established, and this further reflects the incorporation of unique educational contents.

The teachers and professors had adopted technology in their daily tasks for making easy their work, and this includes the use of the internet, smartphones, computers, and as well as projectors. Still, their minds heavily rely on the traditional ways of teaching (Guo et al., 2008). Thus, this had led to the emergence of diverse generations with different languages due to the outdated language spoken by digital immigrants. For earlier ages, the digital natives had been exposed to technological innovations; hence, the environment shaped their mode of thinking and doing things differently from previous generations (Prensky, 2001). This subject is more critical to the digital and social media studies due to the clarification of the existing population in the digital ages. Therefore, this helps to reflect an effective and efficient way for the establishment of the educational system, which is suitable for the digital age.

Section 3: The Analysis of Digital Natives and Immigrants in the Digital Age

In the digital age, the young generation is highly exposed to a new environment not only to young people but also to older people. However, it is worth understanding that both generations respond differently to the situation that surrounds them. It is mainly based on the fact that the brain of the older generation, commonly known as digital immigrants, is wired differently with the mind of the young generation (Prensky, 2004). As aforementioned previously, the young generation is commonly known as digital natives due to their experience with technology at an earlier age in life. In this perspective, the brains of the digital natives grow with the ability to process multiple tasks, hence making them more intuitive to the learning process. Besides, they are more likely to show attention when learning is more participative rather than passive. And the development of the brain is such an environment it becomes easier for it to learn to process information faster (BinSubaih et al., 2009). Therefore, it is required for the consideration of the behaviors of the digital natives in different aspects of life. In this regard, it is essential to realize the need for exploration in the medical field. Although learning tends to be more fun for digital natives, it is necessary to understand why their behaviors remain the same when admitted to the hospital.

The United States is deemed to have approximately 50% of the populations are considered digital natives. This signifies the people who were born at least around the 1980s until to-date. According to HopeLab, the digital native society is rapidly growing as compared to the digital immigrant population that is slowly declining. The latter is currently being estimated to be 150 million across the United States (Prensky, 2004). And it further asserts that "These young people have had digital technologies their entire lives. They shop, socialize, learn and work online-and now almost exclusively via mobile..." (Prensky, 2004) It implies the importance of the reestablishment of the healthcare system compatible with digital natives. Nonetheless, the reestablishment is necessary because the majority of the population, particularly in the United States, is considered to be into this group (BinSubaih et al., 2009). In this perspective, the system is required to reflect the needs of the majority of the population.

It is quite clear that the digital natives may be comprised of two different generations that are often considered as one generation. For example, the people who reached adulthood in the 21st century may be regarded as 'millennial generation. And those who reached adulthood in the second decade of this century may be regarded as 'generation z '(Prenwsky, 2008). Nevertheless, the millennial generation had faced challenges whereby some of them did not have access to the technologies, hence limiting their capacity to be regarded as the digital natives. Among the digital natives, it is not surprising to find patients of this age chatting when admitted at the hospital or sometimes responding to text and chat messages while carrying out the therapy sessions with the psychologists. It reflects the importance of the establishment of the healthcare services that is more fun and flexible for the patients, such as online patient information access and visits.

Concerning this, the majority of the healthcare workers may not be familiar with such behaviors of the patients, but that is how their brains are wired (BinSubaih et al., 2009). There is a need for the realization of changes the world is going through, and it seems not to stop because new advanced technologies are being innovated. Thus, this implies the importance of the incorporation of the technical studies and how they are supposed to be adopted by the people in the society. The survey carried out by the HopeLab revealed the shifting mindset of the young people who are growing to solve issues in different ways. Although digital immigrants who operate in various institutions need to consider the shift for avoiding confrontation with the younger generation, and it would allow them to be in a better position to new technologies. (Prensky, 2004) It is often reflected in the studies of Marc Prensky on the exploration of the digital age and its population. The investigation of the behaviors of digital natives in the healthcare services provides depth insight of the new emergence of a different society in the digital era. It is, therefore, worth understanding that the establishment of the new system is necessary not only in the educational system; but in all aspects of life (BinSubaih et al., 2009).

Concerning this, it is required for consideration of the relevance of the behaviors of digital natives when seeking medical services in the healthcare institution. This further helps the students to effectively be able to attain good health for brain development and growth (Prensky, 2004). Therefore, it is essential for the recognition of digital natives' health as part of their ability to grow and survive.

References

BinSubaih, A., Maddock, S., & Romano, D. (2009). Serious games for the police: Opportunities and challenges. Special Reports & Studies Series at the Research & Studies Center (Dubai Police Academy).

Guo, R. X., Dobson, T., & Petrina, S. (2008). Digital natives, digital immigrants: An analysis of age and ICT competency in teacher education. Journal of educational computing research, 38(3), 235-254.

Prensky, M. (2009). H. sapiens digital: From digital immigrants and digital natives to digital wisdom. Innovate Journal of online education, 5(3).

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants, part 1. On the horizon, 9(5), 1-6.

Prensky, M. (2004). The emerging online life of the digital native. Retrieved August 7, 2008.