4 ms·

I think the term 'digital native' is too disambiguous. There's two things that could be considered being a digital native; one is technical, the other is more f

I think the term 'digital native' is too disambiguous. There's two things that could be considered being a digital native; one is technical, the other is more functional. On the technical side, I completely agree with this article. Most people my age (late 20's) and especially younger ones, don't have a clue about the insides of their devices, or how the internet actually works. They also don't seem to be interested in a lot of this stuff. They also tend to think that everything that has to do with their devices is complex. On the 'functional' (for lack of a better word) side however, they seem to know exactly what to do on the internet. They know how to get attention on the internet, what their peers are interested in and how to get as many likes as possible. They live on the internet, live stream everything they do and make lots of selfies. This seems to be the reason why we're starting to see lots of younger kids becoming YouTube famous, or starting viral marketing companies. The last thing, to me, is the part where people really become 'digital natives' in stead of 'technical natives'. Also, because most devices are so hard to open, most kids won't even get to see the technical side anymore, unless they want to build a gaming PC.

robteix 9y ago
> They know how to get attention on the internet, what their peers are interested in and how to get as many likes as possible. Is it specific to an age group, though? My mother is in her 60s and she seems to have no problem getting 100+ likes on FB every time she posts a pic of her grandkids. She knows what _her_ peers want to see.
- spondyl 9y ago
  Her peers could be the type to use the like button as a form of basically saying "Yes, I have seen this"?
gaius 9y ago
They know how to get attention on the internet, what their peers are interested in and how to get as many likes as possible That's a great skill to have, you know, now that you can buy groceries and pay rent in likes and retweets.
- yellowapple 9y ago
  You're taking that too literally. You can't pay rent in likes and retweets, but you can pay rent in dollars earned by you getting your company likes and retweets. More and more companies are hiring "social media experts" (often interns, if my anecdotal observations are anything to go by) for exactly this reason.
  - spondyl 9y ago
    If Arby's and Wendy's are any measure of success then Social Media Expert is code for "Someone who can take the latest memes and apply them to our business".
  - jrnichols 9y ago
    > are hiring "social media experts" (often interns, if my anecdotal observations are anything to go by) By mine, they're almost always women too. I have yet to see any men as social media managers. (again, anecdotal.) women have managed to literally create a job title that is literally posting stuff on social media and getting paid for it. absolute genius.
    - unkown-unknowns 9y ago
      Yes but when done correctly it also brings a lot of value to their employers so it's a win for both sides.
CM30 9y ago
I see your point, though I'm not sure most younger people really know how to get 'attention' on the internet. They can certainly share stuff like social media sites easily. But actually promoting it is another thing entirely. The vast majority of young people involved in them struggle to promote their work on sites like YouTube and Twitch. There are definitely more young people than old getting popular there sure, but it's most likely not the majority.

robteix 9y ago

> They know how to get attention on the internet, what their peers are interested in and how to get as many likes as possible. Is it specific to an age group, though? My mother is in her 60s and she seems to have no problem getting 100+ likes on FB every time she posts a pic of her grandkids. She knows what _her_ peers want to see.

spondyl 9y ago
Her peers could be the type to use the like button as a form of basically saying "Yes, I have seen this"?

gaius 9y ago

They know how to get attention on the internet, what their peers are interested in and how to get as many likes as possible That's a great skill to have, you know, now that you can buy groceries and pay rent in likes and retweets.

yellowapple 9y ago
You're taking that too literally. You can't pay rent in likes and retweets, but you can pay rent in dollars earned by you getting your company likes and retweets. More and more companies are hiring "social media experts" (often interns, if my anecdotal observations are anything to go by) for exactly this reason.
- spondyl 9y ago
  If Arby's and Wendy's are any measure of success then Social Media Expert is code for "Someone who can take the latest memes and apply them to our business".
- jrnichols 9y ago
  > are hiring "social media experts" (often interns, if my anecdotal observations are anything to go by) By mine, they're almost always women too. I have yet to see any men as social media managers. (again, anecdotal.) women have managed to literally create a job title that is literally posting stuff on social media and getting paid for it. absolute genius.
  - unkown-unknowns 9y ago
    Yes but when done correctly it also brings a lot of value to their employers so it's a win for both sides.

CM30 9y ago

I see your point, though I'm not sure most younger people really know how to get 'attention' on the internet. They can certainly share stuff like social media sites easily. But actually promoting it is another thing entirely. The vast majority of young people involved in them struggle to promote their work on sites like YouTube and Twitch. There are definitely more young people than old getting popular there sure, but it's most likely not the majority.