I stopped believing in the "digital native" buzzword after spending some time with some older relatives. Because nobody makes good old fashioned cellphones tha

I stopped believing in the "digital native" buzzword after spending some time with some older relatives. Because nobody makes good old fashioned cellphones that can only make calls they were all upgraded to touch-screen smartphones. A lot of them came to me for direction to perform the most basic tasks. They were interested in downloading apps, getting the news from their devices, managing pictures and generally browsing the internet from them. At first I explained every step of the process and I noticed they would all mechanically memorize the steps without really understanding any of them. So I changed my approach. I told them that, software wise, whatever happens to their device I can repair it and that instead of waiting for me to have a minute to go over the steps with them, they should try themselves and if something bad happens then they should come to me. This has changed their behavior dramatically. They are now more confident using their devices, knowing that someone can get them out of trouble should problem arises, and try new features by themselves. An example of that is when they enabled voice control and started to play with it. I like to separate users in two categories that I consider more realistic than "Digital Native" and so called "Digital Immigrants". I refer to them as having an "Active" position toward technology and a "Passive" position. The active crowd search for solutions themselves and learn by exploration while the passive crowd pretty much will only do as directed and what they have been taught with clear explanation. I noticed this pattern of refusing to explore new tools and platforms when exposed to one not closely related with age, as many young "Digital Natives" would get extremely confused when exposed to a new tech. Even stuff as basic as an oldschool car GPS (not their usual phone) would confuse them.