Internet Culture: Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants?

Sometimes the conclusions about the use of technology in business leave me wondering... well, just wondering. The article Capturing the Value of "Generation Tech" Employees outlines differences between two fictional entities called digital natives and digital immigrants. In an earlier entry I referred to Douglas Rushkoff's opinion that many so called cultures or generations are "a crock" designed by marketers. I believe he is correct, and his criticism applies equally well to these unfounded and frankly misleading notions of digital natives and digital immigrants...

This generation [i.e. - the "digital natives"] is better than any before at absorbing information and making decisions quickly, as well as at multitasking and parallel processing. In contrast, people age 30 or older are “digital immigrants” because they can never be as fluent in technology as a native who was born into it.
- Capturing the Value of "Generation Tech" Employees

The article creates two fictional entities: a) digital natives that are born into modern technology and therefore, the assumption is made, that they are somehow more "fluent" with it; and b) digital immigrants that are not born into a technology and therefore, the assumption is made, that they are less fluent with it. The technique of over-generalization is then used to create characterizations between two "generations" of people. In this case, the more recent generation is somehow construed as being "better than any before at absorbing information and making decisions quickly, as well as at multitasking and parallel processing" while those over 30 years of age "can never be as fluent in technology as a native who was born into it."

This is pure fiction. That is, "digital natives" and "digital immigrants" do not exist.

Why do I call these young computer enthusiasts and organizational activists “digital natives”? Think about the extraordinary cumulative digital experiences of each of these future business, military, and government leaders: an average of close to 10,000 hours playing video games; more than 200,000 e-mails and instant messages sent and received; nearly 10,000 hours of talking, playing games, and using data on cell phones; more than 20,000 hours spent watching TV (much of it jump-cut-laden MTV); almost 500,000 commercials seen — all before they finished college. At most, they’ve logged only 5,000 hours of book reading.
- Capturing the Value of "Generation Tech" Employees

Are we to assume that these "extraordinary cumulative digital experiences" are beneficial? It seems to me that 10,000 hours of playing video games, 200,000 email messages, 10,000 hours of cell phone time, 20,000 hours of television along with 500,000 commercials, and 5,000 hours of book reading may be an apt description of a pathology more than anything else. Yet the article promotes digital natives as being "better than any before at absorbing information and making decisions quickly, as well as at multitasking and parallel processing." Absorbing what information? Making decisions quickly about what? Multitasking what? And the dubious parallel-processing? This sounds more like a description of computer circuitry than a human being.

On the other side of the equation we read about the deficiencies of the digital immigrant leaders:

Unfortunately, many digital immigrant leaders — including many of those who claim to be “plugged in” — don’t get the fact that digital natives bring unique capabilities to large organizations.
- Capturing the Value of "Generation Tech" Employees

Leaders might not "get the fact" because it isn't a fact. It may be that our "digital immigrant leaders" are able to see the deficiencies of the "digital natives" with great clarity. Hierarchical organizations have often struggled with finding ways of authentically valuing and leveraging the immense resources found in their employees. Effective leaders, whether that can send an email or not, know how to build an effective organization and business strategy that values the thoughts and ideas of employees. And if they don't know something "digital" then they know how to learn it when they need to. There is nothing so complex in the digital world that a brief training program can't resolve.

Executives could consult with digital natives about new ways of connecting with their customers. The old idea of “go see the customers and look them in the eye” may no longer work in fast-moving industries that are populated increasingly by people accustomed to building and maintaining their relationships online and using software tools to assess product quality or a business’s reputation.
- Capturing the Value of "Generation Tech" Employees

The day a business values online interaction over face-to-face interaction is a day of decline. The "old idea" of "go see the customers and look them in the eye" is precisely the right idea. It may be that online interaction can enhance this experiences, but it is not a replacement. What kind of authentic relationship can be built and maintained online?

In a book to be released in December 2004, Carl Honore explores In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed. I recently saw a television program in which Carl described some of the basic principles behind his work and found his thoughts to be well informed, sensible and insightful. And it is not surprising in a world hell-bent on accelerating itself to undefined destinations that a book like this is needed.

We don't need to absorb more and more information - we need to find meaning. We don't need to quickly make decisions - we need to make the right decisions. We don't need to multitask - we need to focus. And it may be these leaders, these imaginary "digital immigrants," that will help us to get a grip, slow down, be more focused and reflective in our work, and find a better degree of balance in life.

The principle that during stages of their development all things appear under forms opposite to those that they finally present is ancient doctrine.
- Marshall McLuhan in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man

To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Notions like digital natives and digital immigrants might help build some fictional characters for a cyberspace drama, but in the end that is exactly what they are - fiction.

Updates

November 2005: Susan Redmond releases Digital Natives: A Field Study. Reference to this entry is made in the section Not Everyone Agrees: Part Two.

August 2004: Stephen Harlow, an Instructional Designer from the Waikato Institute of Technology in New Zealand, brought my attention to digital natives and digital immigrants via The Myth of the Digital Native. Stephen also kindly connected me to the original article: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.