When I was first introduced to the terms 'digital native' and 'digital immigrant' it was with the clear understanding one term belonged to young people who had grown up with e-technology and the other to older people [like me] who are gradually adopting it into our lives.
Well, I think this tag is unrepresentative of real life. My experience is of sharing technology, hints and tips between generations to enrich both and develop a community of intergenerational learning using e-technology.
Hence my 90 year old father can on-line search for and enjoy a range of sites that take him worldwide and my 13 year old friend can discuss net-a-porter.com and how fashion buying may change in the future.
We [my 13 year old friend] and I have formed the following vision. The buyer logs on to the site to check out what is available, if there are items for trying on they take on an avatar persona that has their measurements and their features, trying clothes on in an on-line environment and then being able to have changes made before taking receipt of the clothes. There could even be a group of friends who could all take on persona and shop together. This idea was stimulated by the virtual and real time training session we were given a link to, thanks for that Sarah it certainly had my brain cells thinking.
I think it is very easy to make assumptions about the so-called digital natives. Yes, young people have their Facebook pages but they know more than that...do they know about online networking, sharing and collaborating beyond their immediate circle of real life friends that they follow online?
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