What is a
Digital Natives
Digital natives refer primarily to millennials and the subsequent generation of individuals who have grown up completely surrounded by computers, tablets, gaming consoles, smartphones and other digital devices and who have readily accepted the use of these technologies as an integral part of daily life. A digital native differs from a digital immigrant in that digital immigrants were born and raised before computer usage became commonplace. In addition to simply referring to total immersion in today’s modern, digitally saturated era, the term digital native also implies a differing worldview and approach to learning that individuals of the digital native generations are believed to possess.
Digital natives are considered by many experts to be people who were born in 1980 or later although this definition and age range has yet to be clearly delineated. When used in an employment setting, the term can be considered somewhat discriminatory against older workers who may have the same or even more technological expertise than their younger counterparts but who are not considered as knowledgeable as digital natives simply based on the fact that they are members of an earlier generation.