Essay

Marc Prensky's "Emerging Online Life of the Digital Native" and Dave Weinberger's "A New World" both present different views of contemporary internet users. In light of your own experiences with new technologies do you think they are accurate portrayals? Discuss why or why not with specific examples.

Marc Prensky's "Emerging Online Life of the Digital Native" and Dave Weinberger's "A New World" both present different views of internet users. Prensky describes those who have grown up with the internet as ‘digital natives’, people who are able to speak the digital language of computers. Conversely, Weinberger presents internet users as people who create specific and sometimes multiple online personalities that they try out on the web. By comparing these and other views with my own experiences of new technologies I will investigate whether or not these are accurate portrayals of contemporary internet users.

They key theme of Prensky’s article is this; “students are not just using technology differently today, but are approaching their life and their daily activities differently because of the technology” (Prensky, 2004, p. 1). Satchell, Zic & Singh (2005, p. 1) provide an example of this in relation to the popularity of social networking sites stating, “there is a sense that an event is not complete until it is shared through text, voice or images.”

From my own experience, I find these ideas be an accurate portrayal of contemporary internet users. For example, my friends and I often comment “I’m going to make that my Facebook status”. We choose the most entertaining/comical/odd moment of our day to share with others. As there are over 300 million users on Facebook worldwide, one can only imagine this to be a global phenomenon (Facebook: Press Room, 2009, para. 1).

(see the below clip for more information on the affects of social networking sites on relationships)

This relates to Weinberger’s discussion of creating an ‘online identity’, an edited version of yourself that you choose to portray online (Weinberger, 2002, p. 4). Weinberger goes on to describe this phenomenon as such; “we are rewriting ourselves on the Web, hearing voices we’re surprised to find coming from us, saying things we might not have expected” (Weinberger, 2002, p. 5). Satchell et al. (2005, p. 1) also explore the notion of creating an online identity describing how internet users “derive pleasure from creating a digital identity that reveals the persona they wish to convey.”

From my own experience I find this to be a true reflection of contemporary internet users. When I first created my MySpace, and later my Facebook page, I spent many hours choosing the right background, music, pictures, interests and quotes that best personified how I wanted people to see me. My online identity is my ideal self, rather than my actual self, because I have the ability to edit my online self.

The other key point of Prensky’s (2004) article is that of the digital natives versus the digital immigrants. Prensky describes digital natives as “native speakers of the digital language of computers, video games and the internet” whereas digital immigrants are those who “were not born into the digital world but have…adopted many or most aspects of the new technology” (Prensky, 2001, p. 1). Prensky goes on to describe how all aspects of the digital natives lives are being affected by the influence of this new technology.

My own experience with new communication technologies supports Prensky’s ideas of the pervasive nature of technology. For example, at this particular moment, I have ten windows open on my computer; an online dictionary and thesaurus, Google, the library catalogue, the library’s online referencing tool, a number of journal articles, Microsoft Word, my blog and Facebook. This one example shows how contemporary internet users are communicating, sharing, learning, searching, programming, socialising and evolving vastly differently than previous generations.

Another interesting point that Weinberger (2002, p. 6) raises is whether the Web is making us more or less social, or more specifically “what is the Web doing to us as social animals?” Blais, Craig, Pepler & Connolly (2007, p. 2) describe how young people “are better able to be their ‘true selves’ when communicating on the Internet than when communicating face-to-face”. Barah & McKenna (2004, p. 12) also researched this issue and found that the relative anonymity and lack of physical and nonverbal cues in computer-mediated communication (CMC) resulted in the formation of more meaningful relationships.

Drawing upon my own experiences I do agree that due to the lack of physical and nonverbal cues in CMC I tend to be somewhat more adventurous online than in my everyday life. However, with regards to revealing more of my ‘true self’ online, I disagree. I will explain why with reference to Erving Goffman’s sociological theory of dramaturgy. Goffman likened people in everyday life to actors on a stage, constantly ‘acting’ or modifying our behaviors to meet different social situations or expectations (Goffman in Newman, 2006, p. 189). This acting is our ‘front stage’, the part of ourselves we allow everyone to see whereas our ‘back stage’ is our true selves, what we only reveal to our closest friends or family (ibid). Blais et al. seem to argue that due to the anonymity of the internet, people are more willing to ‘drop the act’ and reveal their ‘back stage’ selves. Perhaps this is true when talking anonymously to a stranger in a chat room, however the majority of online communication is with people you already know. Therefore I find it hard to believe that people would be any more willing to reveal their true selves online, than they would be in person.

(For more information on Goffman’s theory of dramaturgy click here)

A further sociological issue raised by Prensky’s (2004, p. 3) is ‘lookism’. Lookism is defined as “discrimination or prejudice based on a person’s physical appearance” (Lookism, 2009, para. 1). Prensky (2004, p. 3) explains how lookism does not exist in the mainly text based medium of CMC and therefore allows an opportunity for those who are the least communicative in person, to flourish in an online environment. Stritzke, Nguyen & Durkin (2004) further investigate this issue, specifically in relation to shyness. Their findings showed that “because of the absence of face-to-face evaluative feedback in CMC it…may be more congenial than traditional interactions to some individuals such as shy people” (Stritzke et al., 2004, p. 2).

My own experiences with CMC would lead me to believe this to be an accurate portrayal of contemporary internet users. Firstly, I have noticed that some of my shyer friends, who have trouble speaking up in conversations, have far more to say when I talk to them online. Secondly, with regards to lookism, a less extreme example that comes to mind is blushing. I blush very easily when nervous (eg when I’m trying to impress a new friend or prospective partner) which is embarrassing for me. Recently I have taken to talking to new acquaintances online a few times before meeting up again. In this format, I avoid the issue of lookism and have the luxury of presenting my ideal self to my prospective partner/friend.

(see the below clip for more information on lookism)

From the above discussion I concluded that Prensky provided an accurate portrayal of internet users daily lives being influenced by technology, the changing nature of digital natives interactions with their world and the benefits of CMC in eliminating issues of lookism. I also concluded that Weinberger’s ideas of internet users creating and online identity to be an accurate portrayal of contemporary internet users. However I disagreed with his theory that due to the anonymity of the internet, people are more willing to reveal their true selves. The pervasive and ubiquitous nature of new communication technologies affect our lives in many ways and are sure to continue to affect us in the future in ways we cannot yet imagine.

References

Bargh, J., & McKenna, K. (2004). The Internet and Social Life [Electronic version]. Annual Review of Psychology, 55(1), 573-590.

Blais, J., Craig, W., Pepler, D., & Connolly, J. (2007). Adolescents Online: The Importance of Internet Activity Choices to Salient Relationships [Electronic version]. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 37(5), 522-537.

Burns, T. (1992). Erving Goffman, London: Routledge.

Facebook: Press Room. (2009). Retrieved October 22, 2009, from

http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

Lookism. (2009). Retrieved October 22, 2009, from

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lookism

Lookism: The Unspoken Prejudice. (2009). Retrieved October 22, 2009 from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaLKIB7s-oY

Newman, D. (2006). Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants [Electronic version]. On The Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.

Prensky, M. (2004). The Emerging Online Life of the Digital Native: What They Do Differently Because of Technology, and How They Do It. Retrieved October 20, 2009, from

http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/PrenskyThe_Emerging_Online_Life_of_the_Digital_Native-03.pdf

Satchell, C., Zic, J., & Singh, S. (2005). Creating the Ideal Digital Self: 3G Mobile Phone Content Production and Distribution as Social Communication, Retrieved October 22, 2009, from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/12618/1/12618.pdf

Social Networking and Relationships. (2009). Retrieved October 22, 2009, from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRnXkCVDZuY

Stritzke, W., Nguyen, A., & Durkin, K. (2004). Shyness and Computer-Mediated Communication: A Self-Presentational Theory Perspective [Electronic version]. Media Psychology, 6(1), 1-22.

Weinberger, D. (2002). Small Pieces Loosely Joined: Chapter 1 - A New World. Retrieved October 20, 2009, from

http://www.smallpieces.com/content/chapter1.html