"Born Digital"

The introductory section of Palfrey and Gasser's "Born Digital" described today's generation as "digital natives." It is a narrative that explains that anyone born after 1980 has been native to the digital technology of today, their entire lives. They have grown up with it. There is a gap in knowledge between these digital natives and those who were born before 1980 who had become comfortable to analog lifestyle.

One section of the reading describes the fear teachers may have become worried that they are "out of step with the Digital Natives they are teaching, that the skills they have imparted over time are becoming either lost or obsolete,...". While reading this section I thought back to when I would study for my high school and college courses. Quite often I would think to myself "Why am I spending so much time trying to memorize this material? The material is all online and can be instantly accessed whenever I need it." I also don't have trouble selling my old textbooks anymore. I used to worry that I would someday need to look up the information they contained but realized that a majority of it can be accessed online.

The narrative also hinted on problems that come along with the digital age and how lawmakers will try to limit its power. We are seeing this now with ideas and acts such as SOPA. It will be interesting to see how digital media changes in the future as a result of these types of laws and acts.