I agree with the sentiment brought up in the first few paragraphs of It’s Complicated by Dana Boyd about how it is important for society not to assume that the younger generation, known as the “digital natives”, are completely literate in regards to media and technology, while the older generation, referred to as the “digital immigrants”, are not; “neither teens or adults are monolithic, and there is no magical relation between skills and age. Whether in school or informal settings, youth need opportunities to develop the skills and knowledge to engage with contemporary technology effectively and meaningfully”. By assuming that the digital natives automatically possess a comprehensive understanding of all things concerning technology, this discriminates against less privileged youth who may not have the same technological access as others, therefore, they fall behind. Digital immigrants, especially within the educational system, play an important role in preventing this from happening by reinforcing the youths understanding of media and technology on all levels, so they can function efficiently in everyday life. I also believe the section on the importance of teaching digital natives how to decipher the legitimacy of online information, rather than taking everything online at face value to be crucial. Admittedly, I fall into the category of digital native and I, too, have made the mistake of wholeheartedly trusting Google without taking into account the bias stemming from the algorithm behind the results. Just as one should learn not to wholly trust a news article without properly researching and comparing data before formulating a conclusion, the same should be applied when searching for results online. In short, although digital natives have been exposed to more technology, does not mean that they all know how to properly navigate and understand it. It is still very important that the younger generations are educated about media to increase their literacy and awareness in the real world.
