I found the reading interesting. I definitely agree that the youth of today are seen as “digital natives” while older people are considered “digital immigrants”. Youth these days have essentially grown up in the age of social media, and tend to be, for the most part, quite tech savvy when it comes to computers, video games and the navigation of social media.
However, I also agree that many young people do not always know how to use critical skills when using the Internet as a source of information. The Internet is a plethora of knowledge, and it has many valuable, but also problematic sources of information on it.
“Because many adults assume that youth are digitally savvy—and because they themselves do not understand many online sources— they often end up giving teens misleading or inaccurate information about what they see online. A conflict emerges as teens turn to Wikipedia with uncritical eyes while teachers deride the site without providing a critical lens with which to look at the information available” (“It’s Complicated”, page 188). Throughout our school years, we were told constantly to not use Wikipedia as a credible source of information. We have to take it with a grain of salt because it can be edited by anyone.
As a whole, youth could benefit from active learning on the internet rather than passive learning. More young people can use their voice to create a space and an online presence for themselves.
