Digital
literacy is a complex phenomenon with different theories explaining different
aspects. One predominant theory is the immigrants/native user theory (Prensky, 2001). And another theory, probably
even more established, is the visitor/resident theory (White & Le Cornu,
2011). Briefly, according to the first theory, individuals who were initially
exposed to the digital space in adulthood need to struggle more compared to
those who were repeatedly exposed during childhood. And further, they retain an
accent, as we do when we learn a new language. The second theory proposes that
the digital literacy mainly depends on how individuals use the digital environment.
In brief, those searching for information and using tools not leaving digital
traces are the visitors and those interacting creating a digital room which is
close to a real life space are the residents (for instance, google search vs.
facebook interaction). And there is of course a continuum between these two
extremes. We acquire digital literacies depending on how we behave (visitors vs.
residents) and further, we may be more or less skillful, visitors or residents,
in different contexts. The above theories in general do not necessarily
contradict each other. By contrast, to my opinion, they are complementary. The
digital age (how long), the digital behavior (how) and the time of first
digital exposure are all of importance and contribute to the development of
digital literacies and digital confidence. Finally, skills that individuals acquire
in the context of one literacy facilitate other digital literacies.