And what will happen to our privacy? Will it turn into ghost-like shapes where we navigate inside look-alike communities next to each other in an infinite web of complexity?
“I am an analogue kind of person”. How many times have I not uttered this to draw the line between what I have interpret to be either digital or analogue? Yes, I am still in the habit to get my first-hand experience of the weather by walking the five steps to the mailbox to pick up the morning papers, but on the other hand before doing that – still in bed – I check out the latest news provided by the news apps on my cell phone. I think I probably will stay this way for as long as it is possible: keeping the old habits while new (and digital) ones are integrated in the everyday practice.
Within my own discipline Media and Communication Studies, the theory of digital natives and immigrants (Prensky 2001) has been well-explored for the last two decades. Although, I haven’t really reflected on my own position, probably because I haven’t thought it very useful. For sure, not a native, but not an immigrant either. What could possibly have been in between? It doesn’t really matter now, because the concept of visitors and residents (White and Cornu 2011) gave me a completely new insight in how to reflect and position myself. And not only from the perspective of being a visitor and/or resident, but the dimension of being private and/or professional in the digital practices.
Additionally, the discussion on digital literacies is not dependent on if you are a visitor or a resident, private or professional, just as it doesn’t say anything if you would be a native or an immigrant. From my view-point, it is problematic to talk about digital literacy in singular because of all the components that need to be included in the concept. The discussion of digital literacies (Lankshear & Knobel 2008; Belshaw 2014) provides better understanding to the complexity, also including the skills and knowledges needed for being either a visitor or a resident, or in most cases both.
Private and/or professional, visitors and/or residents; probably no one could have imagined the complexity of the Internet when it was introduced in our lives back in the mid-90´s. I remember one of my first “encounters” to this new space: a CD with images of what the different sites on the Internet looked like. Back then, there were no residential areas to talk about, we were visitors. And in my case, my first “visit” was just like reading an article about an exotic place in a travel magazine.
Travelling back in time a little further, in 1980 the Canadian magazine Maclean’s published the following quote by Marshall McLuhan: “In the eighties, as we transfer our whole being to the data bank, privacy will become a ghost or echo of its former self and what remains of community will disappear.” (quoted in Benedetti & DeHart 1996: 94). Just as we do not know how the digital practices might change in a decade or two, it was impossible to imagine the development of this new medium back in the 90’s (as well as in the 80’s). Nevertheless, the quote from McLuhan is worth some attention in the 20’s by raising some questions: Are we on the way to move “our whole being” to the digital space? And what will happen to our privacy? Will it turn into ghost-like shapes where we navigate inside look-alike communities next to each other in an infinite web of complexity?
We don’t have the answer and maybe it is for the best. However, the next time students want to frame their thesis with theories about digital natives and immigrants, I know what to suggest: Sure, bring in the digital natives and immigrants in your problematization, but don’t forget to invite the visitors and residents as well!
References:
Benedetti, P. & DeHart, N. (1996). On McLuhan. Forward Through the Rearview Mirror. Scarborough,ON: Prentice-Hall Canada Inc.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the horizon, 9(5).
Lankshear, C. J., & Knobel, M. (2008). Introduction: Digital literacies: Concepts, policies and practices. Peter Lang Publishing.
Belshaw, D. (2014). The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies. Retrieved from <http://digitalliteraci.es> [retrieved Oct 8, 2020]
White, D.S. & Le Cornu, A. (2011). Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, Vol 16 (9). https://firstmonday.org/ojs(index.php/fm/article/download/3171/3049 [retrieved Sep 28, 2020]
