Digital technology has without a doubt, become an integral part of our lives. When was the last day you could remember not logging on to any social media platform like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat to connect with others? Personally, I can’t even remember when was the last time I didn’t have all these apps at the touch of my fingertips!
According to White and Cornu (2011), have coined new terms based on Prensky’s (2009) typography on Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants, called the ‘Digital Residents’ and ‘Digital Visitors’. ‘Digital Residents’ refer to the younger generation who are techno-savvy and proactively maintain an online identity on various online platforms. Many ‘Digital Residents’ feel a need to share their life updates online for everyone to see, be it checking into a restaurant on Facebook or using Twitter to rant about personal problems. This leads to them literally ‘residing’ in a virtual platform, having to constantly sync their life in reality to their ‘life’ virtually. ‘Digital Residents’ often share and create content for others to view, be it from simple video sharing on Facebook, to well-known bloggers or Youtubers who generate weekly content.
On the other hand, ‘Digital Visitors’ would refer to the older generation who might not be as familiar with the latest technological advances and do not see a need to keep up an ‘image’ online. Rather, they utilize technology such as Skype and Whatsapp as a communication tool to connect with others, or simply just using Google to search for solutions and answers. Aside from the ‘need’ to get things done, ‘Digital Visitors’ have little interest in maintaining an online persona as to them, practicality is of the utmost importance.
Personally, I would consider myself more of a ‘Digital Resident’ as I do actively engage in various social media platform and consider myself a part of a community online. However, I do not feel the constant need to update my life online 24/7 as I believe that oversharing is a nuisance and I believe that privacy is crucial when uploading content online (you never know who’s watching you!)
References:
White, D. and Le Cornu, A. (2011). Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, 16(9).
Formatjé, N. B. (2016). Digital visitor or digital resident, how do you browse? Available at: https://www.uoc.edu/portal/en/uoc-news/actualitat/2016/086-visitant-resident-digital.html
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