Rizqi Amelia

20120540092
EED/C
Understanding Differences of Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants

Long time ago, technology is created to help human in doing everything to be easier as
the main purpose. Start from simple findings such as knife, pulley, sunglasses, heaver, up to
grinder, lamp, various kind of simple machines are categorized as simple technology. In the
beginning of these findings, people might think them as very brilliant and wonderful tools,
yet, nowadays they are noticed as something really usual because we use them all in our daily
life. Even, people creat many better tools to replace these simple technology. Technology
develops so rapidly. Technology makes things that we think they are impossible to be true,
become possible and real in some periods of time. People thought that going to the moon was
impossible, but technology proved we could make it happen. Television, computer,
handphone, and internet, are really extraneous and luxurious before 20 th century. Nowadays,
everyone who have and use them are a common thing. It is weird when there is someone
whichn is unfimiliar with the using of gadgets (modern technology : handphone, tablet,
computer, etc). In fact, there are people who were born in traditional era where technology
didnt have big progress as good as now. They may not be familiar with the using of modern
technology and they may be people which are really close to us, such as our grand mother,
aunt, uncle, our parents, even our teacher.
In 2001, Marc Prensky introduced two terms to differentiate people based on this topic :
Digital Natives and Digital Immigrant. Prensky (Prensky, 2001a) define all native speakers
of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet as Digital Natives. For
people who were born after (or closed to) 20 th century, having contact with gadgets is really
commong thing. They live as if gadgets are their food, their friends, even their teachers.
Technology tooks very important part of their life. Prensky explain some of their
characteristics :
Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel process
and multi-task. They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They
prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked. They thrive on
instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to serious work(2001a,p1).

So, how about predecessor generations who were born before modern gadgets were found?
Prensky (Prensky, 2001a) describe them as Digital Immigrant, they are people who were not
born into the digital world but have, at some later point in our lives, become fascinated by
and adopted many or most aspects of the new technology are. Digital immigrant have some
characteristics that is called digital immigrant accent by Prensky.
The digital immigrant accent can be seen in such things as turning to the Internet for
information second rather than first, or in reading the manual for a program rather than
assuming that the program itself will teach us to use it. . . They include printing out your
email (or having your secretary print it out for you an even thicker accent); needing to
print out a document written on the computer in order to edit it (rather than just editing on
the screen); and bringing people physically into your office to see an interesting web site
(rather than just sending them the URL).

Contrary with digital native, Digital immigrant will put internet or technology as a secondary
choice. They prefer to do something manually rather than using or looking for a
program/application in their gadget. Digital immigrant seemed to be more conventional than
digital native.
I had interviews with several people around my Universities in order to identify how far
they address the characteristics explained by Prensky. The participants are 3 little girls and a
male parker works in Unires (my universitys dormitory).
First is Diva. She is a 3 rd grade elementary schools student who live in Rukeman,
Taman Tirto, Bantul. She looks such a cheerful and nice child. Diva like to play around with
her friends. Diva started using handphone recently, but doesnt have her own handphone yet.
During her free time, she likes to play around her friends and borrowing her mothers
handphone, usually in the night. She likes to chat with friends through instant messaging and
direct calling, escpecially for asking about their task. Her parents allow her to use handphone,
even her mother pay the credit for her. Besides texting and calling with her friends, she like to
use the gadget for listening music and playing games, but she doesnt know yet about
internet. Her hobby is drawing, and her learning style is reading while finishing questionanswer exercises.

Second is Ayu. She is a 3rd grade elementary schools student who live in Rukeman,
Taman Tirto, Bantul. Ayu and Diva look like close friends. Ayu, tend to be more shy and
silent than Diva. Ayu started using handphone recently. In contrast with Diva, she already has
her own handphoe. Her mother already gave her a handphone altough she didnt ask for it.
Having much similar with Diva, she often use instant message and calling service on her
handphone to communicatee with he friends, usually in the night. She like to use the gadget
for listening music and playing games, but she doesnt know yet about internet. Her hobby
and learning style is also same with Diva.
Third is, Aini. Aini is a nine years old child who live in Rukeman, Taman Tirto, Bantul.
She is on the 4th grade of Elementary School now, and she already has her own handphone as
a gift from her mother. She start using handphone from the 1 st grade, and she seldom using
instant message and never use calling service. She likes to spend much time to playing games
in her handphone. Unexpectedly, she said that she spend more of her time playing games
rather than studying, even she left her eating time. Her parents never get mad about that and
pay for her credit. Eventough her handphone is quite luxurios for her (with camera and the
game is quite popular), she doesnt know how to use internet and she doesnt bring it to the
school. Her learning style is reading and her hobby is drawing, but she likes to read more
than drawing.
The last is mister Sastro. His age is fifty years old and he works as a parker in Unires.
He is able to use computer, handphone, even internet. He has his handphone when he was
young when the price of handphone was very expensive. In the past, mister Sastro used to
very familiar with technology, but now he uses it rarely. His children use it more often than
him. At the beginning, he always control his children in using gadget, but time by time he feel
it is okay to let them. He let his children bring handphone for communicating with him, and
he think that technology gives positive effects. In his age, he doesnt use technology as
intensive as before, so he choose to join in the community or reading newspaper for
increasing his knowldge.
Looking at the result of my interview with the characteristics mentioned by Prensky, I
agree with what Prensky (2001b, p.3) said that digital native has different way of thinking.
Environment which is faced by native and immigrant are really different, so it will result
different habits, behaviour, even style of learning. From my point of view, digital immigrant
have big role in forming the digital native to be what Prensky called with singularity.

Native which mostly are children show different habits compare to immigrant is normal,
because they learn to adapt fastly in their age. For children under ten years old, technology
may seems as playing tools where they can get happiness and fun with it. Eventhough some
of characteristics such as they function best when networked is not clearly seen because
those children still lack of knowldge about internet, in the age that not really far from them
(11,12,13 years old) other children come up with fast progress. I had observed my sister and
my cousins in this age. I found out that children which is close to teenager (puberty) age gain
more curiosity, more independence, and also physical growth and development. They become
more active in having contact with her/his friends and it leads to the trend. Technology which
always become a trend will be choosen by many of them to build more intensive friendship,
having more fun, fantasy, and independence. In contrast with native, immigrant is placed in
the phase where they concern more about practical thing and reality they should faced in their
life. With their backgrounds which are more conventional, more traditions and values, they
dont have much interaction with technology before 20th century. Thats why immigrant and
native are different.
Sometimes, differences between native and immigrant in using technology result less of
harmony. However, there are still many immigrant who are quite familiar with the using of
technology. In learning-teaching process, it may be very useful for teacher to adapt with
students learning style, but it is also important for students to know that not all of things
should be apply in technology. Sometimes, convensional practices that including direct
communication, direct observation/practice and entering social life is also needed because it
is also useful to know and to experience how to apply theory in real life.

References
Prensky, M. (2001a). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon , 9 (5).
Prensky, M. (2001b). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part II : Do They Really Think
Differently? From On the Horizon , 9 (5).