Commonly, digital natives refer to the young generation who were born in the digital age, whilst

the digital immigrants refer to those who learnt to use computers at some stage of their adult life
(Doran, Boyce, Hicks, Payton, & Barnes, 2012)

Digital Natives

 Like constant connectivity

 Prefer to bring their own ubiquitous technologies
 Prefer immediacy and have short attention spans
 Use texting and instant message short-hand such as: “c u”, “how r u”, “becoz”
 Going to the internet first for information
 Prefer to socialise online and weak in face-to-face communication

Digital Immigrants

 Prefer to talk on the phone or in person

 Value ‘proper’ English when texting
 Prefer formal communication channels, such as phone, detailed emails, or face-to-
face communication
 Do not understand the slang words or phrases on the internet, such as “idk”, “brb”,
“t2yl”
 Printing things out as opposed to working on screen