No one disputes this. We all know that digital technology has grown rapidly and will continue to grow rapidly, but digital technology is not going anywhere. I believe that the idea of “digital natives” is a good description of what is happening within our tech culture. For example, young people have grown up with the huge presence of digital technology, so it makes sense that they have spent a lot of time interacting with it. Some adults understand digital technology better than others. What’s the reason? Well, I think it depends on how familiar, used, and comfortable someone is with using technology. Young people who grew up around technology have spent a tremendous amount of time around it. I would argue that older adults who are more digitally literate are the ones who have spent more time interacting with technology than other generations. I believe that once people start blaming their digital illiteracy on age rather than lack of experience with technology, these concepts will become invisible in society. In my personal experience, I have met older people who refuse to interact with digital technology. I worked as a manager at her Taco Bell restaurant where she worked for 4 years. When the store was renovated and a self-ordering kiosk was installed, management wanted all customers to be familiar with the idea of using the kiosk and picking up their own orders. own order. Some older adults don’t have this and may still have tantrums as adults due to their reluctance or unfamiliarity with using technology. With the start of ordering at kiosks, we, his Taco Bell employees, tried hard to help customers understand how to order, but even though we offered to help seniors, we ended up having to do it ourselves. We had to take our order at the kiosk. I think some older people use their age as an excuse to not participate in digital technology, but they don’t realize that digital technology is a very useful tool for them.
Personally, I don’t feel like I’m a digital native, even though I grew up surrounded by technology. I feel that I am digitally literate in some basic areas. Compared to some older people, my digital literacy may seem high, but compared to my colleagues, I feel quite lacking. I consider myself more of a daily visitor and an incredibly non-native than a resident. Digital literacy in academia goes beyond operating a computer and being able to navigate and take advantage of what the internet has to offer, it aims at perfecting skills, speed, and efficiency.
