digital natives

Do you remember what toys your parents give you as a distraction when feeding you or when you are fussy? Or what toys do you give your kids as a distraction when they are throwing a tantrum? The above pictures shows my grandnephew, Wesley Pang with an iPhone while he was being fed. The picture below shows Wesley with an iPad; which contains a lot of learning applications for babes/toddlers/kids.

These are two pictures showing a digital native. I first heard this term being used by a speaker in the ASEAN Youth Convention; Mr Eddie Lim and he calls himself and all others above 30 years of age digital immigrants.

According to Wikipedia, a digital native is a person who was born during or after the general introduction of digital technology, and through interacting with digital technology from an early age, has a greater understanding of its concepts.

Wesley celebrated his first birthday recently and I gave him books as his birthday presents. As I observe his toys and his exposure to technology....I begin to wonder if books and the old fashioned sort of toys/games will be of any interest to children of this era?

My observation as a teacher: this digital native generation has a shorter attention span. Everything has to be quick and instant or else it is BORING. Therefore many in this generation find schools which are still using chalk and talk method boring. The scene in the classroom does not change for an hour or so compared to the computer

Their reading materials are mainly their textbooks or stuff from the internet which are related to what they are studying. I spoke to a 24 year old Singaporean grad last week and asked him when was the last time he read a story book...he said he couldn't remember. I asked him again if he were to choose between a Harry Porter movie and a book; which will he choose. Without hesitating, he said, 'Of course the movie.'

Look at the books in the bookstores....they are colourful, with big fonts, lots of illustrations and not too thick. If the book is thick, it's because of the big font. Classics by the Bronte sisters, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens are too heavy duty for them and takes too long a time to chew...therefore they are almost unknown.

This generation sits in the church pews holding their phones or whatever digital gadget they have. When sermons get long-winded, it may not be surprising that they switch off their minds and move on to their digital gadgets.

I notice also that this generation has a great store of general knowledge which they are able to access at the tip of their fingers. During the AYC, many teenagers attended the lectures holding iPads. It was interesting to see them googling for information related to topics from the lectures, reading and asking intelligent questions pertaining to the topics discussed. Here we see the digital technology used for academic/intellectual pursuits.

Much goes on in the cyberspace; both good and bad. It needs a lot of guidance and monitoring amongst the parents/teachers/adults to ensure this native generation use this accessiblity with wisdom and maturity.