UOSM2008 Topic 1: “Digital Visitors” and “Digital Residents”
Explain the concept of digital “visitors” and “residents” drawing upon your reading and your own online experiences to date in support of the points that you make.
The concept of Digital “Residents” and Digital “Visitors” was developed as an advancement of Prensky’s digital “Natives” and “Immigrants”.
White & Cornu (2011) describes Digital “Residents” as those who see the web as a network, where everyone has a voice and can generate content that others may use. On the other hand Digital “Visitors” are described to only use the web when there is a specific value and benefit. See below for more characteristics of both Digital “Visitors” and Digital “Residents”.
Prenskys Digital Natives and Immigrants relied strongly on the theory that older people, for instance those from Generation X may not have the technical ability thus they are more likely to be Digital “Immigrants” as opposed to those from generation Y and Z. These generations have grown up around technology, hence are assumed to be proficient. However, the concept of Digital “Visitors” and “Residents” does not make assumptions based on age, but only the characteristics the individuals show by online interaction.
Selwyn (2009) challenges the theory that young people are digital “natives”, recommending that many of the younger generation need support with content creation and usage online. Selwyn also highlights the importance of context and circumstances in web use. For instance schools may see it as compulsory for students to access online content for work, however at home, students may not go online to seek information or build an online presence.
It is important for the content creator to understand whether their users are digital “residents” or “visitor”. This will affect the platform that is used to communicate to their user, as it will have to be tailored to suit their needs. An example taken from Tallblog is that digital “residents” will expect online resources and also want to partake in online conversations, much like how this module, living and working on the web is carried out.
Personally, I would consider both my personal and professional life to be towards a Digital “Resident” profile, using Whites ‘Just the Mapping” video also showed this was the case. Taking the characteristics from Tallblog (2008), I will often use the web to present myself, build my brand and interact with others. However from this course I aim to move along the continuum towards a Digital “Resident” in my professional life, this for me will mean interacting more on LinkedIn rather than using it just as a static page for my CV, as well as engaging with more people in my field of interest, which is marketing and advertising through Twitter and LinkedIn.
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Reference List
Selwyn, N. (2009) The digital native- myth and reality. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 61(4), [Online], Available at https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~tefko/Courses/Zadar/Readings/Selwyn%20dig%20natives,%20Aslib%20Proceedings%202009.pdf [Accessed: 1st February 2014]
White, D. (2008) Not ‘Natives’ & ‘Immigrants’ but ‘Visitors’ & ‘Residents’, TALL blog, University of Oxford, Available at: http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2008/07/23/not-natives-immigrants-but-visitors-residents/ [Accessed 1st February 2014]
White, D. (2013) Just the Mapping [Online] Available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSK1Iw1XtwQ [Accessed 2nd February 2014]
White, D. & Cornu, A,L. (2011) Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, 16 (9), [Online] Available at http://firstmonday.org/article/view/3171/3049 [Accessed: 2nd February 2014]
Filed under: Topic 1 Tagged: DigitalResident, DigitalVisitor, UOSM2008 
