The Digital Age: Bridging the Communication Gap Between Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants

Abstract

The global explosion of the rudiments of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and the appeal it enjoys among the young presents a huge challenge to folks of yester years. An erstwhile analog method of acquiring information and sharing same has continued to linger in the heads and hearts of those who belong to the older generation which unsurprisingly irritates the youth of today. This study “The Digital Age: Bridging the Communication Gap between Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants” employed the qualitative method to access the seeming clash between what Marc Prensky designates as “Digital Natives” and “Digital Immigrants” by adopting a proposed Digitus Nativo-Immigrantes ICT Theory as theoretical framework. The researcher discovered the challenge of being media-savvy, language and content barrier and generational difference as clogs in the wheel of progress in terms of finding a nexus between “digital natives” and “digital immigrants.” It proposed being in touch with modern technology, creation of balance regarding language and content as well as attempting to bridge the general gap between the two groups as possible ways out of the seeming quagmire. The paper concluded that with the right methods and disposition, it is possible to bridge the lacuna between “Digital Natives” and “Digital Immigrants” in the classroom and beyond.