Afsane Rezaei (Utah State University)
The terms digital native, digital immigrant, and digital accent have been used to signify different levels of comfort with digital technologies presented by different generations. These terms, initially used in the field of education, present a limited understanding of the idea of “culture” and who has access to and competency in it. In addition, they conflate generational differences with problematic land-based notions of belonging in the “dominant culture.” This paper lays out the problems at the center of these terminologies and offers alternatives that may be utilized by scholars of digital culture within and beyond folklore scholarship.
Part of 08-07 Folklore in Digital Spaces, Saturday, November 04, 10:30 am–12:30 pm