The notion of ‘digital natives’ (young people who have grown up in the digital world and hence are expert users of technology) is often contrasted in the popular press with ‘digital immigrants’ (older people who struggle to master these new norms and behaviours). Digging a little deeper, however, tends to show that there is both expertise (and lack of it) at all age groups. And just because people might be proficient users of technology for social purposes, it does not necessarily follow that they are effective at using it for learning or to build their professional online profiles. This is where the digital ‘residents’ and ‘visitors’ framework adds more value over and above the simplistic digital native ideas.Question: 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.
In today's globalized world, technology plays a very big part of our lives. The 'digital natives' grew up with technology, while the 'digital immigrants' saw the importance of technology and adapted to the digital world.
The "Visitor" is someone who uses the web to complete a specific task. He could be doing an online research for a project, or booking a flight. The information may not be perfect for his task, but as long as the information is up to satisfying level, the visitor will be happy to carry on. After the task is done, the visitor may not go back to the website as often because he does not feel the need to share his experiences to the others. The visitor is often anonymous as he tries to avoid setting up a digital profile (creating an account).
Stylenanda, an online apparel site, allows purchases without an account. As a visitor myself, I think it makes purchasing online more convenient as I often give up on my items when the site prompts me to create an account to continue. Most websites like Asos and Zalora requires an account.
(screen shot of stylenanda page)
The "Resident" spends a lot of time online on social networking sites, such as, blogs and Facebook, and has a very strong online identity. He goes online to connect and interact with people - close groups, or public. The resident also uses various digital retail sites and services, and expresses their experience on the respectively sites at the feedback section. Whether it is positive or negative experience, they want their voices to be heard.
In Singapore, there are many famous bloggers and they are good examples of digital residents. Xiaxue and Naomi Neo are very active on their blogs, youtube, and social media sites, like twitter and instagram. They both attract different types of followers - Xiaxue attracts slightly more matured followers as she shares about her family life, while Naomi is more active on youtube where vlogs are currently in the trend. (Disclaimer: Those are my general impressions of them only.)
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Referencing
Jisc (2014) Visitors and Residents. [Online]
Available: http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/evaluating-services/visitors-residents/
David White (2008) Not 'Natives' and Immigrants' but 'Visitors' and 'Residents'. [Online]
Available: http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2008/07/23/not-natives-immigrants-but-visitors-residents/
David White and Alison Cornu (2011) Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. [Online]
Available: http://firstmonday.org/article/view/3171/3049%20https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~tefko/Courses/Zadar/Readings/Selwyn%20dig%20natives,%20Aslib%20Proceedings%202009.pdf
Ian Clerk (2015) Visitors and Residents: Understanding Digital Behaviours. [Online]
Available: http://www.infotoday.eu/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/Visitors-and-residents-understanding-digital-behaviours-105217.aspx
