Yes, you read that right: I don't believe in the concept of "digital native." In fact, I could almost say I distrust it. Being born surrounded by digital devices, growing up imbued with new technologies, doesn't mean you know how to use them... well.
Because it's not enough to simply press a button (or even ten). Because phone number library it's not enough to know what you can do with an electronic device or how to use it. Because what's important, what's essential, isn't the what or the how, but the WHY and the WHAT FOR. And you're not born knowing that. You have to learn it. And if we neglect this aspect, if we take it for granted, we run the risk of making mistakes. All of us.
And I say this as a mother of two elementary school girls, and I see and observe how their friends use social media apps. I affirm this as a teacher who collaborates on master's and postgraduate courses on marketing and digital transformation, and I encounter recent graduates who don't know how to manage their personal brand or use basic digital tools. I reiterate this as a professional who has dealt with mistakes made by those who, due to their age, were supposed to know what they were working with.
Because I had to learn, I'm still learning, and I know I'm only moderately aware of what I still need to know. But that's also why I know that just being given a pencil isn't enough to start writing.
And then?
So, what I do believe in, what I'm convinced exists, is the "digital divide," but not in its traditional sense , but rather conceived as the difference between those who understand, know, and integrate new technologies into their lives with rational use... and those who don't understand them, or don't know them, or don't know how to use them rationally, or don't deal with them naturally. And in this, age doesn't matter.
Just a few days ago, a mother's anger over her daughter's Periscope and cell phones was a trending topic on Twitter . A mother who, to say the least, wasn't a regular user of the app. Shortly after, during an Instameet in Madrid, a photographer told me about the irrational use of Instagram by teenagers and the initial rejection that minors generate in the Instagram world.