Digital immigrants

A digital immigrant is an individual who was born before the widespread adoption of digital technology. The term digital immigrant may also apply to individuals who were born after the spread of digital technology and who were not exposed to it at an early age. Digital immigrants are the opposite of digital natives, who have been interacting with technology from childhood.

Digital Immigrants

• Prefer to talk on the phone or in person
• Value ‘proper’ English when texting
• Prefer formal communication channels, such as phone, detailed emails, or face-to-face communication.
• Do not understand the slang words or phrases on the internet, such as “idk”, “brb”, “t2yl”.
• Printing things out as opposed to working on screen.

In fact, digital immigrants are not born with computer skills. From the term “native”, it is clear that digital natives are more tech-savvy than digital immigrants. Children nowadays learn and adapt to the technology differently compared to adults.