Digital visitors and digital residents: Overcoming the concept of digital natives

摘要

The impact of digital technologies in education is a subject of extreme controversy among researchers. This article is within the scope of the characterization of the profile of this new students, intensive user of digital technologies in their various platforms (PCs, notebooks, tablets, smartphones, digital games). Theories have been proposed in order to conceptualize the profile of this "new student" as well as the set of skills and cognitive, motivational and emotional competencies arising therefrom. Among these, we highlight the concepts of "digital natives" and "digital generation", terms that refer to the generation of intensively socialized individuals from early childhood in the use of digital technologies. In recent years these types come under fire since the impact of digital technologies is mostly due to the type, usage context and motivation of different users, rather than to age and gender. The objective of this paper is to discuss the main criticisms of these typologies, from the notion of "visitors" and "resident" digital. Besides the theoretical discussion exploratory research with 127 adolescents from Rio de Janeiro, aged between 11 and 19 years, of both sexes, aimed at mapping the types, motivations and contexts of use of digital technologies in their daily lives was performed. A questionnaire as a method of data collection was used. The results obtained corroborated overcoming the initial concept of digital natives, indicating the variety and multiplicity of levels of engagement and use of digital technologies are crucial variables for this use factors such as availability, interest and mastery of these technologies and their respective platforms. This context requires the construction of new teaching technologies, compatible with the profile described.