The digital age in which we live in is constantly expanding. As we move towards a digitally inclined era, it seemed that all of us had turned into people that generally rely technology for almost all information.The use of electronic gadgets such as computer, mobile phones, tablets is is increasing day by day. Did you realize the first thing you enter a hotel room during a vacation is to search for the Wi-Fi? Did you realize you no longer use the traditional dictionary (in a form of a book) to search for meanings for a certain word anymore? Did you realize that people in the past can survive their whole lifetime without any electronic gadgets yet we can’t even leave them for more than a hour? Well, this is the digital age world that we are living in now.
The rapid adoption of digital technologies over the past decades has led academics to search for ways to map how individuals engage with the internet. The prominent theory today is White and Le Cornu (2011), proposed another model of digital “residents” and digital “visitors” which developed as a response to a previous model.
So, the topic that we will be discussing for today: Are you a digital visitor or digital resident?
What exactly is digital visitor and digital resident?
Personally, I feel that a digital visitor only use the web when there is a specific value or goal.The web is seen as a tool for them to utilize when a need arises. For example, when they want to research a topic (Just like myself, I am a digital visitor while I am writing this post as I want to attain necessary information regarding this topic) or book a flight ticket, one will set aside some time to go online. Also, visitor does not express or build portfolio online. On the other hand, a digital resident lives a percentage of their daily lives online, and sees the web as a network and contribute to online content along with a online profile. They are digitally juggling daily activities and using the internet as a channel to express their opinions and to facilitate their identity and relationships (ie: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc). This framework better describes how people engage with the web and it suggests that both residents and visitors can use the web effectively. The residents may appear to be more proficient because they have a largely noticeable appearance on the internet but the visitor approach suggests visitors are goal orientated, instrumental and effective at using online platforms to their requirements.
The “Visitors” and “Residents” term is not comprehensive in that there are no midpoint terms to describe users between the extremes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it as I believe that the way in which individual engages with technology will always be different and unique. I doubt there will ever be a perfect model to map how we engage with technology due to the ever-changing nature of the digital world. With that, I believe I am a in-between of digital visitor and resident depending on the situation.
That’s my take on this topic, what do you think? Feel free to share it with me, I would be more than happy to hear from you 🙂
Till then x
References:
White, David S., and Lynn Silipigni Connaway. 2011. Digital visitors and residents: Project feedback. Webinar, December 9, 2011 Availabe at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/projects/visitorsandresidents.aspx
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Available:http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf. [Accessed 9th February 2014].
White, D & Le Cornu, A. (2012). Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. Available: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171/3049.
Angie Ng 
Hi angie a.k.a (ying ju),
First of all, nice little piece of work with the first paragraph highlighting the importance of technology plays in our life. I share your sentiments that people nowadays can’t do without electronic gadgets! We use it basically at everywhere at any time we want because it helps us to accomplish lots of tasks. In a research conducted in singapore, it was found that more than 88% of Singaporeans uses smartphones, with 45% and 55% of the time spent on usage of WIFI and 3G respectively.
I do agree with your view that there are no mid terms between visitor and resident. I do wonder myself at times which one i belongs to as i may have a facebook or twitter account but i am not very active. I only allow friends to view my posts, so do i still consider myself a resident?
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Hi Yi Ming,
Thank you for your valuable feedback, I really appreciate it. From your feedback, I’ve taken away insightful information on how much time people spent using WIFI and 3G based on our home country. See, I couldn’t agree more on how this world is turning into a technology inclined digital age. Just yesterday when I was out to IKEA for lunch, I saw infant of less than a year watching videos on her Ipad. This shows how much technology has taken over the world not just for us but for young children as well.
Anyway, interesting question you got there. No doubt that having facebook or twitter account makes you a ‘digital resident’, I supposed there is no right or wrong on how strong you stand in this area. But of course, a digital resident is constantly engaging his/her audience with their opinions and thoughts. Since you mention that you are inactive on the social media platforms that you’ve mentioned, why not try to be more proactive in this aspect to make your online identity more known to the people around you? 🙂
Looking forward to hear from you for the next topic! Enjoy your day, cheers x
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Hi Angie!
First of all, I want to say that you have done an absolutely great job introducing the topic by putting it in a context that any typical person born in the digital age can easily understand.
“The residents may appear to be more proficient because they have a largely noticeable appearance on the internet..” – I agree with this statement fully. The level of proficiency of one’s web surfing skills and whether an individual is a “resident” or “visitor” shares little or no relationship at all.
Lastly, I also agree with your point that the terms “visitors” and “residents” are not comprehensive in the sense that there are no midpoint terms. If you read my post here, I also shared the idea that the two terms are not mutually exclusive and that the role of a “resident” and “visitor” is not fixed and that one can transition back and forth between them.
Overall, great job! Looking forward to reading your other posts!
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Hi Evan,
It was such a great pleasure to hear from you! I am more than happy to get your valuable feedback. Yes, because the digital age is taking over the world now, people like us are so etched to our electronic gadgets to the extent that we sometimes neglect the people around us especially when we go out for meals with our loved ones. Therefore, I think we should constantly remind ourselves to not go overboard and strike a clear balance on the amount of time we should use our mobile phones.
I’ve read your post and have to agree on the idea that the two terms, ‘resident’ and ‘visitor’ are not mutually exclusive and that we can transit back and forth between them time to time. For example, I used to be a visitor of Google hangout, but because of this module that we are taking, I’ve gradually became a resident instead. High five for sharing the same sentiments!
I look forward to hear from you soon for our next few topics, here’s me wishing you a great day ahead. Cheers x
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