If I was to do this mapping exercise half a decade ago, I would confidently say it would have looked very different. With the expedited change in technology and ease of access and use of apps, I have evolved. I know my work place has evolved, my friends and family have all evolved, hence the shift on the continuum has moved from visitor to resident with many of the online and social platforms for me.
image: Dorothy Sidhu
LRNT521 Unit 2 Activity 2
Being a consciously, competent digital immigrant user, in comparison to my 3 kids who are absolutely digital native users, it has been easier and less intimidating ‘to get on board’ … like Pinterest with their support, natural fluency, unconscious competency and adeptness!
What’s interesting is that in some of the areas I found myself initially in as a visitor because I was a. curious and b. monitoring my teenage kids and thinking it was only temporary and somewhat considered myself ‘too old’, led to a shift in the continuum as more parents began to ‘get online.’ And as this community of parents grew, I began to find opportunities belong in these common communities, dialogue and express opinions. I think most of the kids ‘bailed’ now, but the parents are still connected!
I also found at work the push on social media and digital literacy has been getting a lot of ‘air time’ and has in many was forced many of the Boomers and Gen X’s from being a visitor to more of a resident. For example we use Yammer exclusively to recognize people in our company, advertise community events, share a success story, share a thought or opinion, poll a group or seek out an answer, as well as post pictures of recent company events and celebrations.
There are still some apps I find myself as a visitor as I just don’t see the point, benefit or purpose it can serve for me. It really is there to ‘go see’ and pretty much to say I know a little about Snapchat, so I don’t sound like a silly.
I am curious to see what the next 3-5 years will look like from me, how I my online presence will shift on the continuum. I also am curious to see how cyber attacks and impacts on increased security breaches and personal information breaches will impact online engagement. Will we still find these communities we share so much of ourselves with shift?
References
White, D. (2013, September 13). Just the Mapping. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSK1Iw1XtwQ.
White, D. S., & LeCornu, A. (2011). Visitors and residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, 16(9).