Digital Pioneers?

 

   Social Media: who uses it, who is oblivious to it, and who masters it?

   The generation you are part of may influence the degree to which you use social    media. Let's say you're a grandmother of three and you retired from the              corporate world 15 years ago. Your grandkids are ages 2, 4, and 8. You live          three hours away from them and your daughter keeps you updated through       Facebook which you've mastered.

   Your daughter uses Instagram and Snapchat with her friends to stay updated       with each other's kids. My question is: is the grandmother a social networker, a    digital native, a digital pioneer, or something else? What about the daughter?

    The point is that a person's generational status doesn't define a person's social      networking status. In any generation you can find people who are skilled in        social media and active uses. In any generation you can find people who            wouldn't say anything positive about social media. They might say that they        don't understand the point, or they don't trust sharing personal information         with "the world". 

    As Instructional Designers it's important that we respect our learner's                preferences for social media. We also need to avoid generalizing people based     on their generation. Doing so is divisive and can cut us off from reaching all        learners. Be careful not to judge your learners' abilities with technology or            social media. Whether they participate or not with social media isn't the point.      We designers need to understand our learner's needs and motivations and find     tools that meet these needs.