Participation Gap

Another way of looking at the digital divide (or divides) is through what Palfrey and Gasser call the Participation Gap. As they suggest in Born Digital "the harder issue arises when you realize that access to technology is not enough. Young people need to learn digital literacy- the skills to navigate this complex and hybrid world" (p.15). On a wiki of the Digital Natives Project they pose these questions:

Questions for Discussion

1. How do we explore the nuances of the participation gap, taking into account the impact of social inequality and parental fluency?
2. Who is our digital native? Do we accept the premise that digital natives process information in a different way than immigrants? How do we empirically explore the digital generation gap?
3. Does the technology develop first, or the social norms about how the tools are used? Are the technological limitations of these tools transforming the way natives socialize and understand themselves?
4. How do youth in different countries use online socialization tools differently, and what is the significance of these differences? How do on-line social activities affect off-line identity development?