By now (almost) everyone has seen the video of the Grandpa using the iPad as a cutting board. It made the rounds of social media about mid-last year. If you want to see it again (or for the first time), here it is:
It is a great example of the Digital Divide between the generations.
Well why this blog post now?
Just this morning, I got a forwarded email with an attachment from a bright and well meaning colleague with the subject, "Needs immediate attention" and the body of the e-mail talked about how we could use this video as an example of a digital divide.
Attached to it was a 2 MB file of this video!
I was struck by the irony of it - how the manner in which we disseminate a digital video on Digital divide reveals our own digital status.
(This colleague is actually what I would classify as a long-term well-accommodated digital immigrant - uses social networking, Dropbox, manages web sites etc and sent this more due to time constraints).
Here is a set of 2 cases - score yourself on where you stand
1. You want to share a large file with a group of people
Disclaimer: This is written purely in jest and has no scientific basis ;-)
It is a great example of the Digital Divide between the generations.
Well why this blog post now?
Just this morning, I got a forwarded email with an attachment from a bright and well meaning colleague with the subject, "Needs immediate attention" and the body of the e-mail talked about how we could use this video as an example of a digital divide.
Attached to it was a 2 MB file of this video!
I was struck by the irony of it - how the manner in which we disseminate a digital video on Digital divide reveals our own digital status.
(This colleague is actually what I would classify as a long-term well-accommodated digital immigrant - uses social networking, Dropbox, manages web sites etc and sent this more due to time constraints).
Here is a set of 2 cases - score yourself on where you stand
1. You want to share a large file with a group of people
- You email everyone and attach the file - 0
- You write a brief summary of the file in the body of the e-mail and folks can request the full file from you by replying to the e-mail + 1
- You use "yousendit" or "transferbigfiles" and include a brief summary of the file in the message + 2
- You put it on Google Drive/Dropbox and share it with them. + 3
2. You get a funny video as an attachment in a chain e-mail
- You forward the email as it is (showing the e-mail addresses of every previous recipient) -0
- You forward it after stripping off the emails of previous recipients +1
- You search and find the video online and send a hyperlink to the video by email with a an apology to those who may have already seen it a hundred times +2
- You embed the video in your blog or social network and share +3
- BONUS point if you post on Google+ and share with appropriate circle!
| SCORES | INTERPRETATION |
| 5-6 | Digital Native |
| 3-4 | Digital Immigrant |
| 0-2 | Digital tourist |
Disclaimer: This is written purely in jest and has no scientific basis ;-)
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