Digital technology has been part of everyday life for many years now, so logically there's a whole generation of individuals for whom concepts such as the Internet and wireless¹ technology are just humdrum², because they've never lived in a world where they didn't exist. These are the so-called digital natives, generally anyone born from 1980 onwards. Digital immigrants are their antithesis³, being the folks born earlier who, either reluctantly or enthusiastically, have adapted to the digital world and incorporated its tools into their lives.

 

数字技术成为我们日常生活的一部分已经好多年了，所以从逻辑上来讲，我们周围有一代人从出生就已经习惯有互联网和无线技术的陪伴，对他们来说，这些数字技术丝毫不稀奇。这一代就是我们所说的“数字原住民”，出生在上世纪80年代之后的都属于这一代。与之相对的自然就是“数字移民”了，他们出生年代早于“数字原住民”，已经情愿或者不情愿地适应了这个数字世界，并且将各类数字工具运用到生活当中。

 

Predictably, the distinction between digital natives and digital immigrants is controversial, not least because the digital universe currently inhabited by digital natives was in fact conceived and created by digital immigrants. It also makes assertions that may not be consistently valid⁴, i.e. the idea that younger adults and children are always comfortable with technology, and that correspondingly older people are more likely to find technology awkward.

 

其实我们可以预想到，“数字原住民”和“数字移民”的界限是颇有争议的，主要是因为“数字原住民”目前所在的这个数字世界其实是由“数字移民”勾划并创建的。同时，那些认为年轻人和孩子通常都喜欢技术并且运用自如、而年长的人总觉得技术很难搞的观点说的也并不一定是事实。

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