Generational divide: At the origin of the "digital native" concept

As of the early 2000s, social science researchers studied the basis for the digital divide with
the goal of promoting universal access to the information society. In a nutshell, they were
studying two divides, the first-level divide which referred to equipment access, and the
secondlevel divide, which referred to the way the equipment was used or not used.
So, who are digital natives and what does the phrase mean, while making it seem as if one
age group, 18- to 25-yearolds, for instance, have homogeneous digital practices and
lifestyles?

The phrase "digital native" was coined by a consultant on education, Mark Prensky, in 2001 .
He wrote that the mutations affecting students who were born with computer networks
and cell phones are massive and irreversible. Quote, "Digital natives are used to receiving
information very fast. For Mark Prensky, the evolutions observed are anthropological or
even biological. He mentions changes in the brain, he highlights the natural abilities of
digital natives by relying on cognitivist arguments about brain plasticity and malleability.
What are the two levels of the digital divide ?
• Level 1: the amount of equipment
Level 2: Digital uses

Digital natives do not exist! Generations and social uses of the Web
These studies helped qualify the phrase "digital native" by formulating different criticisms.
The first criticism came from researchers condemning the "digital native fallacy” (These
digital skills are informally acquired through their daily practices. In addition, they do not
ensure "a safe and effective use" of digital technologies. Institutions and the authorities
have to teach and pass on specific kills to younger generations regarding digital
technologies.This is called digital literacy
The second criticism with regards to the idea of "digital natives" comes from sociologists
who work on young people's digital practices. On both sides of the Atlantic, studies show
that social stratification is a crucial element in understanding the diversity of digital
practices and usages among the digital native generation. In the United States, the
differences between social classes and ethnicities weigh heavily on digital practices within
one generation. This was shown by sociologist Eszter Hargittai's work.
In France, two sociologists, Pierre Mercklé and Sylvie Octobre, worked on a cohort of 4 000
children who started first grade in 1997 and who grew up during the 2000s. They spoke to
them every other year about their hobbies, cultural practices and what they liked online.
They observed that teenagers from the 2000s are not that different when it comes to
owning a computer and how often they use it. However, they are massively and
significantly different in terms of Internet usages.

Lastly, third criticism, if we look on the global scale, we see that young people are also
influenced by their cultural specificities and countries when choosing their social network
and developing usages. For instance, in Asian countries, such as Japan, China, Korea, the
main social media platforms are online games, which may be completed by social media
elements. In India, on the contrary, young people are interested in the matchmaking aspect
of social media which they spread especially amongst the India diaspora.
As a result, the landscape is characterized by complex combinations of usages based on
their audience, their social specificities, the context of their use, activities and time. As a
conclusion, what you need to remember are Pierre Bourdieu's words, "Youth is just a
word." What does that mean? It means that in their online as well as offline lives, practices
vary according to gender, life experience, background. Usages widely differ within the
younger generation.
The myth of "digital natives" may prevent our understanding of digital practices. If we keep
using that term today, it is rather because digital natives culturally and symbolically embody
the digital era. They represent a myth, in the meaning given by linguist Roland Barthes, that
is to say a reflection, a tool of the dominant ideology of the time which marks the beginning
of the digital era.
From which recent survey is the data in the article taken?Pew Research Center

What is the average percentage of people equipped with mobile devices and/or smartphones in so-called advanced
economies?76%

Chapter 2: Inter or intra-generational divides: social classes and digital

Online cultural practices

First, I want to go over the actual cultural practices, online, book, music, movie
consumption. The second part are online informal daily practices, social media, dating
Websites.
Chris Anderson in the early 2000s : This theory assumes that niche markets will grow while
their global level of concentration within the cultural industry will be reduced. Chris
Anderson, the editor-in-chief of "WIRED Magazine", defended in 2004 the idea that a new
type of economy of cultural goods had appeared thanks to digital technologies. He uses the
phrase "long tail" to summarize his theory in an article published first on his Website, which
was then translated into French in a book in 2007. It is no longer necessary either to choose
between new works and best sellers on one side and lesser-known works for a more limited
audience on the other side. The Internet simultaneously gives access to all categories and
actually, to an unlimited catalog of works. The trickle-down theory which says that
the richer the cultural offer, the more it can be shared by everyone

However, Olivier Donnat, a sociologist for the French Ministry of Culture, showed that this
was not true. In other words, the digitization helped widen and diversify the tastes of
people who were already culturally inclined while restricting the tastes of other people who
might only watch blockbusters, read best sellers and watch poor-quality shows. The
impression of variety and diversity of digital media is more beneficial to the wealthy and
cultured for Olivier Donnat who published a study on the topic in 2019.
Different socio-demographic variables influence our behaviour and the way in which we use
digital technologies. Some of these variables are particularly decisive: they are referred to as
“anchor variables”.

Different socio-demographic variables influence our behaviour and the way in which we use digital
technologies. Some of these variables are particularly decisive: they are referred to as “anchor
variables”.What are they?
The level of qualification
Social class

In terms of cultural practices, eclecticism has become the new sign of social
distinction. What does this term mean?
Eclecticism means the consumption of content benefiting from great legitimacy in “dominant” cultural
hierarchies and others which at first sight lack it.
Eclecticism means the hybridisation of cultural tastes and practices in an individual.

Social classes and everyday web uses: health.

Sociologists, according to Émile Durkheim, should also deconstruct preconceptions and go beyond
common sense to describe and understand ordinary practices. I am going to present major study results
regarding common Web usages involving healthcare. Today, in France, over 800 Websites have been
awarded the Health On the Net label by the French Health Authority. In 2007, one fifth of patients were
looking for medical information online whereas today, over 40% of French people have looked for medical
information online.
Doctissimo, for instance, is one of the 10 most visited Websites in France with 39 million visits every month
in 2015. You might believe that everybody looks online for medical information indiscriminately. However,
econometric studies show that healthcare Web usages noticeably depend on different variables. A 2015
study on 1 300 French users showed that the frequency and reasons for looking for medical information
online vary significantly.

“Researchers studying digital tend to focus more on extraordinary practices than on the

most common and banal activities. (Brekhus, 1998).

In the study of digital practices, the focus is often on the most spectacular phenomena
and/or atypical uses (hackers, video game and TV series fans, the consumption of
online pornography, etc.).
What are the consequences? Several replies possible.
 Excessive visibility of certain populations and practices compared to others
.
.
 Little knowledge of the main everyday web practices
An econometric study conducted in 2015 on 1,344 web users showed that Internet uses for health very
greatly from one population to the next. The frequency and above all the reasons for online searches for
health reasons vary greatly.This study shows that online searches on health information is more frequent
for:
People in poor health.
Women

People who spend a great deal of time on the Internet

Everyday web uses: family relations in the digital age

Dominique Pasquier describes, analyses and dissects the use of the Internet within working classes, in France,
nowadays. She shows that the amount of people connected to the Internet at home has massively increased among
employees and workers. It rose from 42 % to 93 % between 2006 and 2017 among employees. The Internet is now
part of the everyday life of French working classes, and being connected has become ordinary.

Marie Bergström, researcher at the French Institute for Demographic Studies, analyzed the data of Meetic, a dating
website. She extracted the data of 10 million anonymous profiles, without pseudonyms or pictures. These people
had exchanged more than 200 million messages and had 2 billion digital interactions. These digital footprints allow
us to know that A contacted B, if B replied or not, what day, at what time, etc.

In the 1980s, how many people out of 50 in France used small ads or a marriage
bureau?
1 person

Today, how many people (from 18 to 65 years) have already used a dating app or
site?
1 in 4

The analysis of data and digital footprints on dating sites offers a new insight into sexual practices and
romantic behaviour.What is the advantage of this type of study in relation to tools traditionally used in
social sciences (representative survey of the population, interview)? (Several replies possible)

Bias of limited memory

Access to the dating history
Clear choices
Access to failed requests (“fails”)
Chapter 3: Women and Digital: Incompetence or Invisibility?
The gender gap in the digital world

The issue of the digital gender gap recently appeared in academic papers and
political debates. In France, this issue has become the spearhead of the new
Secretary of State for the Digital Economy, Cedric O, since 2018, but also more
widely for international bodies such as UNESCO, OECD.
I propose we look at the uses of new technology by gender from two angles.
First, gender as a factor in designing communication technology. Second, how
each gender adopts these technologies, i.e.
What does the “gender gap” concept mean from a human and social science
point of view?
Women are said to be under-represented in digital creation and start-ups.
Women are said to be reticent about new technologies according to certain
gender stereotypes
When the Internet spread around North America in the 1990s, it generated much
enthusiasm among social science researchers about the changes it might bring. What were
these?
 Anonymity of the identities and genders of individuals
 Expression of a plurality of norms, practices
 Anonymous, democratic and expressive nature
Web 2.0 searches tend to show a certain reproduction online of sexual stereotypes already
described offline.“
True
Today, women are largely under-represented in IT positions despite the job opportunities
offered by the digital industry and artificial intelligence. In France, in 2014, 4 out of 5
computer engineers and technicians were men. So the profession is widely considered as
male, a trend which has grown stronger for the past 30 years. Until the early 1980s, women
used to hold 30% of technical IT jobs. There are half as many women today, and they
mostly work in support functions. Women are more often found working as office workers
or secretaries than as engineers or technicians, according to a recent report by the French
observatory on digital jobs, the OPIIEC. Only 10% of French start-ups are created by women
while most chief technology officers are men
How can we explain this unfavorable situation for women? Several factors are at play. The
first criterion are gender stereotypes regarding the place of women in society, which
restricts women mostly to parenting and household tasks.
A second factor is the way boys and girls are pushed to choose different sectors and
degrees from a very young age. Boys are pushed towards mathematics, computer science,
or hard sciences. Girls are guided towards literature, psychology, marketing, or
communication.
The third factor is the reluctance of investors and business angels who are mostly male.
They lend less often and less money to women who want to launch start-ups.
The fourth and last factor is that gender stereotypes persist within the artificial intelligence
sector. Many voice assistance services developed using artificial intelligence have female
voices and names. They express docility, servility submissiveness and obedience.
For the founder of Leetchi.com, Céline Lazorthes, the role of women in the digital industry
is essential to design more diverse services. She says we need more women in the industry
because they have different outlooks on services and needs

This paradox was called by the UNESCO in its 2019 report "the ICT gender-equality
paradox."
Only … of start-ups are created by women in France.
 10%

“In the report of the European Commission "Women in the Digital Age", […] men
than women work in the digital sector in Europe. “
 Thrice as many
How can the less favourable situation of women in digital professions be
explained?

 Gender stereotypes
 Different educational orientation
 The faint-heartedness of investors

Which of the following facts contribute to spreading gender stereotypes in the AI

sector (Several replies possible):
 Video game characters are extremely stereotyped in terms of gender.
 Computer programmers are mainly men
Voice service assistants, often equipped with feminine voices and names, embody
docility
 Women are under-represented among start-up creators
The gender gap does not only concern the digital economy and labour market. When
looking at the functioning of social media in particular, it is possible to see differences in
practices and uses between genders.
What are the causes of these divides?
 Different social construction as an individual
 Different socialisation of men and women

Studies show major differences in technology socialisation from a young age.

What are the effects of this?
Technical subjects are considered to be part of the male world.
A loss of confidence among women as to their abilities

“Online and offline, gender relations continue to be marked by the double

principle of opposition and complementarity between the sexes.“
True

Chapter 4: Right to forget and right to disconnection: the new faces of exclusion

Freedom of use versus predictability: the new forms of digital exclusion

For the digital economist Raphaël Suire, freedom of use has always been a founding
principle of the Internet. Internet was designed as an open, neutral network that connected
machines and servers. But the major digital companies do not like leaving things to chance.
To follow us even closer in every aspect of our daily lives and to digitalize the missing parts,
the digital giants, the Big Five, offer aggregation platforms, i.e

Where are the challenges of Internet consumption today?

Offer individuals the means to be able to rationalise their practice

 Offer individuals the opportunity to freely choose to connect or not

 Offer individuals control over their digital life and footprints

The right to disconnect

In a 2016 study conducted on 2,300 students representative of the French population, 75%
of respondents consulted their smartphone on waking. Among them, 46% checked their
texts, and 22% consulted social media feeds. Half of students stated that it was a reflex.
How can we explain this mass addictive behavior?
In fact, researchers in sociology and cognitive psychology show that two elements feed our
digital dependency, and make our online behavior addictive.
Firstly, the more we use a digital service, the better its platform knows us, our likes, dislikes,
friends, etc
The second factor which feeds our addiction is the fact that the online reward is
increasingly uncertain.
The third factor feeding addiction was revealed by researchers in cognitive science and
experimental psychology.
Digital disconnection is a long, multidimensional learning process which is a response to a
critical examination of its hold on different aspects of our daily lives, work, friends, love,
sexuality, family and leisure. It is a movement of resistance to the hyperdigitalization of our
lives. Education in the responsible use of the Internet has emerged as a new social
requirement, especially among the more educated, which is posing major challenges for
government authorities.
In France, what percentage of students check their smartphone as soon as they
wake up? 75%
When did the right to disconnect become part of the French labour code? 2017
Low tech” movements are developing. Which populations are affected in
priority?
 The elite
 Higher-education graduates
 Activists and ecologists

Political voices in the United States are currently demanding a ban on addictive
functions on social media. For example, these players are requesting a ban of
certain functions, which ones?
 Infinite scroll
Rewards such as Snapstreak
Autoplay