So what exactly did I gain from this topic?
Well, looking through several blogs and comments, it definitely got me thinking A LOT. It was definitely fun and intriguing to read through others’ posts and it almost felt like a mini debate as everyone had their own viewpoint as to who is considered a visitor or a resident.
Reading through Ruhuan’s post, I find the concept of “Both digital visitor and resident are not exactly mutually exclusive. One can be both a digital visitor as well as digital resident.” (Ruhuan, 2014) very interesting and it definitely got me thinking about whether or not I was both a visitor and resident at the same time. I also realized that there is a very thin line that distinguishes a visitor from a resident and sometimes this line gets blurred. I like how she pointed out the idea of “temporary resident or a permanent resident” in the comments.
I agree that one can be both a visitor and resident at the same time, depending on their purpose of using the web. Also, previously I would consider myself a visitor but after reading her post, I would actually shift myself from being a visitor to a temporary resident as I do use social media from time to time, maybe not as much as some others do but still enough to consider myself a temporary resident.
Meanwhile, I agree with Zoe’s post where she mentioned that “digital literacy level should not be matched up to age but instead, to how well one puts technology to use and create a significant presence for themselves in the digital world” (Zoe, 2014). I like the idea that digital literacy is not subjected to age as anyone and everyone across all age groups can use the Internet as long as they are willing to learn how to utilize the web.
Also, in her comment, she mentioned that one can move from being a visitor to a resident and I agree with what she said. This got me thinking that there is no permanence in being a visitor or a resident as one could previously be a resident but stop using the web entirely under certain circumstances and become a visitor instead.
Overall, it is refreshing to see different viewpoints as to what others feel about being a digital visitor or resident. These viewpoints helped to broaden my thinking and reminded me that the digital world is constantly evolving and one day, we will all become digital residents without even realizing. For all we know, we are already almost there especially with the older generations catching up with us today!
Feel free to check out my comments on other blogs below:
http://ruhuanng.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/digital-visitors-and-residents/
http://zoeyeeze.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/who-are-we-in-the-digital-world/
and also my replies on others’ comments of my post:
https://corinnesim.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/are-you-a-visitor-or-a-resident/
corinnesim.wordpress.com 