The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence
Abstract
The idea that a new generation of students is entering the education system has excited recent attention among educators and education commentators. Termed ‘digital natives’ or the ‘Net generation’, these young people are said to have been immersed in technology all their lives, imbuing them with sophisticated technical skills and learning preferences for which traditional education is unprepared. Grand claims are being made about the nature of this generational change and about the urgent necessity for educational reform in response. A sense of impending crisis pervades this debate. However, the actual situation is far from clear. In this paper, the authors draw on the fields of education and sociology to analyse the digital natives debate. The paper presents and questions the main claims made about digital natives and analyses the nature of the debate itself. We argue that rather than being empirically and theoretically informed, the debate can be likened to an academic form of a ‘moral panic’. We propose that a more measured and disinterested approach is now required to investigate ‘digital natives’ and their implications for education.
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As 'digital natives' young people are experts in their technology-rich lives and can provide unique insight.
“As 'digital natives' young people are experts in their technology-rich lives and as such can provide unique insight (Bennett, Maton, & Kervin, 2008;Cross, Lester, Barnes, Cardoso, & Hadwen, 2015;Mishna & Van Wert, 2013;Peter & Petermann, 2018;Spears & Zeederberg, 2013).”
From Young people’s conceptualizations of the nature of cyberbullying: A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research (2020) · cites this paper as Bennett, Maton, & Kervin, 2008
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- Authors
- Bennett, S., Maton, K., & Kervin, L.
- Affiliations
- University of Wollongong (AU)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Venue
- British Journal of Educational Technology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-08-19
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 775-786
- ISSN
- 0007-1013 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8535
- OpenAlex
- W2147139740
- Semantic Scholar
- ec4f602285ae502c9d70b02f5102d0d6f8c2ed66
- Cited by
- 2,971
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 83 · 2025: 102 · 2024: 97 · 2023: 144 · 2022: 148 · 2021: 139 · 2020: 190 · 2019: 181 · 2018: 203 · 2017: 175 · 2016: 181 · 2015: 240 · 2014: 234 · 2013: 230 · 2012: 199
- FWCI
- 373.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- British Journal of Educational Technology (publishedVersion)
- Research Online (University of Wollongong) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Generational Differences and Trends
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Science Applications › Digital Media and Philosophy
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Digital Education and Society
- Keywords
- digital natives, generational change, educational reform, moral panic, technology and learning, learning styles, digital technology in education, sociology of education
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