Watching this video was almost like making a comparison between the way my twenty two year old daughter sees, thinks, and uses the web and the way I do. I always thought that my daughter and I took advantage of this resource just as equally, but there was that something that made it feel different. I know we do not share the same opinions about the way she and I use the web, but I could not clearly define nor describe what made it different. The way Dr. White explains it in his video, the difference lies between being a web visitor and a resident. That makes it very clear to me as of where I stand. According to this theory, my daughter is a web resident user and I am a visitor. It doesn’t seem that important for me to belong to any social network nor to share things on the web. As it states on the video, I am one of those goal oriented users that goes in and out of the web leaving very little or no trace behind. My daughter, on the other hand, seems to feel more at ease sharing, and moving around this virtual world. That is what she defines as “an extension, not an invasion of her privacy”. I have come to a realization that I have not allowed myself to become a resident. It is not so much for lack of engagement or motivation as it is for privacy reasons. I often feel like the world does not need to know everything about me. In spite of having issues about privacy, I am expanding my vision. I am exploring the digital world and leaning more towards becoming a web resident to be able to provide more digitally relevant and useful experiences to my students.
Resource:
Visitors and Residents. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2014.
Resource:
Visitors and Residents. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2014.