Week 2 Discussion

Alper mentions the unproductive generalization of today’s children as “iKids” or “digital natives”.  She claims these assumptions ignore a few core problems in the way today’s children must navigate new media literacy. First, the “transparency problem” or “the challenges young people face in learning to see clearly the ways that media shape perceptions of the world.” Second, the “ethics challenge” or “the breakdown of traditional forms of professional training and socialization that might prepare young people for their increasingly public roles as media makers.”

I found these two concepts extremely fascinating. As part of the “digital natives” generation, I am eager to become more self-reflective about these challenges and how I am actively working to remedy them. I would love to further explore these ideas: What are concrete ways in which these challenges manifest themselves in our daily technology use?