Today in our ever-advancing technological world, there seems to be a growing divide between “Visitors” and “Residents” when it comes to social media and an online presence. Dave White from the University of Oxford gives insight into this issue by illuminating what make a “Visitors” and “Residents” online. Residents are those who have a strong online presence and live out a portion of their lives online. Visitors are those who see the online world more as a toolbox and go online to get something and then leave. Does this have to do with age? Mr. White says no. It is in no way a matter of simply saying that old people just do not understand technology. Rather, there is a lot that goes into things here. Residents are typically connected to social media sites, comment on blogs, and have a strong sense of community online. Many visitors can have concerns with things like privacy and do not want to put themselves out in the digital world as much. While watching this video, I tend to think that I am in the middle of the spectrum moderately in between a resident and a visitor.
I have never been a huge fan of social media. To me, the negatives have always outweighed the positives. Privacy is a big concern for me. My identity has been stolen once and almost a second time. With the plethora of social media and websites that people these days give their personal information to, people run a huge risk of having it stolen. For example, many people today have PlayStation or XBOX accounts to stream video services. Several years ago, PlayStation was hacked and over 20 million people had their information compromised. This seems all too common these days with companies like AT&T, Verizon, Facebook, MySpace and others experiencing significant data breaches over time. Thus, on a personal level I have never really become a resident online. However, I have frequented blogs, news sites, online magazines, YouTube channels, etc.… Now as I am moving closer to becoming an educator, I am seeing more of a value in establishing an online presence at least on a professional level. While my privacy concerns are still there, teaching means more to me than anything else in this world so the benefits outweigh the negatives so to speak. Social networking here I come!
I have never been a huge fan of social media. To me, the negatives have always outweighed the positives. Privacy is a big concern for me. My identity has been stolen once and almost a second time. With the plethora of social media and websites that people these days give their personal information to, people run a huge risk of having it stolen. For example, many people today have PlayStation or XBOX accounts to stream video services. Several years ago, PlayStation was hacked and over 20 million people had their information compromised. This seems all too common these days with companies like AT&T, Verizon, Facebook, MySpace and others experiencing significant data breaches over time. Thus, on a personal level I have never really become a resident online. However, I have frequented blogs, news sites, online magazines, YouTube channels, etc.… Now as I am moving closer to becoming an educator, I am seeing more of a value in establishing an online presence at least on a professional level. While my privacy concerns are still there, teaching means more to me than anything else in this world so the benefits outweigh the negatives so to speak. Social networking here I come!