Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives (Hardcover)

by John Palfrey (Author), Urs Gasser (Author)
Key Phrases: digital natives, daily motion, digital dossier, United States, Second Life, Supreme Court (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this critical but optimistic overview, academics Palfrey (of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society) and Gasser (of the Swiss U. of St. Gallen) share their concern about the legal and social ramifications of the Internet with regard to the generation of "Digital Natives" born after 1980. In a wide-ranging examination of "the future opportunities and challenges associated with the Internet as a social space," Palfrey and Gasser find most young people fail to recognize the vulnerability of their information-that internet posts are never really private-and suggest tactful parental and school oversight. They find a more serious problem in the failure of the U.S. to regulate data mining by search engines, which even now have the potential to create cradle-to-grave dossiers on individuals, including online medical and financial records; they compare the U.S. system with Europe's policies, which have put in place much more effective data protection. Parents and educators will benefit from Palfrey and Gasser's discussion of issues like safety, content control and illegal file sharing; with proper attention from them, the authors see a bright future for the Internet that should foster "global citizens" with a "spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship and caring for society at large."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Boomers may think they’re too cool and forever-young to find themselves on the wrong side of a generation gap, but technology has created a great divide. Digital Natives, the Internet Age generation, are so acclimated to cyberspace they verge on being another species. Palfrey and Gasser, lawyers who specialize in intellectual property and information issues, document the myriad ways downloading, text-messaging, Massively Multiplayer Online Games–playing, YouTube-watching youth are transforming society. Energetic, expert, and forward-looking, the authors serve as envoys between the generations, addressing issues that worry parents and educators, from privacy and safety concerns to the quality of digital information, the psychological and physical effects of information overload and excessive online time, and legal and ethical issues, all the while stressing the need for digital literacy and critical thinking. Palfrey and Gasser believe in the value of the participatory culture the Internet fosters, and in the Internet’s nurturing of creativity, collaboration, entrepreneurship, and global citizenship. As old institutions crumble, there is a need for just this sort of enlightening, commonsensical, and positive guide to digital reality. --Donna Seaman

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (August 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465005152
• ISBN-13: 978-0465005154
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,451 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent., September 14, 2008

By	William J. Romanos "Bill Romanos, III" (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There is nothing more important than the safety of our children. There is also nothing more important than the education, creativity and innovation that has been, and can still further be, unleashed and harnessed with suitably crafted policies, and incentives, focused on the issues surrounding their use of digital media and other digital technologies, whether such policies and incentives come from parents, teachers, librarians, governments, lawmakers, or social media or other Internet-focused companies. These are some of the key subjects covered in Born Digital. But to begin to grapple with these issues, as the authors inform us, we must first understand Digital Natives.

The term "Digital Natives" is used, generally, to refer to people born after 1980. The book Born Digital is about the issues surrounding Digital Natives and their intensive use of digital media and other digital technologies. Digital Natives were born into a world that was already pervasively digital. Assuming they were born into an advanced industrial economy - and are not otherwise at the low end of the participation or technological gap, Digital Natives did not transition from an analog world to a digital world as most of us have.

Born Digital is especially focused on the issues surrounding Digital Natives' intensive use of the Internet and online social networks (like Facebook and MySpace) and other digital tools and media they use on a daily basis (such as instant messaging, texting, online chat rooms, video games, YouTube, etc.). We are no longer living in an analog world. The world - especially as experienced from the viewpoint of children and young adults who have access to these technologies - is now - but more importantly has been for them since they were born - digital. They were born digital. We had better learn to understand this age group (or cohort) to deal with it effectively and to craft policies and incentives that maintain and foster the good aspects of these technologies (and their interaction with such technologies), while minimizing the risks Digital Natives are exposed to - or at least not arrest the positive aspects of their use and involvement with ill-suited policies based on fear and ill-informed policy choices.

The organization of Born Digital is excellent. It is organized tightly into coherent chapters dealing with a single overarching category or theme. Within each chapter, the authors elucidate some of the more pressing issues in each category or theme, and then provide specific guidance and suggestions to parents, teachers, lawmakers, librarians, etc.

Being an attorney who was deeply interested during and immediately after law school in what was called at the time "Internet law" and intellectual property issues implicated by activities on the Internet, only to lose interest after the dot-com bubble burst, this book has reignited my interest in studying the technical, social, and legal aspects of the Internet.

Born Digital has also spurred me to dive deeper and study in more depth social media and online social networks, as well as intellectual property law as applied to the increasingly digitized information environment or ecosphere. To this end, besides an excellent book covering Digital Natives and the issues they and we face in our roles as parents, teachers, lawmakers, librarians, and also simply as members of society, I also commend the authors for the excellent notes and bibliography. I look forward to reading some of the key works that the authors of Born Digital found most helpful in their research and analysis and exploring these issues further.

I have recommended Born Digital to my friends in the technology sphere as well as my friends who are parents and who have children who are at the age where they are beginning to use the Internet and other digital technologies (including, their use of cell phones, their playing of video games, etc.), intensively. I also highly recommend it to teachers, educators, counselors, librarians, law enforcement officers, lawmakers, policy-makers, or anyone interested these issues.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first generation of 'digital natives' children born and raised in the digital world are coming of age, November 16, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

The first generation of 'digital natives' children born and raised in the digital world are coming of age, and our society will be changed by their perceptions and different worldviews. BORN DIGITAL considers these changing perceptions and is based on in-depth original research, including interviews from members of this generation. Philosophy blends with social issues and insights in an invaluable pick for a brave new world, perfect for any discussions or collections strong in social issues, philosophy or science.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Explains the Digital Lifestyle, April 21, 2009

By	F. Thomas "ft60039" (ATX, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Born Digital could best be described as book that explains the "digital lifestyle" of those born after 1980. It is best for someone that has children or family members who are active in the digital world, but do no understand how things work, or why they appear so exciting.

The book references those that were born after 1980 as "digital natives" because they were born into a world with technology and technological changes that happened almost daily. They did not know an "old" way of doing things; electronically and digitally is the only way of doing things, and anything less is an inconvience, and not practical because they just were not born in a time where anything else exsisted.

Managing online profiles is an extension of themselves and another facet of their personality, not a separate entity. When it comes to problems that are caused in the digital world, the network, which starts with the Digital Native at the center, then friends and family, teachers/coaches/mentors, trusted software companies, and the the law. All of these groups together have to be aware of what is going on in the digital world, in order to protect the digital native;who was not born with a sense of fear about the new technologies, because they have always been around.

This book talks about common topics such as online identities, privacy, and safety, but it also talks about how Digital Natives are essentially changing the look and face of traditional business models.

Digital Native and Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg, became "the center of the Web 2.0 movement". He changed the way that people connected with each other and changed information. He also received backing from Microsoft, but even with that...it was only a two percent stake in Facebook.

Zuckerberg could best be described as the face of the evolution of digital entrepreneurship, and how Digital Natives have taken what they have grown up with, and to became leaders in business. Understanding this process is important because the digital world is growing and advancing even more everyday, so knowing the background and history will explain what come naturally to the Digital Natives.

Classroom learning and school has also been changed by digital natives because they are used to being constantly connected to the Internet, using the internet for research and learning about new topics. The problems with digital learning, and other ethical issues are also discussed.

However, this has also caused problems because they are also used to chatting, instant messaging and doing others tasks while online. One issue that has come up is that it is easier for students to cheat using information that they have found online.

This book is a must read for anyone that is has not been immersed in the digital culture, is trying to avoid it at all costs, wants more information or knows someone that is a Digital Native. You will learn the pros, cons, problems, solutions and ethical issues issues that surround this subculture and gain a better understanding of what it means to have a "digital lifestyle".