Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives - Hardcover

John Palfrey; Urs Gasser

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465005152 ISBN 13: 9780465005154

Publisher: Basic Books, 2008

Synopsis

The first generation of “digital natives” – children who were born into and raised in the digital world – are coming of age, and soon our world will be reshaped in their image. Our economy, our cultural life, even the shape of our family life will be forever transformed.

But who are these digital natives? How are they different from older generations – or “digital immigrants” – and what is the world they’re creating going to look like? In Born Digital , leading internet and technology experts John Palfrey and Urs Gasser offer a sociological portrait of this exotic tribe of young people who can seem, even to those merely a generation older, both extraordinarily sophisticated and strangely narrow.

Based on original research, Born Digital explores a broad range of issues, from the highly philosophical to the purely practical: What does identity mean for young people who have dozens of online profiles and avatars? Should we worry about privacy issues – or is privacy even a relevant concern for digital natives? How does the concept of safety translate into an increasingly virtual world? Is “stranger-danger” a real problem, or a red herring? What lies ahead – socially, professionally, and psychologically – for this generation?

A smart, practical guide to a brave new world and its complex inhabitants, Born Digital will be essential reading for parents, teachers, and the myriad of confused adults who want to understand the digital present – and shape the digital future.

About this title

About the Author

John Palfrey is Clinical Professor of Law and Executive Director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. He is a regular commentator on network news programs, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News, NPR and BBC. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Urs Gasser is an associate professor of law at the University of St. Gallen, where he serves as the director of the Research Center for Information Law, as well as a faculty fellow of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. He has published and edited, respectively, six books and has written over fifty articles in books, law reviews, and professional journals. He lives in St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Review

"City Journal" "Palfrey and Gasser's fine early history of this generation serves as a starting point for any conversation about how to mentor the children of the Web." "Washington Post" "The authors are knowledgeable but never pedantic...their studious, emphatic approach is both valid and reassuring, and their overarching point - let's think about these things now, rather than trying to fix them later - well taken." "Library Journal" "Ultimately, the book is an accessible survey of many of these as-yet-unsolved Internet dilemmas of our time and is well executed given the immense task of synthesizing the vast corpus of social science concerns relating to the Internet." "Booklist" "Energetic, expert, and forward-looking, the authors serve as envoys between the generations... As old institutions crumble, there is a need for just this sort of enlightening, commonsensical, and positive guide to digital reality." "New Scientist" "A well-reasoned, thorough synthesis of some momentous, if familiar, ideas." Lawrence Lessig, author of "Code" and "Free Culture" "Digital technologies are changing our kids in ways we don't yet understand. This beautifully written book will set the framework for a field that will change that. It is required reading for parents, educators, and anyone who cares about the future." Howard Gardner, author of "Five Minds for the Future" and "Multiple Intelligences" From now on, any attempt to understand what it is like to grow up or to live one's life in a digital world must begin with this outstanding, original synthesis." Nicholas Negroponte, author of "Being Digital" ""Born Digital" offers an excellent primer on what it means to live digitally. It should be required reading for adults trying to understand the next generation."

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0465005152
• ISBN 13: 9780465005154
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288