The term ‘digital native’ was coined by Marc Prensky (2001) and included for the first time in the article “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” as an attempt to explain why teachers face constant troubles in teaching students. The articles define ‘digital natives’ as: “the first generations to grow up with this new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, video-games, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age.”  Ever since, the idea of ‘digital natives’ has been challenged and various studies have appeared in order to better clarify what a digital native is and what it is not. The term is contested for its very general approach considering that all young people are ‘digital natives’ and not taking into account some young people are facing different barriers into developing their skills and competencies required to use the online tools.

Ref:  Prensky M. (2001), Digital natives, digital immigrants, On the Horizon Vol. 9, No. 5, 1-5.; Prensky M. (2004), The emerging online life of the digital native. What they do differently because of technology, and how they do it, available at: www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-The_Emerging_Online_Life_of_the_Digital_Native-03.pdf, accessed 23 September 2019