Dave White is a professor at the University of Oxford and he presents the Visitor/Resident Theory in an online video. I found the Visitor/Resident Theory to be quite interesting. As I watched White's video, I learned that some people have a visitor mindset with respect to the Internet and that others feel more like residents, viewing the Internet as a social space. Visitors are concerned with their privacy and they "critically assess as to whether the platform that they're going to use is actually going to solve a problem for them or move them forward in a goal that they're trying to achieve" (White, 2013). The resident, on the other hand, is communal and "enjoys the idea, enjoys that sense of ambient social presence" (White 2013). Though visitors view the Internet much as a toolbox rather than a social space in which to create and maintain a digital persona, White (2013) states that the "visitor is no more or less technically adept than the resident. They're just more focused in trying to achieve particular ends."
Something I found intriguing that White (2013) said is that being a visitor or a resident "has more to do with their kind of educational ideology than it does with their approach to technology." I must admit that my preconception of the Visitor/Resident Theory was that residents are very digitally literate and visitors are not tech savvy. But I was wrong because "it's not about academic or technical skills, it's about culture and motivation" (White, 2013). This makes me realize that there are people who use technology all the time, who do stuff with Facebook all the time, and yet they have little or no idea how to use the Internet to attain any kind of educational goal.
I discovered that I am a visitor with respect to my private life as I don't use Facebook, Myspace, or other social media. I know millions of people love social media and have made it an integral part of their daily lives, but I choose to avoid social media for my own personal reasons--one of which is that I don't want to be a "micro-celebrity." Like other visitors, my privacy is an asset that I value. In regards to my professional life I am mostly a visitor as well. Though I have recently done some blogging and tweeting, those are not things I have done on a regular and frequent basis.
Reference:
White, D. (2013, May 31). Visitors and Residents. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sFBadv04eY
Something I found intriguing that White (2013) said is that being a visitor or a resident "has more to do with their kind of educational ideology than it does with their approach to technology." I must admit that my preconception of the Visitor/Resident Theory was that residents are very digitally literate and visitors are not tech savvy. But I was wrong because "it's not about academic or technical skills, it's about culture and motivation" (White, 2013). This makes me realize that there are people who use technology all the time, who do stuff with Facebook all the time, and yet they have little or no idea how to use the Internet to attain any kind of educational goal.
I discovered that I am a visitor with respect to my private life as I don't use Facebook, Myspace, or other social media. I know millions of people love social media and have made it an integral part of their daily lives, but I choose to avoid social media for my own personal reasons--one of which is that I don't want to be a "micro-celebrity." Like other visitors, my privacy is an asset that I value. In regards to my professional life I am mostly a visitor as well. Though I have recently done some blogging and tweeting, those are not things I have done on a regular and frequent basis.
Reference:
White, D. (2013, May 31). Visitors and Residents. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sFBadv04eY