Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Digital Learners - An International Empirical Integrative Review of the Literature

Oct 15, 2026

An international empirical integrative review examines the literature on “digital natives” and related terms, with particular emphasis on digital learners born between 1980 and 1994. Findings synthesize inconsistent definitions of “digital natives” and “digital immigrants,” with limited clarification and a weak research rationale. Evidence further indicates little connection between student age and digital skills, and suggests that learners’ digital competence may be lower than that attributed to their “digital professors.”

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Literature Review Focus

Definitions and Evidence for Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants

Digital Learner Concept and Critiques

Implications for Teaching Models and Learning Environments

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Digital Learners: An International Empirical Integrative Review of the Literature Theodore B. Creighton American College of Education The author, preparing for a new position as a doctoral research faculty at the American College of Education (ACE), conducted an extensive integrated literature review of “digital natives” and related terms. Focus of the review was directed specifically around digital learners defined as those born between 1980 and 1994. The results clearly revealed a variety of definitions for “digital natives” and “digital immigrants”with no specific clarification or research-based rationale. In addition, strong evidence points toward little connection between a student’s age and digital skills and increased learning. Much of the research suggests that students’digital competence may be much lower than their “digital professors.” ICPEL Education Leadership Review, Vol. 19, No. 1– December, 2018 ISSN: 1532-0723 © 2018 International Council of Professors of Educational The term Digital Native seems to have first appeared in the literature in the late 1990s and is mostly accredited to Prensky (2001a, 2001b) and Tapscott (1998, 2009) . Students (called digital natives) are those born roughly between 1980 and 1994, and represent the first generation to grow up with new technology and have been characterized by their familiarity with and confidence in, with respect to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) . They have spent most of their lives surrounded with digital communication technology (Gallardo-Echenique, Marques-Molas, Bullen, & Strijbos, 2015) . Modern day students in kindergarten through college have spent their lives surrounded by computers, video games, cell phones, and other digital products. Today’s average college grads have spent 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours with cell phones, email, Internet, and instant messaging (Prensky, 2001) . If modern day students are called “digital natives,”what does that make the rest of us? Prensky (2001a) defines those of us who were not born into the digital world but have, later in our lives, adapted to and began to use this new technology, Digital Immigrants. Prensky continues by stating: The importance of the distinction is this: As Digital Immigrants learn – like all immigrants, some better than others – to adapt to their environment, they always retain, to some degree, their “accent,” that is, their foot in the past. The “digital immigrant accent” can be seen in such things as turning to the Internet for information second rather than first, orin reading the manual for a program rather than assuming that the program itself will teach us to use it. Today’s older folk were “socialized” differently from their kids, and are now in the process of learning a new language (2001a; p. 2) . New Terms Much of the international research reviewed indicated that although considerable attention is given to “digital natives” and “digital immigrants,” few studies have carefully investigated the characteristics of these two groups. Many of the studies that supported the concept of“digital natives” and/or “digital immigrants”were based solely on anecdotal data and opinions. Many studies revealed a dislike and distaste for the terms “digital native” and“digital immigrant”, based on a lack of any empirical evidence or substantive characteristics. Many authors including Gallardo-Echenique, et al. (2015); Bennett, Maton, & Kervin,(2008) found a more unifying concept and description to be “Digital Learner.” A major study from the University of Barcelona (Gros, Garcia, & Escofet, 2012) posits that the “digital native” label does not really exist, due to the term’s absence of evidence of a better use of technology to support learning. The debate has to go beyond the characteristics of the new generation and focus on the implications of being a learner in a digitalized world (p.1, Abstract)

FAQs

What age range does the review focus on for “digital learners”?

The review focuses on digital learners born between 1980 and 1994.

What does the review conclude about definitions of “digital natives” and “digital immigrants”?

It reports a variety of definitions with little specific clarification or research-based rationale.

How does the review describe the relationship between age and digital skills?

It finds little connection between a student’s age and digital skills, with indications that digital competence may be lower than commonly assumed.

Oct 15, 2026

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