Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives

The most enduring change wrought by the digital revolution is neither the new business models nor the new search algorithms, but rather the massive generation gap between those who were born digital and those who were not. The first generation of “digital natives” is now 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? Based on original research and advancing new theories, we will explore a broad range of issues: what does identity mean for young people who have dozens of online profiles and avatars? Is privacy even a relevant value for digital natives? How does the concept of safety translate into an increasingly virtual world?

Speaker Details

John Palfrey is the Executive Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, vice dean of library and information resources and a tenured professor at Harvard Law School. He is a principal investigator on the Open Net Initiative, a collaborative initiative that studies the internet filtering of countries such as China, Iran and Singapore, among others. During the 2007-2008 academic year Palfrey was the Visiting Professor of Law and Policy at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, and is chairing the Internet Safety Technical Task force during 2008. He is a graduate of Harvard College, the University of Cambridge and Harvard Law School.Please check out http://sharepoint/sites/visitingspeaker/default.aspx to see upcoming talks, FAQ’s etc.

Date:
Speakers:
John Palfrey
Affiliation:
Executive Director, the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law