I do not think I am as hopeless as the two above. I no longer get my news from a newspaper and I know how to use my phone. But there is still a big difference between digital natives and me. Where I notice it the most is that they are more visually literate than I am. I am able to read and interpret visual images, but I am definitely slower than they are. As I sit in class and the instructor tells us to click on a certain tab or icon, by the time I locate it on the page, they have already moved on to the next step. It is like the difference between me and my immigrant parents. They learned English later in their lives. Although they can communicate, it will always be obvious that English is not their first language. They will always have strong German accents. People have asked me why I do not sound like them. I am a native English speaker. Because I have been speaking English from the beginning my pallet has properly formed to allow me to pronounce the words correctly. My parents pallets were formed before they began learning English so they will never be able to speak without an accent. Because I am a digital immigrant, I will always have a tell-tale accent.
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