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Nicole Taylor
Alan Reid
English 101.71
4 October, 2012
An Immigrant Who Acts like a Native
In today’s society, people face new technology every day. The young who grew up with
technology enjoy and even praise it. Teenagers are so used to computers, new phones, and social
media that it’s almost like they were born with the intelligence of technology inherited. When
babies are born they know how to breathe, it just comes natural. Technology comes natural to
digital natives. How do digital immigrants feel about technology? Some adapt to it and others
deal with it, but only if necessary. Some people may be scared, while some are more free with
the idea of a technologic world. Technology is increasing and changing every day. It is different
but in the long run will be used and enjoyed by all. Rocky is an immigrant who has successfully
adapted to technology.
Christian Rockey comes from a long line of exercising maniacs. She is a 42 year old
woman. Who lived in Mississippi most of her life and enjoys nature. She jogs every morning for
at least an hour .Rockey believes highly in physical fitness and wellness of the human body.
Rocky is a fit older woman who loves working out. She is a woman who can jog longer than
most teenagers. She is slim and about 5’8. Her legs are very muscular and her calf muscles are
shaped like two ripped peaches pushed together. Looking at her, people can tell she is old, but
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her body is shaped like a water bottle. She smells like sweat every time she comes to class
because she always works out before she comes. Her skin is smooth and she is always glowing.
Her facial expression always comes off as if she achieved something.
. Rockey is an instructor at Coastal Carolina University. She has been teaching for almost
17 years and loves her job. She teaches University 110 which is a class that’s helps all freshman
learn more about college life and teaches them how to be more involved with school. Rocky also
teaches Health Promotion which is a class that helps college students in the science field learn
about first aid. As a digital immigrant she believes in using the Internet for her classes. She uses
the internet daily for several hours a day! Rockey thinks Internet should be used in school but
only for school purposes only. Rocky is still old fashioned and prefers students to turn in hard
copies of there essays but will accept online essays as well. The first time Rockey used Internet
in school was when she went to grad school in 1995. She barley used it then. As a teaching
mechanism, Rockey didn’t use the Internet until 2005. She was 35 when she started getting used
to technology. If she could have any piece of technology growing up, she would have picked an
iPad. She explains as a child video games would catch her attention the most and having the
Internet available “would be gold.”
Rockey believes technology has a big role in society. She thinks it’s how everyone
functions now and thinks people would not know what to do without it. Rocky created a
Facebook page about two years ago. She taught herself how to use it. Rockey goes on and checks
Facebook every day. She created a Facebook to connect with old friends. But now she goes on to
make new friends. Rockey says “she talks to her neighbors who live down the street more on
Facebook than face to face.” This shows that Turkle was dead on about today’s society. Rocky,
as a digital immigrant connects with people who she is friends with more on Facebook than in
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person. Technology is taking over the older people as well. She has over 400 Facebook friends
and says she knows 200 of them. Rockey is more comfortable with face to face but would rather
converse with people through the Internet. “I would rather talk face to face or through the
internet before I talk on the phone unless it’s via text”. Rockey has three children under the age
of ten. She says “My four year old can use my cell phone better than me, and if she knew how to
spell would be sending out text messages herself”. It’s like babies are born with a natural ability
for technology. Rockey thinks its normal for a four year old to use technology such as an iPod
touch and computers. She sounds similar to Turkle when she says only friendships and not
relationship can be valid through Facebook. She says “there has to be some intimate contact in
order to have a successful relationship”. To her relationships can only be in person while to
many teenagers it can be through the Internet. There are many similarities and differences
between her and teenagers.
In today’s society, there are different types of digital immigrants. Rocky is an immigrant
who has successfully adapted to technology. She has a Facebook Page and uses the internet
every day for social media and because of her profession. Rockey did not use the internet until
she was older unlike most people today but she came and conquered. She believes people could
not survive without technology as if it was a necessity. People are changing with the world and
it’s a good sign for people. Hopefully, other digital immigrants who dislike technology with get
with the program like Rockey.
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Works Cited
Rockey Christian. Mrs. "Profile Paper Interview." Personal interview. 25 Sept. 2012.