DIGITAL
IMMIGRANTS
Brian J. King
A Thesis
Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
MASTERS OF EDUCATION
August 2009
Committee:
© 2008 - 2009
Brian J. King
ABSTRACT
Text of abstract
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1
Hypothesis......................................................................................................................................... ......4
Assumptions................................................................................................................................. ...........5
Limitations........................................................................................................................ ......................5
Introduction................................................................................................................................ .............9
Digital Immigrants vs. Digital Natives and Television Commercial Viewing Habits............................12
Timeline....................................................................................................................... .........................18
References................................................................................................................................ .............19
vii
1
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
Rapid technological development and the immersion of technology into the lives of
today’s consumers have created a digital divide between generations. Frand states “most students
entering our colleges and universities today are younger than the microcomputer, are more
comfortable working on a keyboard than writing in a spiral notebook, and are happier reading
from a computer screen than from paper in hand” (Frand, 2000, p15). According to Prensky this
gap is created by the rapid distribution and ubiquity of digital technologies in the last decades of
the 20th century (Prensky, 2001a). It is important to note that these technologies such as cable
television, the Internet, laptop computers, and mobile devices were not always readily available
for previous generations. Due to these technological advancements being ever-present in our
lives one may assume differences exist between those whom have grown up immersed in the
technologies and those whom have not been born into this technological immersion. In Digital
Immigrants, Digital Natives Prensky (2001a) notes people that are currently in kindergarten
through traditional college age have been immersed their entire lives using computers, playing
video games, using digital music players, video cameras, cell phones, and the Internet. Today’s
average college graduates have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, over 10,000
hours playing video games, and an incredible 20,000 hours viewing television within the first
twenty years of their lives (Prensky, 2001a). These readily available technological advancements
from a young age create different experiences, which lead to different brain structures than
previous generations that did not have these technological advancements (Prensky, 2001a).
that those that are above 30 years old and not born into technological diffusion a different
2
classification for this group is necessary; after all Prensky mentions that non-digital natives do
inherently process information differently then their parents and grandparents. In searching for a
proper classification Prensky notes that some people refer to this generation as the net-gen or
digital generation although Prensky classifies this generation as Digital Natives. “Our students
are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet”
(Prensky, 2001a, p 1). Prensky classifies the remainder of the population as Digital Immigrants;
those who were not born into the technology immersion but at some point may adopt some
technologies into their lives. While Prensky discusses the topic of Digital Immigrants and Digital
Natives as students, for the context of this study the researcher will refer to these groups as
consumers; classified based on their age (under 30 and 30 and over years of age).
These two different groups of consumers have various television commercial media
viewing and use habits. The Digital Natives for instance have logged an incredible 20,000 hours
of watching television within the first 20 years of their lives. How they are viewing television
(either through the Internet or traditional television) as well as their viewing habits may be
different then the Digital Immigrants. Advertisers producing commercials may find it advisable
to address these groups and their unique media viewing habits. According to a 2008 United
States based Mintel study, “Age influences respondents’ attitudes towards Internet advertising,
respondents aged 18-24 are more likely than over-65s to “strongly agree” with the statement “I
use a pop-up blocker” (Attitudes Towards Advertising and Media – US – April 2008). This
finding from Mintel is important to advertisers trying to reach the Digital Natives whom appear
to be more likely to circumvent viewing of a commercial through the use of a pop-up blocker if
they are viewing their television on the Internet through a streaming service such as Hulu.com or
a desktop application such as Miro or Boxee. The same Mintel study found that “age plays a role
3
in how respondents consume media, mainly over-65s [sic] are more likely than 18-24s to: watch
ten or more hours of network or cable television” (Attitudes towards Advertising and Media, US,
April 2008). Indicated by this data Mintel found in a study conducted by Reuters in March 2008
“that nearly half of Americans are turning to the Internet to get their news, and that those aged
18-29 “get most of their information online” compared to 35% of over 65s” (Attitudes towards
Advertising and Media, US, April 2008). The Internet is not the only force altering the media
habits of Digital Immigrants or Digital Natives. Their viewing habits of commercials or perhaps
avoidance habits of commercials through other technological advancements such as the DVR,
changing the channel, muting the television or computer also represent issues that advertisers
should consider in adjusting their strategies to reach these markets. “When it comes to skipping
commercials, age has little influence on a respondent’s response: approximately 66% in each age
group use a DVR for this purpose” (Attitudes towards Advertising and Media, US, April 2008,
Usage of DVR).
The problem of this study is to analyze the difference in media and viewing habits of
Digital Natives versus Digital Immigrants. The study will include an analysis of viewing habits
for Digital Natives (under 30 years of age) and Digital Immigrants (those 30 years of age or
older) and how they respond to commercial television. Many options exist to consumers when
viewing television and commercials; this study aims to assess the options that consumers have in
media viewing mediums (Internet vs. traditional television broadcast) and specifically their
Objectives of Study
The objectives of this study are to assess the commercial viewing habits of Digital
4
Immigrants and Digital Natives; to identify trends between the two groups in relation to their
commercial viewing habits and the tools and technologies they use or do not use to view
televised media (specifically commercials – both traditional and online); and to what length the
two consumer groups will go to in order to not be subverted to viewing television commercials
as they are traditionally distributed. Circumvention methods used presently include TiVo, iTunes
Store, DVR technologies, web based viewing sites such as Hulu.com, desktop applications such
as Boxee and Miro, and downloading through BitTorrent or other peer-to-peer distribution
technology. For the purpose of this study the researcher has chosen not to evaluate those means
of distribution that exclude commercials from the program, thus BitTorrent, iTunes Store
purchases, and DVDs will not be analyzed; although it is important to note that these are current
options for the consumer to choose, opposed to traditional television or Internet based streaming
television commercials.
Hypothesis
The researcher hypothesizes that Digital Natives will show a trend of viewing television
commercials online through Hulu, Boxee, Miro, and others. According to Prensky (2001a,
2001b) Digital Natives are accustomed to using the Internet for their media viewing habits they
will tend to be online. The Digital Immigrants on the other hand will be more likely to view
traditional television with different commercial viewing habits than their Digital Native
counterparts. This is because “. . . 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”
Significance of Study
Current research shows DVR usage rates and endeavors to assess why the DVR is used;
5
although there are no studies that assess Digital Immigrants versus Digital Natives and to what
extent these groups will engage in activity to avoid a traditional television commercial viewing.
The only research in this topic shows consumer response mainly to what kinds of systems are
already implemented and how they co-exist with market forces such as DVR technologies versus
commercial viewing. The current state of research in this field reveals a high degree of
conflicting research. Evaluating the commercial viewing habits of Digital Immigrants versus
Digital Natives and their commercial viewing habits could have major implications and benefits
Assumptions
1. All data collected from Mintel includes only respondents aged 18 and older
which includes both Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants age ranges. The
survey instrument will collect data from Bowling Green State University
undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty and sort them into the
Limitations
For the purpose of this study the researcher will limit the population that is sampled to
Bowling Green State University undergraduate and graduate students and faculty. Due to the
rapidly developing literature focused on this topic the literature review will be limited to research
and articles conducted prior to February 2009. For the purpose of this study the researcher has
chosen not to evaluate means of distribution that exclude commercials from the program, thus
BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer technologies, iTunes Store purchases, and DVDs will not be
analyzed. However, it is important to note that these are current options for the consumer to
6
Definition of Terms
The following terms and acronyms are operationally defined below for this study:
1. Digital Immigrant – Those above the age of 30, not born into widespread
2. Digital Native – Those under the age of 30 born into technology (Prensky,
2001).
(DVR fast forward, change the channel, close the browser window,
on a television.
traditional commercials although are generally much shorter and less frequent.
(DVR fast forward, change the channel, close the browser window,
device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive or other memory
8. VCR – “The videocassette recorder (or VCR, more commonly known in the
UK and Ireland as the video recorder), is a type of video tape recorder that
and video from a television broadcast so it can be played back later. Most
VCRs have their own tuner (for direct TV reception) and a programmable
9. CD/DVD Burner – “In computing, an optical disc drive (ODD) is a disk drive
that uses laser light or electromagnetic waves near the light spectrum as part
of the process of reading and writing data. Some drives can only read from
discs, but commonly drives are both readers and recorders. Recorders are
sometimes called burners or writers. Compact discs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs
8
are common types of optical media which can be read and recorded by such
10. TiVo – “TiVo [sic] is the pioneer of the digital video recorder (DVR). TiVo
was introduced in the United States, and is now available in Canada, Mexico,
(which ensure subscribers never miss an episode of their favorite shows) and
WishList searches (which allow the user to find and record shows that match
paragraph 1).
9
Introduction
The purpose of this literature review is multi-faceted; each particular section has a
particular purpose dedicated to the literature currently available. First, it examines the current
now circumventing. Second it provides an evaluation of the differences in viewing habits for
television and commercials specifically between Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. Third,
the literature review provides analysis and insight to marketers to more effectively target and
Technological advancements such as the invention of the VCR, CD and DVD burners,
the Internet, and DVRs all have had dramatic impacts to the market. These technological
advancements have altered media viewing habits and have troubled advertisers trying to reach
and engage their target market. According to a 2004 Mintel USA based study “Concerns over
skipping advertisements were raised with the emergence of the VCR, and the industry may see
changes in advertising with the proliferation of DVRs that are more consequential than the
impact of the VCR. DVRs are more user-friendly than VCRs and have enormous capacity”
(Digital Video Recorders, US, September 2004, Advertising & Promotion). In addition to DVRs,
other forces such as the Internet have altered the media habits of consumers. Websites such as
Hulu.com, desktop applications such as Boxee and Miro have full length television episodes
available free of charge on demand with short advertisement clips shown during the broadcast.
According to a 2007 USA Mintel study “86% of the sample stated that watching TV shows on
demand was a key reason why they wanted to purchase a DVR” (Online and Downloadable
10
Video, US, October 2007). This statistic regarding why the consumer owns or plan to purchase a
DVR still forecasts that consumers’ media habits are altering and converging towards online
viewing of television programs on demand utilizing a DVR service or streaming service such as
Hulu. Additionally the Mintel study shown below (table 1) is significant because it conflicts with
the Mintel report Attitudes Towards Advertising and Media – US – April 2008 findings regarding
DVRs and why they are used. “A study released by Mediamark Research reports DVR users are
Base: 1460 Internet users (18+) who own or plan to purchase DVR
Total %
Watch TV shows when I want 86
Skip commercials 43
Watch TV shows repeatedly 24
Other 5
Table 1. Online and Downloadable Video - US - 2007 – Mintel.
Pavlik (2008) states that DVR users are more affluent and consume more media, while affluence
is not an aspect of the study the media consumption and viewing habits are. Mintel reports in a
2006 study based on 2,000 adults aged 18+ the following data:
Yes 37 34 37 37 40 38 31
Table 2. Media Centers and Set-top Boxes - US - September 2006 – Mintel.
“Age plays a role in the ownership of a DVR in that over-65s are significantly less likely than
their younger counterparts to own such a device. This is not entirely surprising, as older
respondents may be somewhat uncomfortable, perhaps even intimidated, with new technologies
and be content with using technologies with which they are familiar, such as a VCR” (Media
11
Centers and Set-Top Boxes, US, September 2006). This conclusion from Mintel agrees with
Prensky who states “The “digital immigrant accent” can be seen in such things as turning to the
Internet for information second rather than first, or in reading the manual for a program rather
than assuming the program itself will teach us how to use it” (Prensky, 2001a, p2).
The technological advancement of the DVR allows for time-shifted television viewing
which not only allows consumers to watch what they want, when they want, which Mintel found
in their Online and Downloadable Video 2007 USA study that 86% of their respondents that own
or plan on purchasing a DVR is the most reported reason for having or planning to purchase a
DVR (Online and Downloadable Video – US – 2007). Along with this time shifted viewing also
recorded television, thus allowing the consumer to circumvent the commercials if they opt to do
so. With the Mintel report findings from online and downloadable video it is not surprising to
find this time-shift in viewing habits (Online and Downloadable Video – US – October 2007). In
a 2006 Mintel report entitled Media Centers and Set-Top Boxes in a survey conducted with 731
adults aged 18+ whom live in a household that owns a DVR they found the following statistics in
Base: 731 adults aged 18+ whose household owns a DVR or PVR
All 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
% % % % % % %
0-6 hours 48 50 35 49 51 55 53
7-13
24 23 34 26 21 19 20
hours
14-20
13 13 18 11 11 14 8
hours
21+ hours 8 7 9 7 10 4 8
Not sure 7 7 4 8 6 8 11
12
“Across all age groups the propensity is to watch up to six hours of recorded/time-shifted TV per
week with every age group, except those aged 25-34, including approximately 50% of their
respondents falling into this category of usage per week. Those respondents aged 25-34 are more
likely to watch seven or more hours of recorded/time-shifted TV per week any other age group”
(Media Centers and Set-Top Boxes – US – September 2006 – The Consumer). These findings
regarding time shifted media viewing do not state that the consumer altered their viewing habits
to specifically circumvent commercial viewing; although it is important to note that Mintel found
that 43% of consumers that own or plan to own a DVR wish to use it to circumvent commercial
Digital Immigrants vs. Digital Natives and Television Commercial Viewing Habits
As Prensky (2001a, 2001b), Frand (2000), and others have found there are major
differences between Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives in terms of how they obtain, process,
and utilize information. Advertisers should also shift their strategies to target these two groups
and how they market their particular product or service to them. According to a 2008 United
States study conducted by Mintel “gender and age play a role in what types of media respondents
consume and in what quantities” (Attitudes towards Advertising and Media, US, April 2008,
Usage of Media). While gender and age play a role in the type of media and the quantity of
“When it comes to skipping commercials, age has little influence on a respondent’s response:
approximately 66% in each age group use a DVR for this purpose” (Attitudes towards
13
Advertising and Media – US – April 2008 – Usage of DVR). Massive DVR adoption with both
Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives to circumvent the viewing of commercials an analysis of
why these advertisements are being circumvented and how to best reach these DVR users.
Graham (2009) in Why TV Lost claims convergence between the television and the Internet
created four forces that impacted these changes. The first force that Graham discusses is that the
Internet is an open platform, “Anyone can build whatever they want on it, and the market picks
the winners. So innovation happens at hacker speeds instead of big company speeds” (Graham,
2009). Graham’s point regarding the rate of innovation is particularly important regarding the
Digital Native group (under 30 years of age) as Prensky (2001a) notes digital natives move at
“twitch speed” . . . “They are used to the instantaneity of hypertext, downloaded music, phones
in their pockets, a library on their laptops, beamed messages and instant messaging” (Prensky,
2001a,page 3). Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants both have television and commercial
viewing or circumventing habits that will be evaluated in the survey instrument; one important
note regarding the Digital Native group is the rate of information they consume and number of
tasks they process in parallel. According to Advertising Age a report on Digital Natives “ . . .
navigating electronic programming guides, performing music downloads and burning CDs is
second nature to them. So it’s not surprising that 75% of 1,219 Gen Y participants in a recent
survey said they multi-task while watching TV” (Elkin, Kerwin, Tobi, 2003). The results do not
state specifically that Digital Natives circumvent commercials by viewing television programs
and commercials online; nor does it state that Digital Immigrants are less likely to view
television programs and commercials online. According to a 2006 Mintel USA based study on
Media Centers and Set-top Boxes they found that “Younger respondents are significantly more
likely than older respondents to stream video and audio content [sic]. In fact, 14% of respondents
14
aged 18-24 and 11% of respondents aged 25-34 take advantage of this functionality, compared to
4% of respondents aged 55-64 and 6% of over-65s” (Media Centers and Set-Top Boxes – US –
Base: 2,000 adults aged 18+ (Streaming of video and audio content, by age, July 2006)
All 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
% % % % % % %
Yes 8 14 11 5 10 4 6
Table 4. Media Centers and Set-Top Boxes - US - September 2006 – Mintel.
As Prensky (2001a, 2001b) and Frand (2000) have stated that the Digital Natives are born into
ubiquitous technological immersion Mintel additionally asserts that these statistics regarding
streaming of audio and video content are not surprising. “These responses come as no surprise,
in that younger respondents have grown up with computers, VCRs, portable music players, and
other such multimedia devices. As a consequence, they are more likely to be comfortable and
familiar with the technology, and more eager than older respondents to use it to the fullest in
their homes” (Media Centers and Set-Top Boxes, US, September 2006, The Consumer).
The current state of research on Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives and their media
habits (Internet versus traditional television) as well as their viewing habits of commercials is in
need of further investigation. Prensky (2001a, 2001b) and Frand (2000) mainly discuss the
implications of digital natives and digital immigrants and the differences that exist between the
generations in the scope of education and learning. This scope needs to be broadened and
encompass more than just the field of education and learning. Data regarding media habits and
viewing habits of these digital natives and digital immigrants has differing data sets about DVR
15
usage; even Mintel has reports with differing statistics regarding commercial viewing habits and
DVR usage. Additionally data from companies such as Hulu.com needs to be available for
academic use; although the researcher hopes that the data that will be collected in this study will
provide a more informed and streamlined set of findings regarding digital natives and digital
This chapter includes a restatement of the problem, research design, characteristics of the
sample population for the research study, how the data will be collected and verified, and lastly a
review and approval of the human studies research board and the protection of the participants in
this study.
Restatement of Problem
The problem of this study is to analyze the difference in media and viewing habits of
digital natives versus digital immigrants. The study will include an analysis of viewing habits for
digital natives (under 30 years of age) and digital immigrants (those 30 years of age or older) and
how they respond to commercial television. Many options exist to consumers when viewing
television and commercials; this study aims to assess the options that consumers have in media
viewing mediums (Internet vs. traditional television broadcast) and specifically their viewing
habits of commercials.
Research Design
The research design of this study will utilize descriptive statistics collected through the
use of a researcher created survey instrument. A survey will be distributed online to Digital
Natives and to Digital Immigrants of the Bowling Green State University faculty, staff, and
students using a quantitative descriptive statistical analysis. The survey will feature a Likert-style
scale that will measure how the two groups, Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants, differ in
their commercial viewing habits, and what technologies and methods are being used to view,
ignore, or otherwise circumvent commercials (media habits). The survey will include questions
to determine which group the respondent belong to (Digital Immigrant or Digital Native) and
then analyze to what level each technology option, (or simply the walking away, muting,
17
changing channel option) is utilized by the population studied. The survey will also include
what extent groups of the study’s population do or do not use methods of circumventing the
viewing of commercials. According to Fraenkel and Wallen in How to Design and Evaluate
Research in Education, 2nd Edition “Quantitative data are obtained when the variable being
studied is measured along a scale that indicates “how much” of the variable is present” (Fraenkel
The study population is split into two groups, Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants.
According to Prensky (2001a, 2001b), Digital Natives are people that were raised surrounded by
ubiquitous technologies and digital media. As a result, their brains are wired differently than
Digital Immigrants and other previous generations. Digital immigrants according to Prensky are
those that are not born natively using ubiquitous and constantly available on-demand
technologies (2001a, 2001b). For example a Digital Immigrant would generally rather print out a
The data will be will be collected through the use of a researcher created survey
instrument and delivered through Survey Monkey or phpSurvey. After the data is collected it
will be analyzed through the use of descriptive quantitative statistical analysis. The survey will
be anonymous and will utilize screening questions to determine to which group, Digital Natives
The proper certification and procedure based on the rules set forth by the Human Subjects
18
Review Board (HSRB) at Bowling Green State University will be completed and compiled for
this study. The certification document can be found as part of the appendices following Chapter
V.
Timeline
Table 1 shown below is the tentative timeline for the research study to be completed.
Date Task
16 April 2009 Thesis Proposal Defense
June 2009.
Pre 22 June 2009 Completed Thesis Defense
Table 5 - Timeline
19
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