digital-native

IPA/ˌdɪdʒɪtl ˈneɪtɪv/
IPA/ˌdɪdʒɪtl ˈneɪtɪv/

digital-native — noun

1. a person who has grown up with computers, smartphones, and the internet and ther

1.nounB2
Definition

a person who has grown up with computers, smartphones, and the internet and therefore finds digital technology easy and natural to use

Example

As a digital native, Chidi could navigate a tablet before he learned to tie his shoes.

collocation: as a digital native

The firm hired a digital native to teach its senior staff the new project software.

Common collocations
  • grew up as a digital native
  • digital native generation
  • true digital native
  • digital native students
Synonyms
  • tech-savvy person

    describes someone skilled with technology, but does not specify that skill came from growing up with it

  • netizen

    focuses on active internet use and participation in online communities, not general digital fluency

Antonyms
  • digital immigrant

    someone who adopted digital technology as an adult rather than growing up with it

Usage Note

This term is often contrasted with 'digital immigrant' (someone who learned digital technology as an adult). The dividing line between the two groups is frequently placed around the early 1980s, when personal computers became common in homes.

Common Mistakes

All digital natives are teenagers.
Many digital natives are in their thirties or forties now.
The term refers to people who grew up with digital technology; as time passes, digital natives span a wide range of ages.

Word family

  • digital native
    nounB2
  • digital natives
    nounB2
  • digital immigrant
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all three terms relate to people comfortable with technology, they focus on different aspects. A 'digital native' is defined by having grown up with digital technology — a biographical fact, not just a skill level. A 'tech-savvy person' may have learned technology at any age and simply demonstrates strong proficiency. A 'netizen' specifically participates in online communities and internet culture, but might not be fluent with hardware or software beyond social platforms. 'Millennial' is a generational label (born roughly 1981–1996) that overlaps with the digital-native concept but is not synonymous — older millennials may have learned technology as young adults, and younger members of Generation Z are also digital natives. For example, a sixty-year-old engineer who has worked with computers for decades is tech-savvy but not a digital native, whereas a twenty-two-year-old who rarely uses social media is a digital native but not necessarily a netizen.

tech-savvy personnetizen ↗millennial ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • as a digital native
  • digital native generation

Etymology

English

A compound of 'digital' (relating to computer and internet technology) and 'native' (a person born in a specified place or associated with a place from birth). The term was popularised by American author and speaker Marc Prensky in his 2001 essay 'Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants,' in which he argued that the arrival of digital technology had fundamentally changed how younger generations think and learn.