Living in a digital world means that anyone born into it has a level of understanding about being in a digital world. What does that mean? Let me explain
There is an inherent understanding that most young people have about being in a digital world, whether that be very surface level by understanding there are digital things around us, to then a more in depth understanding of how to use the digital things around us but never really knowing where you got the information to do so.
Something I have touched upon in interface design classes is memorability: the ability for users, regarding webpages, to understand how it works with little to no hints or tips on the page – you know how it works because you’ve done it a dozen times before, such as logging in, or navigating links.
For me, living in a digital world means having the internet, and all it has to offer, integrated into every day life, and into society. My entire job is to keep the digital world safe from threat actors, and who might the threat actors be attacking? Those who were *not* raised in a digital world. Young adults, 16-21, are not typically the primary target for attackers; its the elderly – those who were born in a time where if something was digital, it was very, very simplistic, not anything close to what it is today.
Being in a digital world also means those who were not lucky enough to be born into it to have this innate understanding must learn, or they will inevitably be left behind as companies know how much certain demographics love their tech. Soon enough, everything you know will not be familiar anymore. Your phones will be the same, yet always slightly different each patch and each model. Your coffee maker suddenly has more buttons then before, some you will never understand nor use. Your stove will sing to you when food is ready, and be able to be remotely started from wherever you desire (since that is important I suppose)
If you don’t keep up, you will be left behind. That is what it means to live in a digital world
