Digital Mapping

 Visitor or Resident? 

During my ILT module, I encountered some new terminology. Digital visitors and digital residents pique my interest, prompting me to conduct more study on the created terms and reflect on my personal and professional situation. Surprisingly, it translated my digital usage and made me conscious of how my behaviours had influenced my technological practice. Digital visitors and residents are on the same spectrum, therefore evidence of both will be discovered in user habits.

Before I give my personal stance on the continuum, I would prefer to define the phrases in layman's terms: if your presence is visible on digital platforms and has an influence on digital users, you are unquestionably classed as a Resident. You not only have a digital imprint, but you also have a lot of clout in the world of technology. On the other hand, if you are a frequent user of the internet but have no traces to be found. Your task is just to enjoy from the fantastic technology and exit the room without leaving any marks, in which case you are considered a visitor (White and Cornu, 2011).

Although we cannot categorise one occurrence as greater or superior to another, it does show the degree of involvement of the user and the impact it may have on the methods that can be implemented accordingly. It may be used as a psycho-behavioral test to assess the motivation and nature of personal and professional participation with technology (Formateje, 2016). 

I created a diagram that clearly illustrates my usage of digital tools. You can see from my diagram that I use digital tools more in my professional life than personal. My professional growth depends on my digital network and it reflects my strong commitment to excel and succeed in my professional space.

References:

Formateje, N. (2016) Digital visitors or digital residents, how do you browse, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Available from: https://www.uoc.edu/portal/en/news/actualitat/2016/086-visitant-resident-digital.html

White, D. and Cornu, A. (2011), Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement, First Monday, Volume 16, Number 9 – 5, Available from: https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171/3049