Not everyone agrees with the language and underlying connotations of the digital native. It suggests a familiarity with technology that not all children and young adults who would be considered digital natives have, though some instead have an awkwardness with technology that not all digital immigrants have. It entirely ignores the fact that the digital universe was conceived of, pioneered, and created by the digital immigrants. In its application, the concept of the digital native preferences those who grow up with technology as having a special status, ignoring the significant difference between familiarity and creative application.
Crucially, there is debate over whether there is any adequate evidence for claims made about digital natives and their implications for education. Bennett, Maton & Kervin (2008), for example, critically review the research evidence and describe some accounts of digital natives having an academic form of a moral panic. Using such a terminology is rather a sign of unfamiliarity and exoticism in relation to digital culture. Of course, nobody is “born digital”; as with any cultural technology, such as reading and writing, it is matter of access to education.
It considers that all youths are digital natives in the modern age. However, this is not the case. It is primarily based on cultural differences and not by age. According to Henry Jenkins (2007), “Part of the challenge of this research is to understand the dynamics of who exactly is, and who is not, a digital native, and what that means.” There are underlying conflicts on the definition of the term “digital natives” and it is wrong to say that all modern age youths are placed in that particular category or that all older adults can be described as digital immigrants.