Digital Immigrant – Digital Settler?
A Digital Immigrant is translated as “digital immigrant.” Such a person was born before 1980, meaning they did not grow up in the digital age and had to learn how to use digital technologies. A Digital Immigrant would probably prefer to print a document before editing it, while a Digital Native, who grew up with digital technology, edits everything directly on the screen.
Today’s Digital Immigrants have largely accepted the digital revolution and are often capable of using new media. They have simply added online media like emails, apps, and social media to their use of traditional media like direct mailings, print, radio, or billboards. The number of classical “rejecters” and “involuntary users” is steadily decreasing, but new technologies are typically used here very consciously and not consumed thoughtlessly.
Digital Immigrants and modern technology
Digital Immigrants had to learn to apply the technologies and make them useful for themselves in order to keep up in the modern world. This applies to both the private and professional spheres. Technologies include the internet, as well as smartphones and computer games. Anyone who doesn’t know what WhatsApp is and how to communicate through it, or which channels Digital Natives use to communicate, likely has little understanding of the younger generation. Children who grew up with computers as a given think and speak differently from Digital Immigrants.
There are three groups among Digital Immigrants:
- The Rejecters: They completely shut themselves off from social media. A smartphone is not purchased.
- The Involuntary Users: They own a smartphone but struggle with the new media. They occasionally write an SMS, WhatsApp is rarely installed, and an Instagram account is generally not set up.
- The Hightech Freaks: They use digital technologies like Digital Natives. They can no longer imagine a world without the internet, smartphones, and so on.
The right customer approach
In marketing, caution is needed when addressing customers. One should carefully consider whether it makes sense to group customers exclusively by birth year when focusing on Digital Immigrants. There is a significant risk of addressing potential customers inappropriately. Very tech-savvy people, despite their age, are probably more likely to be Digital Natives, and Digital Natives can indeed be considered Digital Immigrants if they have no access to or interest in digital technology.
Your contact for targeted customer approach:
You should discuss which media channels will best reach your customers with Tanja Hensler. She is our cross-media expert and is highly familiar with various media (hensler@trebbau.com, Tel.: 0221/37646 – 330).