Digital natives: The light bearers of the future

The last decade has seen a boom in innovation-driven digital technology. The meteoric rise in popularity of, and hence dependence on, digital platforms and instruments such as the internet and smartphones, have changed not only our way of living, but also how we perceive life experiences. We now live in a globalised, inter-connected era where what we imagine, can quickly transcend into reality through the technology available at our finger tips.

An entire generation, especially those born between the mid-90s and the early 2000's, have grown up in the digital era. We call them "digital natives" because, while we, the "digital immigrants" had to adapt to the digital revolution that we initiated, they were born and raised up in it. There was no period of discovery of and learning the use of a new tool as it were, rather a natural order – in their minds, the way things have always been.

Simple activities, like connecting to people far away, waiting in line to get movie tickets, waiting a week for the next new episode of one's favourite TV show, or having to travel to a shop to pick up a simple product, are all instant and accessible on smartphones or connected devices. The coming of age digital native has never felt the pain of not having to wait for any of the rudimentary tasks listed above. In reality the list of things they can now do on a smart device is endless. 'The stuff of dreams' is now very much a part of their reality.

Thanks to game-changing innovators like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk, to name a few pioneers in their space, today's children perceive 'impossible' to be the next assignment to overcome. They play games on portable supercomputers masquerading as smartphones, communicate instantly with friends or relatives thousands of miles away through social media, and even imagine private travel to space as a genuine possibility when they grow up. All this seems natural to them because they are growing up in an environment where innovation is at its pinnacle, and no problem seems unsolvable. Thanks to ever-advancing digital technology, there is always a better, and easier way of getting something done and there is suddenly one less problem to solve. Notably the pace of progress and innovation is so fast nowadays that it seems that something new and digital is happening every day.

One might wonder, down the road, what these children who are growing up to see the impossible made possible as a regular phenomenon can actually achieve? Are they being crippled by not having to solve problems once associated with coming to age in the 'real world'? I would venture to say rather that the opposite will happen; that these digital natives are destined to achieve whatever they can imagine. As digital technology evolves further, the extent of what can be achieved through technology can only expand, and this digitally perceptive generation will use the new technology as an extension of themselves; we are already seeing evidence of this the world over.

In line with the technological boom, there has been a surge in the number of tech startups; more so in the last decade. We have pleasantly observed that Bangladesh too has caught up with the bandwagon as the number of tech startups grow almost exponentially. This local growth has been enabled by accelerator programmes initiated by the government as well as private organisations such as Grameenphone. Thousands of youth have stepped up and come forward with incredibly innovative digital solutions to address the needs of everyday people – needs ranging from basic services like health and education, to addressing social needs like entertainment, social networking and other diverse areas. The number of successful young entrepreneurs in the country is steadily on the rise. This is very encouraging news for Bangladesh, as we can truly aspire to become fully digitalised within the foreseeable future.

The youth of today are not satisfied with just 'what is' but are constantly pondering over the 'what can be'. Not only are they imagining, but they are also actively engaging to transform their imagination into working prototypes that will one day be the real thing. They are making optimal use of digital platforms to collaborate, prototype and achieve their targets. The digital native as a natural instinct does not want to be bound by the limitations of any social construct, which frees them to significantly broaden their horizon of perceivable realities. They are the true agents of change, of building a whole new world, of truly going beyond.

It is the responsibility of us, the digital immigrants, who have experienced the end of an era and the beginning of a new one, to adapt to the changes, understand the aspirations of our digital native successors, and guide them in a way that they may make optimum use of the resources at their disposal. It is our responsibility that they learn to harness technology in the most responsible way possible. The amalgamation of ideas of two generations, through understanding and collaboration, could make way for unfolding and attaining newer possibilities, towards building a better, brighter future together.

Grameenphone is going to celebrate twenty years of partnership with the people of Bangladesh; in this period we have crossed many milestones driven a revolution in communication and digital technology. The infinite possibility that the digital natives present, not only for Bangladesh but also the world, encourages us to become a trusted partner in innovation and help break any barriers to new possibilities, not only in the next twenty years but for many more to come.