Personally, I think even this is a simplification, and that a person’s classification may vary depending on the technology referred to. For example, until recently I was a digital refugee with regards to smart phones and associated apps – and yet reading news report on-line is an integral component of my daily routine. I would probably class as a Voyeur with regards to Twitter and Flickr in that I am aware of them, and will use them to gain information but I do not follow anyone, or actively participate myself. Thus there are multiple shades of grey.

I would generally agree that as a student, I tend to be quite focused, like an ordered approach, and work better as an individual than as part of a community. The concepts of ‘shared learning’ is quite alien to me – as is the concept of allowing the “mess” to be apparent. It is quite contradictory to my scientific researcher – the data is analysed, the results and interpretation finalised, and the presentation polished before the work is released to the world at large (typically via a published paper or article). Only those directly collaborating on the work see the mess, being asked to share this process on-line is really quite intimidating to me, and conflicts with my view of professionalism (as well as my tendency towards perfectionism).