Evolving Technology and Its Impact in the Online Lives of University Students

Evolving technological advancement and emerging digital environments have permeated and
changed the lives of young people, commonly known as digital natives globally. The students of today
have spent a good part of their lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, smart phones,
and similar tools of the digital age. As such, they are more comfortable in the midst of their smart
phones, tablets and netbooks as compared with textbooks and lecture notes. This study delves further
into students’ technological activities and intends to study the influence of evolving technology in the
emerging online lives of the digital native university students at a University in Fiji. A survey research
design using a Likert type scale was implemented and the data was analysed using SPSS and
discussed using thematic approach. Findings reveal that young digital native university students were
born in the digital age and have grown up appreciating the power of digital connectedness at a
massive rate in their daily lives. Findings also have implications for pedagogy and practice as
traditional approaches to teaching can be met with resistance and scepticism by the millennials. This
paper recommends that since digital natives are technologically savvy, technological tools could be
used to enhance digital literacy and numeracy leading towards a vibrant digital economy.