The article discussed how Gen Y has literally grown up surrounded by technology. I always find myself mentioning this is discussions with my parents when they don't understand how to save a picture to the desktop of a computer! (That really is a losing battle.)
Generation Y has been referred to as the first people native of the digital landscape. This means that a Generation Y has never known a world that did not include the Internet, cellular phones and immediately available parallel communications.Although I remember sitting on a computer at the ripe 'ole age of four, my household wasn't "connected" to the internet until I was 14. I still remember how exciting that was for my brother and I to actually have a slow connection to the internet. My only encounter with the net before had been in a strictly controlled environment in my junior high library.
As far as cell phones go, my mom still doesn't know how to check a text, so I don't bother sending them to her. She still hasn't mastered scrolling through the names to find the "contact" should would like to talk to.
Another point the article made was "Neighborhood Y".
For a member of Generation Y, Facebook is a home in their personal neighborhood, while MySpace is their bedroom. It is not unusual for Generation Y individuals who initially met in a professional environment to exchange Facebook and even MySpace contact information to facilitate a larger social interaction.Although I briefly had a MySpace account, I got too hooked on it. These networking sites are highly addictive! I decided to delete the MySpace account since I already set up a Facebook profile. I can't argue for either because each has evolved so much since their introduction on the Web.
I believe a Facebook account can come in handy if you use it right. And by use, I mean connecting with long lost friends. With both of these sites, Gen Y has become all too comfortable with posting seriously important information that should be reconsidered. I don't have to remind you guys what I mean!
We can probably agree that Gen Y is truly advantaged technologically. I just hope this skill that we've been honing since the age of four, you know, playing Rodent's Revenge, will someday be a skill that sets us apart from others and earns us a higher salary!
4 comments:
I agree that the Gen Y is more technologically advanced than our parents. We have basically grown up with computers around us. I remember a picture that my mother took when I was just a baby and I was sitting on my dad's lap while he was typing on his new computer. My mother also teaches kindergarten and her students go to the computer lab once a week to learn the basics. I do not have a MYSPACE or a Facebook account but I know that most college and high school students do. I believe this is the newest and latest thing of our generation. If you are not tuned in to one of these sites, apparently you are committing social suicide. I think that the older generation can still latch on to the new generation's ways and learn about the iPod, cell phones, and computers. It just takes a little practice.
I will admit to being addicted to Myspace and Facebook. Signing on is like going into a room where all of your friends are waiting on you. I honestly can't remember a time I wasn't able to communicate with who I wanted whenever I wanted. I don't know how people once got along without the internet! Gen Y is definitely more technologically advanced. I also never bother texting my mom. She calls every so often asking how to transfer her pictures from her camera to her computer. We just might be the first generation who has to give instructions to their parents.
I believe that we do have an advantage because we are generally more tech-savvy than previous generations. However, that advantage will disappear as the next generation, who is more tech-savvy, comes along. Then it's the same predicament all over again.
And Facebook/MySpace can be tools if used correctly (though they rarely are). I help my boss check applicants to our department. Sometimes that process includes checking out their online presence. Finding that someone's top interests are "fetishes" and "role-playing" sets off an alarm. Be careful, everyone!
It's crazy how far technology has come just in our generation, and what advances are still being made! I agree that Facebook and MySpace are, unfortunately, some of the biggest booms in technology in recent times. Even though I grew up during the intial Internet boom, I still never would have predicted we would be using it for social networking like we are today.
However, I really think that all of the online dependency for social interaction will change our generations social scene and skills in public drastically. How much simpler is it to message someone rather than meet them and say something face-to-face? What will constant lack of personal, physical interaction do to our social psyche? Even more importantly (because I find myself doing it so often!), how good can it really be for us to know every tiny detail of someone's life who we may not have seen since high school? I guess only time will tell what these social networking sites (that I'm so addicted to...) will do to our sense of personal interaction and interpersonal skills.
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