AIRAN SCRUBY
Editor in Chief
Every generation seeks to define itself, to set itself apart from those that came before. Particularly since the Baby Boomers, sociologists and historians have sought to classify each generation as well. Generation X, so long a topic of fascination for the academic and media worlds, has grown up, now in their late 20s and early 30s.
And the generation after X, Generation Y, is beginning to come into its own. With the eldest of the bunch beginning to graduate college and the youngest still in high school, the generation has generated a buzz similar to that of Gen X in its heyday.
But where Generation X was defined by grunge music, nihilism and rebellion, Generation Y is known for its optimism, its desire to network and stay connected to those in their peer group. Generation Y has a world-at-their-fingertips approach to the world made possible by their incredible access to technology.
Generation X was known for its attitude. Generation Y is known for its iPods.
The new generation is more than technology savvy. While Generation X-ers use computers and cell phone, people from Generation Y are rarely seen without theirs, and consider their technology as extensions of selves.
Millenials, a nickname for Generation Y’ers, have had personal computers at home since they could read and have cell phones since junior high school. Their use of the iPod and other Apple products turned a once-secondary computer company into a commercial giant. Generation Y has even popularized MySpace, Facebook and YouTube.
Generation Y also watched the defining tragedy of their generation, the events of Sept. 11th, 2001, live on television.
And they have developed new ways of communicating, new ways of working and new ways of dealing with stress and loss through technology.
Tech does not just help Generation Y-ers to express themselves — it has defined who they are.
In a study by Harris Interactive, a national market research firm, today’s college students spend an average of 11 hours each day engaged with media of some kind, including the Internet, television and cell phones.
Part of this total was the average 3.5 hours students spend daily on e-mail, instant messaging and surfing the Web on sites like Facebook and MySpace. Text messaging on cell phones accounts for an average 20 minutes every day, and 85 percent of students who own an MP3 player use them daily.
This constant use of technology means members of this generation are always multitasking. Dr. Linda Polin, Davidson Endowed Professor at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, specializes in the study of young people and how they interface with each other online, as well as the way online communities share knowledge.
Polin said the multitasking that dominates the generation may be resulting in a problems in the quality of their work and their relationships.
“What I see is not good,” Polin said. “It’s not that multitasking is not good, but clearly some tasks are more attractive than others … the quality of work does tend to fall off when you multitask.”
Polin also pointed to a possible degeneration in face-to-face communication.
“What suffers are the interpersonal, real time channels that lose out,” Polin said.
Dr. Chris Stivers, Web administrator for Seaver College, said the new technology is hindering communication on campus. Using e-mail, podcasting AOL Instant Messenger and other Internet technology allows students to pass classes with less face-to-face contact with their teachers, forming less lasting relationships.
“It’s a lot easier to use these tools for avoidance, rather than greater communications,” Stivers said.
Stivers said the extra time young people have to experiment with technology separates them from previous generations, causing them to focus their energy on themselves.
Stivers said people in Generation Y are using their iPods and other technology to “blot out the world,” including the generations who came before them.
Students said technological difference does not mean close relationships with parents and grandparents are impossible.
“I’m really close to my mom, and she only has a cell phone,” Senior Dean Curosmith said. “She doesn’t have Facebook or MySpace or AOL Instant Messenger, but I still talk to her on a semi-regular basis.”
Curosmith said relationships with older generations can be evaluated only on an individual basis and are not necessarily affected by technology.
Curosmith said seeing Sept. 11th’s tragedies on television changed his generation’s perspective on trauma.
“I think it did change how we view tragedy, and I don’t think it was for the better,” Curosmith said. “We’re sensationalizing everything.”
Constant exposure to the events of Sept. 11th and further exposure to violence on the Internet and on television have led some to believe that could make students callous to war.
“I don’t think that people are getting used to violence,” Polin said.
The effect on Generation Y may not be subsequent insensitivity to the images they see but a new interest in politics and activism, according to Polin.
Polin said blogs from soldiers on the ground and other ways of connecting directly with those affected by the war on terror and other political issues around the world, like the AIDS epidemic, will make members of Gen Y more sensitive to the world around them.
“I think you’re going to find it’s a much more politically hip and prone to action generation,” Polin said.
Polin said technology is also allowing Millenials to deal with personal grief in a new way.
Since so many young people have Facebook and MySpace accounts, those who pass away at a young age leave a memento of themselves behind. Friends often continue to comment on their pages, sometimes just to say goodbye, some Generation Y-ers even continue to message their friends years after their passing.
Polin said this is an indication that Generation Y members feel more comfortable with the Internet than any previous generation and are finding ways to make it personal.
“It’s more of an indication of people’s sense of the net as theirs,” Polin said. “There’s a power for people in that.”
Polin said young people are personalizing the net in other ways, especially through their profiles in chat rooms and networks, as well as through YouTube.
Stivers said use of YouTube to publish unflattering videos and Facebook to post pictures of themselves drinking are part of a trend for the generation.
“I think to some degree, this generation doesn’t really have the concept of shame,” Stivers said.
Stivers said a lack of interest on the generation’s behalf in elevating the society has resulted in feelings that publishing on YouTube and Facebook should allow individuals to show off their irresponsibility with few consequences.
Polin is more optimistic about the purpose of Facebook, MySpace and YouTube for Generation Y.
There are problems with some forms of expression on the Web — profiles from the Internet will likely follow some Generation Y-ers for several years, Polin said. She thinks most posts on the Web are lighthearted, part of play behavior.
“I think it’s fun — I think it’s play,” Polin said. “It’s kind of everybody’s chance to be the class clown.”
Regardless of the purpose of the Internet for Generation Y, Polin and Stivers agree the generation’s use of technology is always changing.
Stivers said while faculty and administrators used to notice differences in the way students were using technology every five years or so. Now, each class is different.
Polin said teens a few years from college are extremely comfortable with technology and are already changing how it is used. Children in middle school now watch YouTube as much as or more than they watch television.
She said her daughter, an 8th grader, has her own perspective on technology.
“For my daughter, e-mail is for old people.”
03-12-2007