Millennial (Y) Generation

The Internet has a power to influence, connect, and mobilize the population. Technological advances are no longer shocking but simply expected.  Today’s society has different expectations for all types of relationships. Relationships are now different because the tools used to maintain peer to peer connections have undergone a vast alteration. The primary focus is on the Internet and, with that, the development of social media. Social media are a web-based technology that transforms how people communicate by enhancing interactive conversations.

 Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, said, 

More than 175 million people use Facebook. If it were a country, it would be the sixth most populated country in the world.

Facebook has the ability to bring people together in a wide variety of ways.  People are now accessing social media from mobile devices and laptops making it a commonality in everyday life. 

Social media platforms as Facebook brings bad habits

Social media is continuing to grow exponentially based on the wants of the people nowadays. Social media users are Generation Y, also referred to as the ‘net generation,’ who have grown up understanding the power of the Internet. Generation Y is unconsciously addicted to social media and as a result they feel constant pressure to be connected with their peers through maintaining a connection with technology such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets. The internet and social media are a new kind of fluency, it’s like an acquired language. Social media has their own language, culture norms, and sensibilities. Those who practice the skill are naturally going to adapt to it and will use it in their daily routine.

It’s sad how we the millennial (birth dates from the early 1980s to the early 2000s) are considered to be apathetic, disinterested, tuned out, and selfish. From the Clinton Global Initiative University, 75% of students are likely addicted to social media. It is said that the millennials are regularly drawn to their cell phone. As mobile natives, it is said that we recognize mobile phones as more than just phone calls because it enables texting between friends or even tweeting. Millennials are viewed as social media obsessed. I mean who isn't ? It’s hard not to be in the world we live in today. Everything is related to social media. But, some do live for their “likes” and status updates.

The new digital age has brought about extraordinary developments in technology have altered the world. Yes, technology does play an important role in our day to day lives which is what makes generation Y’s view of the social world different to others. They haven’t lived in a world without it! Generation Y has the need to stay plugged into social media platforms. Young people may describe their phone as a part of themselves and wouldn't be able to function without it. Technology has become integrated in our culture.

Post Later, Remind Me Later

I find it funny that I too find myself caught up in a trend. I used to tease my friends about ignoring my calls and texting me right after. Ugh! But, now, I too prefer to text than call. It’s crazy! I blame the influence of this generation. They prefer to communicate with each other via text message in place of causal conversation:

• What time are you out of class?
• Do you want to eat lunch together?
• What are you doing?

But as I get heavily involved in my professional career I find myself exchanging direct communication:

• Running late, on my way
• Review the attached document and edit it to your liking
• Confirm that you will be in attendance at our next meeting

If it wasn't for caller ID, you’d never know who called you because you barely answer the phone or at least I don’t. I also get impatient and find myself just deleting the voicemails before listening to it and just texting back, “What did you call for?" 

I found an interesting article that I’d thought was relevant to share, Disruptions: Digital Era Redefining Etiquette. This article uncovers the un-normal norms. What was once normal is now foreign to people.

Voicemail lost its purpose because people expect a text message rather than a voicemail.  I mean think about how long it takes to access your voicemail and actually listen to those lengthy messages. It may seem time consuming compared to shooting a quick text message to someone. Phone companies made it even easier for us to comply with this lazy way of communicating. For iPhone users, have you noticed the reply with message option and for droid users, have you noticed the reject call with message option? They are encouraging us to ignore calls! Why?!

It’s amazing how many socials norms just don’t make sense anymore. People are SO wrapped up in  digital communication that they lose touch with the polite and civilized ways people used to interact. Rather than just asking someone for directions, they prefer to Google something on their smartphone. Technology is taking away from our interpersonal skills. The author mentioned when he asked a friend for something that could be easily discovered on the internet, his friend responded with, lmgtfy.com, which means Let Me Google That For You. Aha! Now, that’s rude!

Fun Fact: "Google" became a transitive verb on June 15th, 2006 in the Oxford English Dictionary

But it's true! People lost their touch. Take the smartphone for instance, there’s an app for everything! You have a widget for weather, contacts, maps, store hours, and so much more. People no longer have a reason to have a conversation with someone nor ask any questions. It seems as unnecessary communication to this generation!  Why ask someone something that I can simply access by the ends of my fingertips? It’s even a verb! When my fellow classmates ask a question and are not sure about the answer, they would suggest, “You should Google that!”

The article hits home for me and I’m sure it will for you too. Will our politeness die out? Is it no longer a trending topic? Let’s hope our forms of communication become important again. 

Unlike Any Other Generation

The Generation Y which is the Millennial Generation consist of those born between 1980-2000. Digital technologies have given rise to a new generation of students and consumers. This generation was spoiled having to grow up with the internet. It definitely shaped their approach to education, work and politics.

Generation Y was born in the digital age unlike other generations who had to relearn everything. The forms of expression have changed immensely, where others may have wrote essays or poems to express themselves to now students creating YouTube videos. For example, have you checked out the new "Harlem Shake" Video Craze? It's the latest craze to sweep the internet that is bringing college students together. Check out the following video made by yours truly, Fairleigh Dickinson University Freshmen: 

We can never underestimate the power of the internet. It’s even evident in the school system! Professors and institutions transformed their learning techniques to cater to the computer-savvy students.  Teachers moved lessons to online discussions to fully engage the new student demographic. The school system designs their lesson plans to cater to the digital generation so they can feel more comfortable as students have radically changed. It’s scary how we're even at this point! Teachers may even feel as though their students are more up to date than they are. The students who are more digitally aware may understand things teachers or professors may not and the professors or teachers will have to play catch up.

As social media changed the way we learn in a classroom it has also changed how students practice activism. Students can freely join a Facebook group supporting a specific political party. According to the Pew Research Center study, 18-24 aged users were the LEAST likely of all ages to e-mail/reach out to a public official or to make a online political donation. But, when it came to using the web to share political news or join political causes, they were the primary age group to do so. They dominated the news feed with political related updates! The digital era isn't genuinely interested in being more politically involved; instead they only wanted to broadcast their “activism” to their fellow “friends” or followers on Facebook, Twitter and etc. The level of involvement we may see on these social media platforms may be deceiving.