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.

Is Social Media a Crime Fighting Tool?

Traditionally, evidence such as DNA, fingerprints and eyewitness accounts are what helps convicts defendants in criminal cases, but in this case their tool is social media. Who would have imagined that social media can help solve a case?

Three teenage boys were arrested Thursday and are faced with charges of sexual battery. The incident happened at an unsupervised house party in Saratoga, California, in September. Almost a year later, the three teenage boys were arrested.

It’s amazing how evidence can go viral! Similar to another case, where two football players were convicted of raping a girl who had too much to drink and images posted to social media sites. What is this world coming to?

In this case, Audrie Pott had too much to drink as well and eventually passed out.  The three teenage boys took advantage of her and took photos of the attack. They shared them at school, via text and social media networks. After learning that her photos were posted online, 15 year old Audrie posted on Facebook,

“They took pictures of me.

My life is ruined.

This is the worst day ever”.  

 

After this accouchement she hung herself.  

The case shocked many in Silicon Valley, where many of the tech giants, including Facebook are located. It underscored the immoral use of technology by young people in bullying others. Digital technologies can expand the harm that people suffer greatly.

The photos were taken of the assault as it was taking place. They spread like wildfire online. It was obvious who the culprits were by the username that uploaded the photos. 

On the Friday after her death, September 14, all the students at Saratoga High wore teal, Audrie's favorite color



It’s clear that Facebook and Twitter are added to the list of crime fighting tools. Social media has helped police agencies solve cases big and small.

Everyone in the high school knew who was responsible due to the leakage of photos from the assault. Although the images that were posted online were disturbing and upsetting they were useful throughout the investigation. All in all, the pictures assisted in bringing the young men to justice.

Social networking addiction is creating what can ultimately be a vast crime fighting network, by connecting people (witnesses) to the locations, dates, times, and photos that are instrumental in solving crimes.



Social media is helpful during law enforcement investigations

 

We have small clues about our lives all over the internet like fingerprints. In this California case, both the photos and Facebook post served as evidence to help capture Audrie’s offenders.

Revisited Wiki Post

In my previous post in regards to my Wikipedia edit, I explained how mind boggled I was. It was so easy to edit information on the World Wide Web. It’s fascinating as this site is very “creditable” because many people use it as a source. As I mentioned in my previous post, Wikipedia is used by professors and students to retrieve “valuable” information for their research.

Being that my topic is revolved around the addictions to social media, I looked into theories related to excessive need to be plugged in. “Uses and gratifications theory” , is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy needs. I wanted to analyze this theory and see how true it holds to my recent research and observations of Generation Y first hand.

The section that I felt needed revising was “New Media Examples of UGT”. I felt this section needed to provide users with real life experiences. I added the personal touch that would relate to the users instantly.

BUT, as I recently visited the page they changed my revision to:

New Media Examples of UGTThe application of New Media to the Uses and Gratifications Theory has been positive.^[20] The introduction of the Internet, social media and technological advances has provided another outlet for people to use and seek gratification through those sources. Based on the models developed by Katz, Blumler, Gurevitch and Lasswell, individuals can choose to seek out media in one outlet, all falling within the proscribed categories of need. The only difference now, is that the audience does not have to go to multiple media outlets to fulfill each of their needs. The Internet has created a digital library, allowing individuals to have access to all content from various mass medium outlets.”

Not only does technology provide an outlet for people who seek the need to fulfill that satisfaction but it also impacted our lives and how we communicate. I feel as though the examples provided aren’t sufficient enough. 

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.