Growing up Online
By Abby Schoffman: “Twenty-four and a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, I’m a young professional in the PR field and searching for my first real job. I’m a native Minnesotan who’s currently living in perpetually sunny Southwest Florida. After three and a half years here, I like to think I’ve lost my accent, but unfortunately I still hear “Bobby’s World” jokes. I’m passionate about social media and all things digital. I blog. I tweet. You can find me on Twitter as @abschoff.”
Almost everything I could possibly need is just a click away on the Internet. To me, that’s a good thing. But some people feel that Gen Y is too connected and that our dependence on digital communication is negatively impacting our lives.
They say that we’re becoming disconnected from the real world and forgetting how to interact face-to-face. Apparently all this social media business is ruining our social skills.
I got my first computer in 6th grade. I was addicted that first time I dialed up and connected the Internet. My early days online consisted mostly of cruising chat rooms, talking with friends on ICQ and feeling cool because I knew how to create an Angelfire website. A few years later came Napster—back when downloading music was free and “legal”—which further opened the possibilities of things we could use the Internet for. It just so happens that now, at 24, my online activities are much the same as they were back when I was 12.
The Internet has always been about communicating and having a wealth of information available to you the moment you need it; it’s only the tools that have changed.
These days, on an average morning, I check at least one of my online accounts from my phone before even getting out of bed. Soon after that I’m powering up the MacBook Pro and catching up on anything I’ve missed—tweets, wall posts, e-mails, blogs, news headlines, etc. I can’t even count the number of ways I use the Internet. It has replaced the need for phonebooks, dictionaries, photo albums and even the radio. Half the time I don’t even need my phone because there are so many ways to communicate online. Who wants to leave voicemails and play phone tag when you can send a quick tweet, a private Facebook message or a lengthier e-mail?
We’re so accustom to being online that we’re comfortable making big decisions with only a keyboard and a mouse. We’re used to making expensive purchases and planning entire trips anywhere we can pick up a Wi-Fi connection. I’m currently preparing to move to another state, and I haven’t made a single phone call related to the move thus far (besides sharing the exciting news of the move with friends and family. Yes, this is an example of a time I’d rather talk on the phone). I’ve booked plane tickets with Travelocity and my hotel on Expedia. I’ve used Craigslist to search for an apartment, e-mail to connect with the owners and Twitter to get recommendations and advice from friends whom I’ve never even met in real life.
Despite all the benefits of growing up online, it’s a common concern that the Internet is breaking down Gen Y’s ability to communicate. Personally, I disagree. We aren’t socially inept just because we grew up in a digital age with the Internet and social networking at our fingertips.
Sure, I’d probably talk on the phone more often if it weren’t for Facebook and e-mail, but who says the phone is the best way to communicate anyway? I understand that previous generations grew up with snail mail and the telephone as primary methods for getting in touch, but we grew up with the Internet, and that’s the new norm.
The Internet has expanded the ways we can communicate. It has opened up possibilities that weren’t available to previous generations, and it has certainly shaped our lives. The question, however, is whether it has affected our lives in a positive way? Has growing up online shaped your life for the better? Or do you think it has hurt our generation?
Photo Credit: urosvelickovic
Author: Abby Schoffman – Twenty-four and a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, I’m a young professional in the PR field and searching for my first real job. I’m a native Minnesotan who’s currently living in perpetually sunny Southwest Florida. After three and a half years here, I like to think I’ve lost my accent, but unfortunately I still hear “Bobby’s World” jokes. I’m passionate about social media and all things digital. I blog. I tweet. You can find me on Twitter as @abschoff.
12 Responses
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
-
[...] the original here: Growing up Online | The Next Great Generation Bookmark It Hide Sites $$('div.d182').each( function(e) { [...]
-
[...] our ComfortGelTM Shoulder Strap. Exterior: w… No product reviews available Recommended Blogs Growing up Online | The Next Great GenerationSoon after that I'm powering up the MacBook Pro and catching up on anything I've [...]
There are certainly basement dwellers who have lost touch with humanity, but I think the internet is a connectivity tool for people who (in pre-internet times) would be living in social isolation anyway.
My friends and I aren't strictly interwebs-only. Man, they still write handwritten letters to each other. But when my friends post something on my Wall or say something hilarious on Twitter, I can hear just how they would say it, and I can tell what video game they're playing or how their job hunt is going… It makes me feel closer to them, not further apart. It's possible for me to feel genuine affection over the internet. And it's silly to suggest we don't want face-to-face interaction; we're just a very fast-paced, busy generation and we don't necessarily have the time.
I think it's not that we've lost touch with social norms or become socially inept, but in contrast we've just created a whole new way to communicate. Something that older generations don't understand and therefore think we're crazy. The reality is that older generations always end up “behind the times” no matter what generation it is…their kids are just a bit more advanced than they were/are.
On the other hand, as a GenY, sometimes I'm just sick and tired of being connected all the time and really wish I could just have some “actual” interactions with people. So, those times become just that much more special. — For example: a guy recently called me on the phone to ask me out…this I found AMAZING. In addition, the only info I have about him is his place of work, his first name, and his phone number. No facebook, no google, no twitter, no texting. I feel like I'm going in blind, but I'm really excited about it because I get to learn about someone from them, not from their facebook profile.
If anything, I think all this connectivity makes getting a snail-mail letter (or, heck, even an e-mail) or a phone call that much better. I love coming home to postcards from my friend in Australia or getting an honest-to-goodness phone call from a friend away at school. That's not to say that I don't use Facebook, Twitter, etc. all the time — and it *does* make me feel more connected to my friends — but I try to remember that, although I feel like I know what's going on in their lives just by reading their walls, I need to actually call and catch up.
I'm a bit older than GenY. Hell, I'm a lot older, 46, but I first used the Internet in 1994 and I have NEVER looked back. People who lament its negative impacts are like the Taliban, pining for the days when when women could be abused in public to praise from Allah.
Okay, here's a slightly more rational response: if there is a negative aspect to being connected all the time it's that even when you are sitting directly across from someone, you are probably a little distracted, maybe checking your phone. At least I am. Also, my thumbs are sore! Seriously…
Great post, Abby, and I'm totally with you on this one. You're right, we grew up with the Internet and it is completely the new norm. If you aren't checking your e-mail from your phone, texting, tweeting, updating Facebook or checking out blog posts or news items online, you're living in the dark ages. The Internet has allowed us to be content producers and consumers all at the same time–and with warp speed. You can now receive and disseminate so much faster than ever before. On the other hand, I still love getting a phone call from a friend or receiving a handwritten letter in the mail. It's all about melding the two into one–remembering the old and embracing the new.
You make a good point. There are some people who are anti-social to begin with, with or without a computer to hide behind. I also agree that when communicating online with people you already know, it's easier to attach a little bit of non-verbal communication to their messages. Many think that part of communication is always 100% lost when interacting online, but like you said — you can often hear the tone of voice or see the facial expression a friend would have when saying a certain phrase, etc.
Rianna, the point you make about the date is funny. Googling someone or looking them up on Facebook or LinkedIn before a first meeting has become pretty standard. I've actually found this really beneficial in my job hunt. But I agree that being connected 24/7 can be exhausting. Taking a break from the digital world and just focusing on being “present” for a weekend is always refreshing.
I can't count the number of times I've heard a friend mention something on the phone or in person only to realize that the reason I knew that tidbit was because of Twitter or Facebook (opposed to having ever been told the info). Although you may feel connected because you “hear” what's going on, it's easy to forget that simply following someone's Facebook activity is one-way communication.
I agree. Just because we wouldn't want to go back to the days before the internet doesn't mean there aren't some negative aspects of our 24/7 connectivity. If I haven't checked my e-mail in the past half hour, chances are that I'm thinking about how I really need to check it. I'd love the kind of concentration and focus that comes only without Facebook and Twitter calling my name every time I'm near the computer, but the truth is — the benefits outweigh the downfalls, so it's a small price to pay.
Now that I have a full-time position, I find that I feel much more disconnected than when I was unemployed. Sure, I'm still sitting at a computer and checking work e-mails from 9-5:30, but I don't have as much time for Twitter, blogs, etc. during the day. I get home at night and see just how much stuff I missed out on. I was so used to being informed of what's going on via the internet that it's an adjustment to cut back.
I love your last line about melding the two forms of communication together. I think that's so important. You probably couldn't pay us enough to even consider giving up the internet, but that doesn't mean that it's okay for us to forget how to pick up the phone or carry a conversation when face-to-face.
Thanks for commenting, Laurie!