Connectedness does not a creator make

The Millennial Generation is, without a doubt, the most connected generation yet. But it turns out connectedness isn’t everything.

A recent article on the website Millennial Marketing says, “Millennials are some of the most avid users of mobile and Internet technology….[They] rely heavily on digital media to manage their daily life activities, stay informed and stave off boredom….Given this level of dependency, it follows that Millennials are adept at manipulating and adapting technology to their needs. However, this is not the case, at least for the majority of Gen Y.”

Children are using technology younger and younger, and they are using more and more of it – but only some of it.

Technology use seems to be a case of the proverbial “jumping off a bridge because everyone else is doing it.” You’re either connected, or you’re missing out on everything – and that’s true for older teenagers and twenty-somethings as well – but that doesn’t mean technology’s being used to the fullest.

Millennials, and even younger generations, are using Facebook, MySpace, Google, YouTube, and the like to find content, but, as the article mentions, “few make use of Twitter or maintain a blog….only half of 18-24-year-olds are what [a survey classifies] as ‘creators’. Few students make use of RSS feeds, wikispaces or other productivity enhancing tools.”

Those of us in communication fields – marketing, PR, journalism, television, film, etc. – are quick to denounce those statistics and statements. They can’t possibly be true because I follow the TNGG crew on Twitter. My iGoogle home page is full of RSS feeds, so I have the most important news right when I open my browser. I’ve even created a website, keep a blog, and am on every social networking site from LinkedIn to MySpace.

But the majority of my friends aren’t. They don’t blog. They don’t create portfolio websites or have a LinkedIn account. They don’t use Twitter. Or, if they do use these tools, it’s to a limited extent.

As an example, look at my boyfriend, a business major. Sure, he has a Facebook page and can find his way around the Internet, but it kind of stops at the basics of reading up on the latest news and YouTube-ing Betty White SNL sketches. And he hates Twitter (although he will occasionally read feeds from the Boston Bruins, Bill Simmons and yours truly).

He’s a user. He’s not a creator. And, in reality, so is most of our generation. Those of us who are so well-connected, who are “creators,” are the exception to the rule. And I think it has something to do with our chosen profession.

As a journalism major, I was taught to use these tools. In many fields, a blog isn’t necessarily going to help you get a job, but it’s imperative knowledge for a communication career. Older generations are looking to us to bring a knowledge of these tools to their companies and connect them with huge networks of users.

Complain about being over-connected all you want,  but it’s the nature of the beast. When everyone else is jumping off the bridge, it doesn’t mean you should jump, too — but if it makes or breaks your career, do you really have a choice?

Photo by bigpresh