I put a lot of thought into deciding upon a topic for this next post. I figured that those of you who decided to come back (if any) would be judging this blog pretty heavily over the first few posts.
Today I want to talk a little bit about futurism! What is futurism you may ask? Well for the purpose of this blog, it will be a topic based around the discussion of future trends, how the world is changing and how people are changing. (it’s not ultra-geeky science fiction)!!
The Internet era and the big boom created a distinct barrier between the generations. Those that grew up with it and those who were already grown up.
There is no escaping the fact that today’s generation Y is very different to generation X. [Generation X is a term loosely used to describe those born in the 60s and 70s, while Generation Y describes 80s and 90s children].
Generation Y have grown up in a connected world completely different to that of Generation X. A world of MySpace, Instant Messaging, Text Messaging, Bebo, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Youtube, Wikipedia, to name a few; not to mention easy access to gambling, pornography and an uncensored world.
I’d like to quickly add that I am totally anti-sopa and anti-pipa; I am not for one minute suggesting that I am pro-censorship. I am not.
I am making the point that the length of ‘childhood’ is radically shortening in our modern society, with kids growing up faster than ever. And it’s only getting worse.
Generation Y have grown up in a very switched on world. Apparently a television is watched for well over 6 hours a day in an average household. Information is very readily available, with more Internet-enabled devices being developed every day. While previous generations would have to pick up a book or be forced to talk to people to research information; Generation Y have become reliant and perhaps dependant on the Internet. Consequently learning habits and behaviours have changed; why retain information that is available from a search on our smartphones?
I’m not saying this has made Generation Y lazy, rather their learning behaviours have changed. What will happen if this cascades down to primary/elementary school level?
I am one of the twenty-somethings – part of Generation Y. I however, feel like I am between X and Y. While I grew up in this connected world, I got away.
You may have got to this point in the post and thought what the heck is he talking about? Well let me give you an example of how our behaviours are changing:
Facebook. 10s of millions of people have Facebook. I’m sure I am not alone in checking my news feed or ‘timeline’ a few times a day. It has become habit. Maybe slightly addictive. The ease of finding out what all your friends are doing or thinking simultaneously; browsing pictures from holidays or nights out, seeing what other friends are planning together or discussing. You feel closer to these friends, knowing what is going on in their lives. Almost like you have renewed contact. You don’t feel the need to call or text or visit because you know the news. What would you talk about?
Months go by and you haven’t had 1:1 contact, yet you know a lot about what has been going on in their lives – often waaay too much! The next time you see that person, you know a lot about them and they feel like the friend they once were – but is this all one sided? Did they read about what you were doing? Did you share what you were doing on Facebook in the first place?
I realise this is a bit of an extreme example but hopefully you get the idea.
We have to be more conscious than ever to remember what really matters in life.
Ultimately, the role of being a parent is becoming more difficult than ever. While the Internet and modern technology is fantastic in some respects, is it destroying our world in others?
You Decide.
PS. I realise this post sounded more serious than i wanted it to!