Surprising Anti-Millennial Psyche of Internet Natives: Chapter Three

Internet Pioneers are the first generation of Internet Natives and have scarcely known life without the Internet Born between 1991 and 1995 Internet Pioneers have graduated from high school A few are starting families Whether Internet Pioneers are in college working or looking for work in a destabilized economy they39re facing unprecedented challenges Many still live at home or will need to live at home after collegeThere39s no digital or technology divide among Internet Pioneers Kids from the poorest neighborhoods have been early adopters of the latest mobile phones They text game and use YouTube Everyone has access to the same technology and everyone uses it in similar ways247 online and mobile connectivity is the norm for Internet Pioneers They don39t quotgo onlinequot their online and offline worlds converge into one quotalways onquot reality They are socializing almost all the time As my 19yearold stepdaughter Izzy said quotI don39t think about the role or impact the Internet has on me and my life It39s just therequotTo Internet Pioneers computers have always been small enough Google has always been a verb and cell phones have been in their hands for much of their lives These students depend on technology in ways not previously seen in other age groups The 2011 Cisco Connected Technology Report stated that quotOne of every three college students and young employees believes the Internet is as important as air water food and shelterquot The survey also found that two out of five college students ranked surfing the Internet above dating hanging out with friends and even listening to music This means that slightly less than half of Internet Pioneers are as happy to socialize online as face to faceAccording to a survey sponsored by Pearson Foundation many of today39s college students consider a highspeed Internet connection more important than any single person on campus Of 1434 community college students surveyed in 2011 more than 70 percent believe that a highspeed Internet connection is essential for educational successMy 2012 research further backs this up95 of Internet Pioneers are on Facebook and 50 update daily47 quottweetquot40 use checkin apps like Foursquare and Facebook Places44 write their own blog while 62 comment on the blogs of others52 post their own videos to YouTube58 engage with virtual worlds83 play online andor console gamesA whopping 90 shop online with 52 using online coupons from Groupon Living Social and other quotsales dealquot sitesTypical Internet Pioneers wake up in the morning turn off the Smartphone alarm and immediately check for new texts or emails In seconds they can respond to messages from school and friends accept an invitation to lunch and wish friends a happy birthday via Facebook Communication is as much a part of their routines as brushing their teethInternet Pioneers A Subset of the MillennialsMillennials also known as Generation Y are the larger generation that includes the subset of Internet Pioneers Millennials are the last generation born in the 20th century and the first few years of the 21stamp8211amp8211including everyone born between 1980 and 2005 a total in the United States of 105 million people In the addendum to this book is the Wikipedia description of MillennialsWhatever the purpose for analyzing this generationamp8211amp8211sociology political marketing urban planningamp8211amp8211it39s misguided to consider Millennials as a single cohesive generation They comprise three or more overlapping but distinct and diverse subsets that have the computer and television as their common bond Younger postInternet Millennials born after 1995 many of whom were born into homes with computers already connected to the Internet and AOL will be dramatically different from those preInternet Millennials born from 1982 to 1991 whose first years may have included computer software and games but who were typically not online until well into their school yearsInternet Pioneers are the Bridge Generation between pre and postInternet Millennials They make use of media far more actively than any generation before them They are creating systems and platforms and new ways of integrating media in all aspects of their lives They expect to be able to use technology and media to make their lives better They assume technology will be there for dealing with things as simple as attending meetings via their cell phone voting teleconferencing with teachers and controlling their home electronics They are more likely to shop online and their sophisticated understanding of privacy issues is greater than prior studies have suggestedThey spend inordinate amounts of time in pursuits far far different from those of generations before them As you will read throughout this book they are the antiMillennials contradicting almost every norm that has been established for preInternet MillennialsPreInternet MillennialsThe older Millennials born 19801990 are more comparable to the younger GenY cohort born in the mid1970s when microprocessors quietly entered the scenequotComputers began to invade everyday life with astonishing speed It was more than sixty years between Watt39s first rotary steam engine and the coining of the phrase Industrial Revolution but it was clear that a computer revolution was under way less than a decade after the first microprocessor was produced The first commercial products were handheld calculators that quickly sent the adding machine and the slide rule into oblivion Word processors began to replace the typewriter in the mid1970s And microprocessors unseen and usually unnoted began to be used in automobiles kitchen appliances television sets wristwatches and hundreds of other everyday items Many new productsamp8211amp8211cordless phones cell phones DVDs CDs digital cameras PDAs amp8211amp8211would not be possible without them By the 1990s they were ubiquitousamp8230Today tens of millions of children and adolescents have on their desks and use constantly computing power that would have been beyond the reach of all but national governments thirty years ago Their developing brains areamp8230 being wired to use computers as an adjunct of their own intellectquot John Gordon SteeleAn Empire of Wealth Rise of the American Economy 16072000Second Wave MillennialsInternet Pioneers the second wave of Millennials also have had their brains figuratively connected directly to the Internet accounting for their informed perspectives on politics social involvement education religion sexuality women39s rights and many other issuesThe allencompassing Millennial or GenY group is also known as the MTV Generation But the Internet Pioneer subset is better described as the Nickelodeon Generation Think of the differences between MTV and Nick and you get the differences between older Millennials and Internet Pioneers Read more about this in Chapter 11The fiveyear Internet Pioneer group born between 1991 and 1995 represents only 20 percent of total Millennials yet they promise to be the most influential and important bloc not only among Millennials but one of the most influential of the past or next 100 plus years What is the Fundamental Nature of Internet Pioneersamp183 They are confidently empowered but do not consider themselves to be entitledamp183 They are focused on themselves but care deeply about their families and their friends which is sometimes an imposing responsibilityamp183 They have opinions and respect the opinions of others and have little patience or tolerance for uninformed viewpointsamp183 They expect to be given the freedom and power to manage their lives yet seek out and consider the advice of othersamp183 They are perfectionists who strive to achieve assuming they have the ability and potentialamp183 They question the rules but mostly live within themamp183 They accept and embrace diversity not as an aspiration but as an accepted realityamp183 They are global in their vision and also embrace and value their local communitiesamp183 They are spiritual and open to universal thinking about life after death and their responsibilities in this lifeamp183 They celebrate and value both intelligence and funamp183 They39re creative and love talented musicians actors writers and artists and they also embrace creativity in everyday activitiesamp183 They have a sense of humor and embrace sarcasm They39re clear on the difference between being funny and being insensitive to othersamp183 They expect to marry and have families but are in no hurry They39re sexually active and accepting of different sexual lifestylesamp183 They want the opportunity to achieve their goals and dreams as we all do they understand that the world is a difficult and challenging place and that they need to work hard to achieve these goalsThese attributes differ in many ways from those of the Millennials who were born before themHow do Internet Pioneers Spend Their TimeThey watch more television than any generation before them yet they find time to create and watch YouTube videos blog and text nonstop browse the web endlessly play video and social games listen to music hold down paying jobs spend time with their family and somehow get their homework done They take connectivity for granted expect to have 247 access to each other their families information shopping music movies and televisionWe know they are active and engaged via technology but how about Internet Pioneers39 offline lives Although they may be constantly texting Tweeting or updating all but a handful also spend quality time each day with their families and quotin personquot time with friends They have personal hobbies and complete their homework More than twothirds play sports or participate in activities such as music dance or drama 75 percent actually pick up a newspaper magazine or book including textbooks in print format every day a habit that connects Internet Pioneers to previous generations but an activity that will inevitably wane among future Internet Natives Considering all this activity a surprising number of Internet Pioneers claims to spend a few minutes each day awake but doing nothing How do they find the time to do nothing at all My guess is they39re actually engaged doing something but just not defining itMost 64 percent Internet Pioneers rarely see a live sporting event concert theater or other outofhome entertainment which certainly contradicts the perceptions of marketers who invest billions in onsite sponsorship of these events Only 8 percent attend live events at least once weekly Those who are college students are actively partying but they39re less likely than prior generations to date in the traditional context or to participate in organized social events Even movies attract Internet Pioneers only once a month on average with only 8 percent going out to the movies every weekHow much time do they spend daily outside of school on socializing studying sleeping and doing nothing at all All in with multitasking they are active every minute of every day spend six to seven hours in classes during the school year and get nearly seven hours of sleep nightly a total of more than 36 hours of activity each 24hour day College students are doing all this while consuming an average of six alcoholic drinks per week according to MathimorticiancomInternet Pioneers Time Spent in all Activitiesamp160amp160amp160Source Jack MyersIpsosOTX Survey of 1000 Internet Pioneers August 2011amp160amp160Includes spending no time on each activityamp160amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160amp160 Who Engageamp160amp160 HoursMinutesamp160in This ActivityOnline Socializationamp160amp160amp160Texting120amp16091On Facebook112amp16091On Other Social Media Blogs etcamp160 46amp16072Video Calling Using Skype or another service27amp16054On Twitter22amp16057TOTAL4 hours 7 minutes dailyamp160amp160amp160amp160amp160Personal Time with Family ampamp Friendsamp160amp160amp160amp160Inperson with Friends143amp16094Spending quotquality timequot with my parents121amp16092Talking on the phone39amp16089TOTAL3 hours 43 minutes dailyamp160amp160amp160amp160amp160Activitiesamp160amp160amp160Homework and school activities during school year152amp16095Working at a paying job143amp16062Working on personal hobbiespassions100amp16089Console Gaming like Xbox Wiiamp160 54amp16068Virtual Gamingamp8211Online ampamp Appsamp160 51amp16067Playing Sports musical instruments drama dance etcamp160 49amp16071Writing on my own of any typeamp160 33amp16064TOTAL7 hours 42 minutes dailyamp160amp160amp160amp160amp160Media Timeamp160amp160amp160Watching TV content on TV computer or phone125amp16089Browsing the web for interesting things118amp16094Listening to music on iTunes or any online app111amp16086Listening to music on the radioamp160 47amp16082Watching YouTubeamp160 45amp16086Reading newspapers magazines books in printamp160 36amp16077Listening to music on CDsTVamp160 34amp16057Reading newspapers magazines books online or appsamp160 31amp16072Total7 hours 7 minutes dailyamp160amp160amp160amp160amp160Otheramp160amp160amp160Schoolamp160 630amp160amp160Sleepingamp160 658amp160amp160Spending time Awake but Alone Doing Nothingamp160amp160 54amp16083Total14 hours 22 minutes dailyamp160amp160amp160amp160amp160ENGAGED AWAKENONSCHOOL23 hours 33 minutes dailyamp160TOTAL TIME SPENT DAILY37 hours 05 minutes dailyamp160amp160amp160amp160amp160Remodeling Our Experiences Around the Social WebquotThe web is being fundamentally rebuilt around people and the emergence of the social webquot Paul Adams Social Networking GuruFacebookAdams39 perspective can be applied to pretty much every part of our lives Fill in the blank in this sentence quotThe world of families relationships news entertainment politics arts education religion television transportation science medicine cookingamp8230 will fundamentally change because of the emergence of the social webquot The list can go on ad infinitumInternet Pioneers will inevitably want to integrate the social web more actively into their daytoday experiencesThe platform they are likely to turn to is one with which they grew up and understand virtual worlds For Internet Pioneers virtual worlds mean programs and games like Sims Neopets Club Penguin WeeWorld Quepasa World of Warcraft Call of Duty and other second homes where they spent large chunks of their childhood They are attracted to and understand how to navigate a parallel world in which their avatar a graphical representation of the user is their agent and representativeThe first major virtual universe Second Life broke through at the end of the 20th century as the quotfirst great city in a new virtual worldquot Its popularity grew from an adult eagerness to be a part of a new wave of online technology Developed by Linden Labs Second Life was launched in 2003 and offered free programs that enabled users called Residents to interact with each other through avatars Residents could explore the world meet other residents socialize participate in individual and group activities and create and trade virtual property and services with one another As of 2011 Second Life still had about one million active users but it never expanded beyond its original roots Today it is used by several United States governmental departments such as NASA by universities for educational and remote learning programs and by businesses such as IBM and Cisco Systems for meetings and trainingWhile virtual worlds have taken a back seat to social networks the two will inevitably merge Immersive virtual worlds and games have been popular among Internet Pioneers since they were in their early childhood Just as suburbs and shopping malls defined community in the second half of the 20th century complex and absorbing cyber communities are on the horizon in the 21st centuryPersonal avatars will move from network to network from the television screen to the computer to the mobile device Microsoft39s Xbox Nintendo39s Wii and Sony39s PlayStation are already integrating avatars as an embedded part of their technologies Xbox studies the physical characteristics of each player and develops representational avatars that look and act like their human counterparts This functionality is in its infancy Within the decade Internet Pioneers will introduce avatars to their Facebook pages social networks and gaming activities Future avatars will be sophisticated with a human voice and a physical presence enhanced by motion and voice detection technology such as Apple39s Siri and Microsoft39s KinectRepresentational avatars will take their places in virtual classrooms and at conference tables as the vision embodied in the original Second Life morphs to be more userfriendly As avatars will be owned by their creators they will travel from site to site game to game and app to appamp160SummaryAs developed as the Internet seems to us now it is still largely undeveloped and unexplored There is an endless quest ahead that will be exciting challenging and fascinatingWill Internet Pioneers be up to the task of applying the advances made possible by the Internet Will they prove to belong to the most important generation of the 21st century Will they be inventors and innovators Are they likely to become an economic force and will that force be positive or disruptive Will their relationships and marriages be stable and healthyAs with all generations circumstances will have an impact on their opportunities and the realities they face Yet this group of young people is unlike any that has come before We cannot assume that the life lessons and experiences of previous generations will be very relevant to Internet Pioneers or our understanding of themWhat does this generation expect from itself And what can we expect from its membersI know from my study that Internet Pioneers are social engaged active immersed in media gaming and online commerce They have opinions on the leading social political and economic issues of the day Sexually their attitudes influences and values differ dramatically from earlier generations as well as from those who are just a few years olderIn the next several chapters I look at Internet Pioneers39 attitudes and formative influences on lifestyle choices from sexuality and women39s rights to religion politics and education In subsequent chapters I share the influences that have guided the development of Internet Pioneers and how the future is likely to evolve as they become dominant forces in society and culture for decades aheadNext Hooking Up Relationships Sex and Porn

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