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We’ve been talking a lot about whether or not social media is the way to go for our firm. By the fact that I have a blog (and the fact that if you’re reading this, you’ve probably found out about it through the link I put on Twitter), you can guess my stance on whether or not we should do it (hint: it’s yes. Duh.). There’s been a lot of resistance from folks who aren’t familiar with things like blogging, Twitter, Facebook, etc. These people know that these things are part of the amorphous yet trendy “social media movement”, but they don’t really get what’s behind them and don’t really use them. These (typically over 50) folks are contributing to statistics that show a huge age divide in the use of Facebook. And from my vantage point, they’re holding up the whole process and making everything so difficult.
So what’s the deal? Different people have different theories, but I’m here’s an alternative perspective for you.
Gen Y grew up with computers at their fingertips. As social media spawned more social media, there was always a place to go to make a statement and share info, be it news or gossip. For folks like me who grew up using an online diary like a Livejournal or a Xanga, we were blogging (even if it was in a mediocre form of the medium in which I vented all of my teenage angst – man that was lame…) before we even knew what the term meant! When Facebook evolved, it wasn’t difficult for us to pick it up and use it to connect with our high school and college friends and later people from our childhoods or from our jobs because we were used to it. When we want to connect with someone, we do it. When we see someone updated their status, we don’t care if we haven’t spoken in months, we comment on it. We share with the world whatever we want, if only just to talk about ourselves, again and again and again (have I mentioned this is my blog and I’ll say whatever I want? Oh, just checking…). We’re honest to a fault and we’re not shy about saying what’s on our mind.
But Baby Boomers (and some shy Gen Xers) aren’t really comfortable with that. They’re not as willing to share things with the whole world because that’s not how they were raised. There’s no “here’s my two cents” from BBs – if it’s important, they’ll speak up, but if it’s not, they’ll keep it to themselves and move on, plain and simple. As one Baby Boomer said to me today, “If you had something negative to say, you were told to shut up”. And that’s because there was nowhere else to turn, no online portal to go to. It was keep your chin down and do what you’re told to do or get out. So now, when there are a million channels to use, they’re not only overwhelmed from not being familiar with all of the options, but they’re conflicted between branching out and trying something new (and BBs aren’t really known for their willingness to play around with technology) and their reticence to rock the boat.
You can start to see it from their point of view, eh?
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Comments
08.27.09
Here's another way of looking at it:
I learned, long ago, that not everything I think is of interest to anyone else. I don't need to share those things. No one else needs me to, either.
That doesn't keep me from being honest or make me shy.
There are pluses and minuses to everything, and a little critical thinking usually helps identify them.
08.27.09
I totally hear ya. And in an ideal world, I'm with you 100%. Well 95% - everything I say is of interest. Don't knock me, I'm sticking with it.
But in all seriousness, there's so much crap out there and SOMEONE had to publish it (though, of course, neither of us are to blame). If critical thinking were employed, then certainly a large portion of what's on the internet wouldn't be there. Though, if critical thinking were employed, a lot of things in today's world wouldn't happen, so maybe there's a larger lesson to be learned here...
08.27.09
As someone who was raised largely by a man born 48 years prior to my birth, I feel I have a slightly different perspective on the issue. The man in question, my step-father, does share some of the characteristics described herein: mainly hesitancy when it comes to adopting new technologies.
However, as one who grew up with technology at the ready throughout my development (even though we didn't have a computer, let alone the dial-up my parents still utilize in my childhood home, until 1997) I was taught a valuable lesson on self-restraint. It was actually my mother (a boomer) who told me, "Danny, don't film anything, photograph anything, or write anything down that you don't want watched, seen, or read." This lesson was repeated as Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian and the like made subsequent headlines for filming what they didn't want seen.
I think that many of Gen-Y would do well to heed some of the prior generations willingness to moderate one's output to prevent firm insertion of one's foot into one's mouth. Social media is a fantastic development that has the power to connect people around the world, and as such has the ability to facilitate ideas and conversations the likes of which have never been seen. But as Peter Parker's Uncle Ben famously said, "With great power comes great responsibility."
Perhaps there's a compromise to happy medium between the great divide- all it takes is an open mind and a willingness to engage in dialogue. But then, isn't that what social media is really supposed to be all about?
08.27.09
Lets speculate if Facebook was around during the 1970's with hippie talk or the 1980's, you'd get a lot of MTV blog from Xers no doubt.
08.27.09
The thing is Facebook is GenY's sense of identity. What would GenY be if we'd really did a point of divergence of American History. Look it's just like asking if MTV was around during the 1950's? When it's the Xers identity. Straight up. But I like this article.
08.27.09
I think Danny Cox made some good points, however, I do find that a simple question is being overlooked here: Why should they?
For a lot of these Boomers, all this glorified capability and world-at-the-touch-of-your-finger-tips stuff about the internet, web 2.0, and social media really isn't a factor in their lives, and it hasn't been for such a long time. More often than not, my parents' friends don't see this as a fad, they see it as something they have no real need for. Sure you can pay bills, get customer support, and access any number of songs, books, pictures, media, or ideas in almost no time at all, but what does this have to do with the way they have been living their lives?
Mom is more than happy to pay a bill over the phone, send in a check, or call up a hotline when need be, even if these methods aren't even close to efficient by today's standards, it's what she's comfortable with, it's what she knows. She may email her friends on occasion, or look up a phone number online, but her life wouldn't benefit much from downloading a VoIP client, setting up a facebook page and "connecting" with people she once knew; and for her the reason is simple: she doesn't need to.
The Boomers are a generation that got by on their own, in a tough world without the benefit and glamor of more modern social circles. My mother has no interest in "following" people on Twitter, or sending virtual hugs to people. Even with the promise of fast and friendly customer service via tweets, she would still rather speak to a person on the phone.
This kind of behavior says two things about her generation (with obvious exception to those boomers thriving in our digital universe): One is that a person's capability isn't measured by how quickly they are swept up by the social current, or how easily they adapt to newfangled cultural perceptions. A generation who prides themselves on being founded in strong personal connection can't be expected to readily jump into something like online dating, and laud the advent of mass instant messaging limited to 140 characters; how important can your messages be if you're only ever answering one question and telling it to a bunch of strangers?
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Boomers seem to convey a different understanding of what "Time" really is. Time spent is best measured by your affect on the people you encounter throughout life. Sometimes social media has this sense of urgency, this really intangible sense of connection that proves fleeting or unreal, so it's easy for Boomers to diminish these online interactions, when pitted against their own experiences.
This may be something to consider when looking at the apparent lag in older folks' enthusiasm to join the online community.
08.28.09
Daniela, I absolutely agree. One of the things I always heard growing up from Mike, my step-dad, was about what happened when the power went out. He ridiculed the willingness of most to rely almost entirely on digital and mechanical functions to get by, while constantly reveling and reminding us his knowledge of how to survive in a zero-electricity environment.
I think that's a perspective lost on many in today's digitally immersed culture, where people feel psychological and even physical pains during "cell-phone withdrawal". BBs have the survival capabilities that transcend cell phones and GPSes, and I think that has a large impact on the difference in perceived importance on technology between the generations.
08.28.09
@Danny - Nice Spiderman reference, especially since it's right on the money. What you said about foot in mouth syndrome is true of everyone. It's like Kate said above - couldn't we all benefit from a little self-restraint?
@Angelo - I wouldn't even stop at Facebook. I'd say that social media as a whole is part of Gen Y's identity. So the next question is, how does Gen Z fit in with social media? Will they take it on as their own or move to something else? Time will tell...
@Daniela - Good stuff. Does Gen Y have a habit of judging people based on how quickly they adapt to a social current? I'll agree with the second half though - we do have a tendancy to place judgment based on adaptability. I completely disagree with your second point. We Yers also have an understanding of time based on our impact on others' lives. Our lives have been shorter and our technological means of reaching people greater, so it's not really surprising that our desire for an impact is much quicker. We may have a sense of urgency in our attempts to make change, but that doesn't mean that we consider that value any less important. Tell people engrossed in the realm of social media that their connections aren't as meaningful as ones they've made in person and you'll get a lot of angry Yers who beg to differ.
@Danny - How many BBs do you know that don't have cell phones and subsequently feel lost when they don't have them? Personal use aside, take business folks: management (almost entirely made up of BBs at this point in time) has their Blackberries attached to their hips so they can check e-mail and get phone calls from everywhere, including their vacation. Social media is a different story, I agree, but they've really gotten into their personal devices and don't want to lose them any time soon.
08.28.09
@Mike Hohn
GenZ will have something else as their identity obviously. By then social media will be taken for granted like TV, landline phone or social hotline.
I'm not saying social media is used up fad or GenZers won't use it but GenYers rule social media no doubt. Let's see how Yers comfort with what Zers embrace as their identity.
08.30.09
I come to Brazen Careerist because I want to know what Gen Y'ers are thinking. If you want to know what's happening with Boomers, you need to go somewhere else. All you do here is trade misconceptions among folks who really don't know the demographic. Over-55-year-olds are the fastest growing segment of Facebook, with an annual rate of growth in excess of 50%. The 18-25 year-olds, which represent the largest single category in the referenced chart, are only growing in single digits. (both because of saturation and the lesser cachet the site now has with their parents on it). Even in the referenced chart, the bias is blatant. They imply that noone over 65 or under 13 uses Facebook, since they don't even have categories for those. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rather than checking with your dad, check with your mom. The odds are much higher that she is already on Facebook than the odds of dad being there.
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