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Facebook continues to trek the path of the gray-haired, attracting a consistently older user base. Twitter is getting younger, but one thing is clear: Social networking is what old people do. Old, meaning of course the mid-to-late 20’s and beyond. For example, though the number of young Facebook users has increased, the number of high school and college students has declined by -16.5% and -21.7%, respectively, quotes social media bible Mashable.com.
Gen Y is split down the middle between the early and late millennial kids. The oldest were born in the late 70s or early 80s, the youngest in the late 80’s to 1990. I’ve seen this split first-hand: I’m 26, born in 1983 and my younger brother, a college sophomore, is 19, born in 1989. It’s the difference between getting a cell phone at driving age (16) and middle school age (12-13) or before. The split between the text-only generation and those who had phones before texting was ‘in.’
What makes these two Gen Y sets different, and how it affects social networking usage all goes back to life stages and it’s not unlike the debates being had by companies everywhere. Here’s why.
Social networking is very, very public. Not only can that cute guy from math class see what you’re up to, now so can your mom, sister and grandma, every time you post a status update. Anyone who’s ever experienced a teen slamming a door in your face knows that privacy is of the utmost importance for teens and young adults. Watch teens text for 20 minutes to decide on a simple place to meet, when it would take anyone else 2 min. on the phone, and you’ll see the divide.
Social networking means you have something to say and an openness to share it with the world. Like many companies, hanging everything out to dry online is a scary prospect for sometimes-uncertain young people.
Personal branding is a hot topic, but it applies much more to the graduating-college, I-need-a-job set than younger Gen Yers whose image is still in the making, even in their own minds. It requires a great deal of self confidence to not only recognize but consciously craft an image you want to portray. Bullying on Facebook is a talked-about issue among parents and educators – so much so that how-to site ehow.com discusses how to prevent online bullying.
Companies and young people have to be comfortable with their individuality – and not just the cool parts. If you’re a struggling artist, a startup website, a band geek with an edge or whatever else, you still have to embrace it to share it online. When that starts to happen, in later adolescence, is when younger Gen Yers are really jumping into Facebook. Twitter’s a whole other story, because as has been frequently measured and commented upon, teens don’t tweet.
Teens are constantly in each others’ presence, in the classroom, dorm, hallways, sporting events. They don’t need to broadcast their moves because they are more focused on face-to-face interaction. While older Gen Yers need to use tools to keep up with friends as peers move cross-country for jobs, develop relationships with significant others, and generally take divergent paths in life. Tools like Twitter are slowly taking off only as it becomes ubiquitous with SMS or texting – it’s a quick way to just group-message for young Gen Yers.
It’s all about movement. Teens and young 20s Gen Yers are constantly online, but not always from a computer and very often on a smart phone or at least a phone that can access the web. Do a little research, and you’ll find hundreds of predictions that easy access to apps, sites and virtual utilities is all heading towards one very small screen: cell phones. A recent study proved that Gen Yers of all ages are more likely to give up social networks before phones or texting. In fact, on average, Gen Y send and receive upwards of 740 text messages per month.
Content providers are increasingly conscious of creating a site that is accessible through devices like the iPhone, and it’s possible that for a certain generational subset, social networking through a web browser may become obsolete. When mobile adaptation catches up to current sites, it will be about when the older teen and younger 20’s-aged Gen Yers are getting ready to graduate and move away… and then the cycle of actually needing and seeing the value of remote digital connections via social media outlets.
Thought-provoking information! Thanks for writing this, Crystal.
This is something I've often thought about. In particular: where do the generational lines drawn? Where exactly do I stand? How can those in their later 20's be grouped together with those just graduating high school? Clearly the two ends of the spectrum interact with the world in different ways and for different reasons.
Good article. I've always wondered what young people (middle and high school) think of facebook. I don't know what I would do without it. But, that's because I want to catch up with my friends and see what they're doing, now that we live further away from each other. But for middle/high school students, they've near each other all the time. I think that as they get older, and move into college and away from each other, they will start to increase their online social networking uses. I wonder what site will sweep in and grab the attention of this group. With the attachment to phones, I wonder if it will be something with that.
Also, I agree that the Gen Y definition is way too broad. And I'm sure that can be argued for other generations as well. But like you wrote, Gen Y is split, those that have always texted and those that had phones before you could text. I think that because technology is changing much faster, generations need to be split up into shorter time frames.
Nice article Crystal.
I agree with your last comment Kelsey. As a 25 Gen Y, I have worked with colleagues older than myself who don't claim to be Gen Y and others who have adopted the social networking and digital media lifestyle and therefore claim to be Gen Y.
In 2006, there was no YouTube, and now it is the second most popular search engine available. The generation who commences work using GoogleWave will almost certainly be different to the generation who searches for text results in Google, different again to the generation who search and learn via 'How to' video's on YouTube. Generations will almost certainly need to be split into shorter timeframes, primarily due to technology.
From a psychological standpoint, we model those we admire and formulate our own values based on the most influential people and technologies in our lives during ages 10 to 14. We are already seeing the move of internet to mobile devices and the popularity of smartphone Apps which will changes the way we work and lives out lives much quicker than in four year blocks.
The greatest realisation I think the current generation needs to have is that in a world where everyone is online and presenting opinions, and marketing themselves, we have a great opportunity to work together and tackle global issues like climate change. You can obtain almost any information you want online for free now, which alters the way we learn and the role of formal education. It's no longer what you know, or whom you know, it's who knows you and what you share.
Sharing is the future.
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