The Net Generation

The Net Generation

The New Teen Culture

Are you 22 or younger? Have you ever had to help your parents with the computer? Then you belong to the Net Generation. How is technology changing the lives of people your age around the globe? America currently contains about 88 million members of the Net Generation. These "N-Geners" are kids who have been manipulating mouses since an early age. While past generations made do with the telephone and television, today's generation has access to those devices and super-realistic video games, the Internet, e-mail, instant messaging, online communities, and videos and music that can be downloaded over a computer. Thanks to e-mail, many kids communicate daily with pen pals around the globe. Some can download their homework if they miss a day of school. Others have even built their own Web sites. While it's easy to take these activities for granted, this high level of interactivity is shaping the Net Generation's culture, values, and world outlook. After studying young people for his book, Growing Up Digital, author Don Tapscott says the following descriptions apply to most N-Geners. Look at the checklist below. Make an "x" in the space below each category if a description fits you and your friends. Which adjectives would you add?

Characteristic Checklist curious independent contrarian intelligent adaptable confident focused globally conscious

Going Global

While many young Americans and Europeans are used to living in a high-tech world, their peers in developing countries are not. According to the World Bank, about 40% of the world's population have never made a phone call, and 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day. For these people, modern technology means very little. Six billion people live worldwide. According to the statistic provided by the World Bank, how many of them have never made a phone call? What do you think are the consequences? Despite the statistics, many companies interested in broadening business markets are working to connect developing countries to the Internet. Other organizations want children and adults in developing countries to have access to the information and resources available on the Web, especially sites that have scientific and educational value. Currently, an American company called Africa ONE is building a $1.9 billion cable network to connect all 54 nations within the African continent to the Information Highway. About 19,883 miles (32,000 km) of fiber-optic cable will circle the continent beneath the ocean's surface. Laying of the undersea cable will begin in 2001, and the network should be ready for service by 2002. Similar connective efforts are taking place in South America. Two companies, Telefónica de España of Spain and Global Crossing of the United States, are competing to ring the continent with undersea fiber-optic cable by next March or April. Submarine cable capacity between the United States and Latin America will increase from 275.6 gigabits per second this year to 1,595.6 gigabits per second next year. Gigabits refers to the amount of data that can be transferred over the cables. Estimate how many times greater the connectivity between the United States and Latin America will be by next year. Why might better connectivity between the continents benefit you?

Pros & Cons of Connectivity

Some critics are concerned that children of developing countries will be adversely affected by the technology invasion set to happen within their borders over the next several years. Much of the material on the Internet is oriented toward the Western values of North America and Europe. This can present a lopsided view of the world, one in which the values and traditions of other cultures become invisible. Critics worry that as children from South America, Africa, and Asia get massive exposure to Western ideas and values, rifts may develop between them and their parents. Despite the potential problems, some people take a middle ground, saying that the globalization that would be powered by the Internet is not the same thing as Americanization. Read "One World: It's A State of Mind," an essay written by Andrew Lam, an American journalist born and raised in South Vietnam. He argues that while it is easy for Americans to recognize how their culture affects the world (by noting the success of McDonald's and mega-malls around the globe), we often don't realize how the world changes us. Think of several ways that other countries have affected your life. For example, what foods or music do you enjoy that originated in different countries? What sports do you play that originated in other lands? Of course there are many benefits of developing countries being linked to the larger world. Scientists and doctors from around the world meet online in "virtual laboratories," to quickly spread medical and scientific news and research. But the benefits extend beyond the medical. Many developing countries are also marked by political unrest. Oftentimes, a government will try to censor the press so that no news can filter to its citizens and the world at large. Such is the case in Sierra Leone, an African nation undergoing a civil war. Citizens there have been "going to great means to get to the Internet," says Brian Herlihy of Africa ONE. "It's the best way to spread news." Read Riverdeep's Teaching the News article, "Diamonds Are a Guerrilla's Best Friend," to learn more about the situation in Sierra Leone. Why could the spread of news help citizens there? Overall, do you think better Internet connectivity will help or harm people your age in different countries? Why? Imagine yourself in college. What skills have you gained by using the Web that you think might be valuable in higher education?

Learn More Read the Riverdeep Today article, "Impolite Society," which examines how technological advances lead to rudeness.

More Links Meet friends worldwide with ePALS.

Related Resources In Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation, Don Tapscott explores how America's 88 million N-Geners might reshape society. It's tough knowing where to start on the the Internet. Ken Leebow's 300 Incredible Things for Kids on the Internet makes the search easier. Educating the Net Generation: www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub7101.pdf About the Net Generation Also known as the Digital Generation, Milenials, or Generation Y, "this generation is the first to grow up with computers at home, music downloads, instant messaging and cellular phones." Students in this generation frequently use Internet technology for Education (Information, Research), Communication, Entertainment, and Self-expression (Wikipedia). According to DoIT's 2002 student computing survey, computer ownership was at 91% (DoIT Student Computing Survey ). In addition to being computer-users and frequently "on the Net, "many students of the Net Generation are using a variety of Internet technologies on a daily basis that many of their instructors have never used. This website is designed to introduce instructors to these technologies and to help inspire professors and TAs to incorporate these technologies into their academic courses. This page also offers some information about how exposure to the Internet has impacted the Net Generation as learners. "Today's youth are different from any generation before them. They are exposed to digital technology in virtually all facets of their day-to-day existence, and it is not difficult to see that this is having a profound impact on their personalities, including their attitudes and approach to learning." Tapscott, Don. (2005) The Net Generation and the School. Milken Family Foundation. Characteristics of The Net Generation: They are able to multitask / multiprocess: Net-geners can do several things at once. They "have little tolerance for delays." They expect webpages to load quickly, responses to e-mail immediately, etc. (Skiba) They tend to be more comfortable constructing their knowledge than being instructed. They prefer to be interactive: "They want to be users--not just viewers or listeners." (Tapscott, 1998, p.3) Please see the Resources page for a list of resources on The Net Generation. LTDE Support This site will provide you with an introduction to a number of the Internet technologies that are familiar to many students these days. If you would like additional support incorporating any of these technologies into your UW Madison academic course, please contact Learning Technology & Distance Education (LTDE). We offer individual consultations and walk-in help.

Generation M

Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds

A national Kaiser Family Foundation survey found children and teens are spending an increasing amount of time using “new media” like computers, the Internet and video games, without cutting back on the time they spend with “old” media like TV, print and music. Instead, because of the amount of time they spend using more than one medium at a time (for example, going online while watching TV), they’re managing to pack increasing amounts of media content into the same amount of time each day.

The study, Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds, examined media use among a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 3rd through 12th graders who completed detailed questionnaires, including nearly 700 self-selected participants who also maintained seven-day media diaries.

News Release

Executive Summary: Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds

Report: Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds

This report was released at a forum on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 in Washington, D.C., that included a keynote speech by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and a roundtable discussion featuring FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, Hip Hop artist Common, and top executives from the video game and television industries. The discussion was moderated by CNN’s Jeff Greenfield.

Agenda

Speaker Biographies

Speaker Presentation

Webcast of this Forum

www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/Executive-Summary-Generation-M-Media-in-the-Lives-of-8-18-Year-olds.pdf

From 'My Generation' to 'My Media Generation:' Yahoo! and OMD Global Study Finds Youth Love Personalized Media

In the 1960s, television and FM radio launched a generation of youth bent on creating new forms of community and self-expression, forcing advertisers and marketers to adapt. According to an in-depth study of 13-24 year olds in 11 countries titled, "Truly, Madly, Deeply Engaged: Global Youth, Media and Technology," released today by Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company, and OMD Worldwide, one of the world's foremost leaders in communications, in the 21st century, youth's use of interactive and wireless technologies has created a global generation highly accustomed to personalizing their experiences with interactive media. This so-called "My Media Generation," driven by a desire to personalize their media, has given rise to very different attitudes and responses toward advertising and marketing messages. The results will be released today at Yahoo! and OMD's event for marketers at the Reuters Building in New York as part of Advertising Week 2005.

Like the youth celebrated in The Who's classic song "My Generation," the "My Media Generation" is highly motivated by the need for community and self-expression. But the Internet, mobile phones, and the availability of digital music have allowed that community to go global for the first time.

What really sets today's youth apart is the expectation that they can customize and personalize everything in their world and daily experiences in ways previous generations never could. From individual playlists on MP3 players to personalized avatar wardrobes on instant messaging programs, to wallpaper and ring tones on mobile phones, the My Media Generation demands products and services that suit their moods and desires. And, they will actively search for, modify, or create their own tailored products and services. As one study participant put it: "Using an Avatar, you can express your mood to other people and what you feel at that moment."

"We've moved from broadcasting to podcasting in just a short period of time," says Wenda Harris Millard, chief sales officer, Yahoo!. "The My Media Generation increasingly filters the flow of advertising messages -- letting in only those that are relevant, entertaining, or delivering value. While that raises serious challenges for marketers, it also brings the promise of new, more powerful channels for reaching youth and having them willingly and enthusiastically engage with brands."

The study showed that as advertising channels become more personal, receptivity to seeing or hearing advertising through that channel decreases. Advertising in traditional media is generally considered more acceptable to youth than advertising in new media channels. However, receptivity to advertising via "their" media (established media), vs. "our" media (the Web) vs. "my" medium (personal devices) varies considerably by country. In fact, in some countries, receptivity to advertising in new media is higher than receptivity to advertising in some traditional media outlets. Sixty three percent of Indian youth agree that it is okay to see advertising on web sites, while only half (51 percent - 52 percent) found advertising acceptable on outdoor, movie theaters or radio.

Multitasking and "Media Meshing"

The study has also revealed that members of the My Media Generation have developed an immense capacity to multitask.

"A key finding from this study is that members of the My Media Generation can fit up to 44 hours of activities in just one day," said Joe Uva, president and CEO, OMD Worldwide. "Their ability to perform up to three tasks simultaneously, using multiple technologies, allows them to potentially increase their media consumption during their average waking hours. Combine this with the demand for personalization, and there's a clear message for marketers on the need to personalize and possibly increase the frequency of their messages in order to reach today's youth."

According to the study, on average the global My Media Generation performs approximately three to four other tasks while surfing the Internet and approximately two to three other tasks while watching television. Young people who live in Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia perform the highest number of other activities while surfing the Internet.

Globally, the My Media Generation finds itself faced with more tasks than time to accomplish them -- on a daily basis -- and, as a result, has become highly adept at multitasking and "media meshing."

Media meshing is a behavioral phenomenon that occurs when people begin an experience in one medium, such as watching television, then shift to another, such as surfing the Internet, and maybe even a third, such as listening to music. The explanation for this behavior is the constant search for complementary information, different perspectives, and even emotional fulfillment.

http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/adv/tmde_05/truly_madly_final_booklet.pdf