Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation…
Bread and Circuits:
“The electronic era tendency to view party politics as corny – no longer relevant or meaningful or useful to modern societal issues, and in many cases dangerous.” – from Generation X by Douglas Coupland, 1991
It occurred to me that Generation X will be turning 50 soon. It kind of freaked me out a bit. Is Generation X and the up-and-coming Net Generation ready to take the reigns or power during these turbulent times and over the next three decades as their Boomer parents retire?
According to demographer and digital theorist Don Tapscott (perhaps one of the most prolific demographers around today), our society is currently trying to balance the values of 4 distinct generational categories: The Boomers (those born between 1946 -1964); Generation X (1965 – 1976); The Net Generation (1977 – 1997) – also called the “me” generation, Generation Y, or the Millenials; and the Next Generation (1998 – 2008).
I have long been a believer in demography as being one of the most valuable social tools we have. Basic demographic data would include the salary you have, the type of neighborhood you live in, your education, your family status, how old you are, and whether or not you have a penis… to name a few. It has been argued that the most telling, or predicting, demographic characteristic is age (they call them cohorts). Age cohorts move in waves which are formed by the cultural conditions they are raised in… they are generally educated by the same curriculum, exposed to the same music and television, interfaced with the same technology and driven by the same cultural values.
There is a commonly accepted myth that the Net Generation is politically apathetic. That those under the age of 30 don’t vote, because they don’t care. They are too wrapped up in their iPods, cell phones and video games to pay attention. And that they form a huge chunk of the non-voting block. In his latest offering Grown up Digital (a sequel to his 2000 book, Growing up Digital), Tapscott proposes that while it is true the Net Generation doesn’t vote… they are actually more civically engaged than generations before. The difference? The ways that they are engaging.
Rather than going to the polls, they are going out to volunteer. Instead of casting ballots, they are writing blogs and tweeting at CNN and CBC. They aren’t in churches listening to sermons, they are on rooftop patios with margaritas discussing the issues of the day with each other.
This generation – my generation – along with the Gen Xers who jumped on the Internet bandwagon and Yippie/Hippie Boomers who never traded in their bullhorns and flower chains, have different values than the status quo Boomers, because my generation experienced and continues to experience culture differently than them. It’s not one-way communication… it’s two-way.
Our brains developed differently because they were stimulated differently. The way we learned was more mediated and interactive than the way the Boomers learned, and the things we were learning were focused around our planet, respect for diversity and individual freedom.
My generation was positively socialized. We were taught that beauty resides on the inside, that letters and numbers were fun and that inner city living didn’t have to be all about guns and gangs. We were socialized on Sesame Street…
For the most part, my generation understands that the personal is political. We were the first generation to experience perspective-widening effects of mass advertising with a social conscious through Unicef and Part of Your Heritage Commercials…
My generation has a different sense of humor. We get a kick out of turning the sacred into the profane and could never quite understand the hub-bub about being politically correct. We were entertained by the Simpsons…
My generation is far more media savvy than the Boomers. We seem to have a vague understanding of how hegemonic culture manipulates us, how media distorts, and that things are not always as they seem. Perhaps this explains our tendencies towards cynicism and distrust of authority. My generation learned all we needed to know about the media from Jon Stewart.
My generation is the steward of the Internet. We are the gatekeepers of code and the social web. We navigate the Information Highway with precision and speed, always ready to change lanes quickly, and never minding to take the scenic route to get to the proper exit. We are the mavens and connectors of our virtual communities, and we are uninhibited to express our opinions and expose ourselves to the world.
My generation is also the generation with the greatest amount of disposable income, ergo our consumer-power has every post-modern adman scouring the Internet for the hippest music and the hippest design. My generation is not having as many babies, but those of us who are get to revisit our childhoods through the massive recycling of Saturday Morning Cartoon Merchandise.
If it is true, that my generation doesn’t feel the urge to go out and engage with the democratic process, or participate in partisan tomfoolery, it is not because they don’t care – it is because the political system does not embrace their values. It is because they feel as though the system doesn’t serve them. It is because they view the system as outdated and inefficient. It is because the disenfranchisement goes way deeper than simply being lazy and apathetic.
This is why President Obama was so popular with young voters… not simply because he whipped them into a frenzy using social media, their media, but also because he promised revolutionary change in the way politics were done. So far, he’s been true to his word, and his approval rating is holding steady despite the rabble-rousing of choice Boomer republicans who aren’t quite ready to cede power to this culture of “loose morals” and irreverence.
My generation is ready, willing and able to safely land this bird, even if it is on an uninhabited island. In fact, we’d probably prefer an uninhabited island, so that we could experiment with new forms of democracy and social organization.
