When I did a Google search for “Millenials”, part of the definition I found on Wikipedia stated that “characteristics of the generation vary by region, depending on social and economic conditions. However, it is generally marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital technologies.”
I expected to find plenty of information about the correlation between my generation and digital technologies such as social networking sites; but I wasn’t exactly expecting it to be one of the very first sentences I read.
I found a really interesting article listing the top 10 social networking sites. I’ve got to be honest though: I hadn’t even heard of any of these. I guess it just goes to show how much is really out there.
Instead, I chose to analyze an article about a website I am more familiar with, Facebook. The title reads, “Facebook generation ‘form flimsy friendships and are bored by reality’”. Included are some issues I have increasingly become aware of among my friends and peers. I have noticed that there have been times in which a group of my friends and I have been hanging out, and a substantial period of time will go by when no one actually speaks.
Why would such a thing happen?
There are a couple of factors contributing to this phenomenon, and they all include social networking, or at least the internet. I took a look around the room, and noticed everyone was either on a cell phone, Blackberry, or laptop. I realized that we all could instantaneously get in touch with each other, and not because we were all in the same room. It was then I decided that our constant need to be connected to sites like Facebook and Twitter has overpowered our ability to simply enjoy each other’s physical company. Kind of sad, isn’t it?
The article quotes that “The new generation raised alongside the internet is attaching an entirely different meaning to friendship and relations, something we are largely failing to notice”, which I agree with. Simply the word “friend” has taken on a new meaning. All it takes to add someone as a friend on Facebook is simply the click of a button. People have thousands of “friends” on these websites and, in reality, don’t even talk to more than half of them. I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve seen, let alone talked to, some of my Facebook “friends”.
Here is a video parody of this aspect of Facebook that I found entertaining:
It feels as though the quality of friendships is diminishing due to the nature of relationships on the internet. We spend less time actually having face-to-face conversations. When one does occur, it is rare that it’s not interrupted by some form of technology. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to repeat myself to people because they were texting mid-discussion. It may not seem like a big deal, but the social acceptance of occurrences like this is allowing our generation to appear preoccupied and downright rude.
The last paragraph of the article really struck me as kind of ironic. Graham Jones, a psychologist specializing in the impact of the internet said that “The notion that there are lots of teenagers ensconced in their bedrooms huddled over their computers is far from reality.” I had to stop and read this sentence a few times because I have to disagree. No matter how sociable our generation is in real life, I would think it’s safe to say that the notion of teenagers huddled over their computers in their bedrooms is actually a pretty accurate one. In fact, it’s exactly what I’m doing right now…
