Who are we? When I read todays reading I kept thinking this. This research attempts to define us, characterize us as ignorant, dumb, distracted, scattered, and addicted, but I am here to say that is a misunderstanding. I think it is easy to write us off with these adjectives, hell I even see why and how they could develop these terms, but I do not think they see the power within these digital natives, and these article seemed a bit bitter if you ask me. My generation, or Generation Y, have seen and experienced the Birth of the Web, the beauty and curse of anonymity, the labor of Web 2.0, and so much more! As the researchers state, we were born digital; one report mentioned that we are in “ a state of constant distraction powered by multitasking and gadgets that demand our attention”(15). But what does that really mean? Yes, we do have personal computers, smartphones; we now have access to honestly I don’t even know how much information, and right at our finger tips; Shah and Abraham state that we have fallen to wiki culture and that of copying and plagiarism, but I am still left with the question as to how to digest all of this. Here is a group of researchers categorizing, and limiting my people, my classmates, my friends, my siblings, into frame worked subsections, and I assume with a subjective purpose.
This blog is meant to serve as a backfire, or a counter piece to their research and claims. People may call us “screenagers”, but honestly let them say what they will; I think this shift has positively impacted not only our perspectives but also the way the world is seen. Our world is changing with technology, and I don’t see this modern culture dying down anytime soon, if anything there will be more growth and more development, and with that a new approach to the worlds daily tasks, normal issues, clashing cultures, and abstract phenomenons. I hope with todays discussion we will be able to better define ourselves, there is some truth to what they are saying but the identity that they are thrusting onto us makes the works and ideas we have developed, less impactful, I mean I personally would never categorize us as dumb, if anything our world has become so much more complicated, there is much more on our plate, many more people to care about, so many things have now become person issues. I think the beauty of the 90s kids come with the power of our voice, and the way in which we can say things. We have seen the differences, variations in our world, and the deviations in every profile, blog, and website. We thrive in society, and in our communities. I would say we are more self aware, and because of this misunderstood. People write off things that can not understand. This is a new branch of adolescence, we are digital natives, and our voices will make an impact I am sure of it.
I’m not sue the reason we are misunderstood is because we are self aware. I think every generation has been misunderstood by the former generation. How do you think traditionalist 50’s parents felt when their “raised right” kids grew into free loving flower children? Yes, people seem to really hate millennials, but adults always misunderstand youth- old people like to titter and say “in my day we’d never…”, the music is too loud, the pop culture too vapid. It’s not unique to our generation. What is unique and may be caused by our indulgent self awareness is the fact that we care so much. As the coddled generation, the ones who get a medal for showing up, we’ve come to rely on the approval of parents and adults around us, so we freak out when they don’t understand or approve of us. We shouldn’t be apologetic about the fact that we are different than previous generations- the fact that we are is an indicator of progress and social change.
I like your interesting take on Generation Y because it is different from what we normally hear. Although I do believe that there is always a disconnect between generations, it is insightful to play devil’s advocate and really understand why generations have the relationships that they do.
I like how optimistic you are about the characteristics of your generation because it’s a perspective I often share. The other day my roommate teased me for being from “like a generation almost” because I didn’t know what a Snapchat filter was, but you would never hear me actually say I belong in another time period because I think that kind of idealization of the past is dangerous. (Also there are plenty of things to celebrate about the present.) I can definitely see how changes in technology have created positive changes in society, and so I really identify with your post and also a previous commenter’s statement that we shouldn’t be apologetic about our generation.