The New Generation Gap

I was reading Joel Stein's Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times (reg. required) about how today's parents — "Rejuveniles" and "Alternadads" — are too in tune with their kids' pop culture tastes and therefore nothing can really truly shock them. They've made it harder for their kids to hate them. Then Ypulse reader Paul sent me this new report from Universal McCann about the new "digital divide," not between rich and poor or black and white but between this generation of teens and adults. So while there may not be as much of a cultural generation gap amongst teens and their wannabe hipster parents, there may be a technology gap.

To me, the reason for the technology gap is less about the technology and more about the different developmental phases in teens' lives vs. their parents. Teens are all about their peers, identity formation and socializing. The new technology has given them tools to do all of this digitally. Just like the annoying cell phone commercials that show teens gabbing away or images of parents rolling their eyes in any sitcom when a teen literally leaps on top of a ringing phone, parents tend to forget how important these social connections are for teens (or how important they were when they were teens).

Here are the key findings from the McCann report:

There was a time when music was the great divide between generations. Today, arguably, technology has become the source of the "generation gap." We term this the "Digital Divide." Digital media fluency has become the zeitgeist of modern day culture with a younger tech savvy segment adopting new media platforms and leading the way, not to mention teaching their elders. They are primarily relying on these platforms for their social connections — places to chat with friends and family, and share opinions with others.

The following are some key findings among frequent internet users:

The Internet has become the new way to socialize

- P16-34 are 25% more likely than P35-49 to use instant messenger, with over 75% of P16-34 currently using at
least one service.
- About 40% of P16-34 belong to a social network site; this is twice the percentage of P35-49 year olds.
- Nearly 40% of P16-34 have met someone face to face after meeting on the Internet.
- Yahoo, AOL and MSN Messenger are among the top Internet services in terms of awareness and use by P16-34.
- This is followed closely behind by social networking site, Myspace.com with 43% of P16-34 being current users. In comparison, only 16% of P35-49 are using Myspace.

Blogging is the “voice” of the new generation

- 71% of P16-34 year olds have participated in a blogging activity.
- P16-34 are three times more likely (25%) than P35-49 to manage and/or write their own blog.
- While personal and family/friend are the most common types of blogs among the younger group, more than 40% are developing photo and pop culture (music/film) blogs as well. This is different from the older group, who are using blogs to share information and discuss current news and world events.
- File-sharing is commonplace and hints at where the web is going — electronic social interaction beyond the written word
- One third of P16-34s have participated in peer-to-peer file sharing compared to just 12% of P35-49.

Related

Summary of Label Networks’ North American Youth Culture Consumer Research Study (lots of tech stuff) (TransWorld Business Magazine)
College students are "digital natives" (USA Today - notice their use of "Totally Wireless"!)

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