Net Generation, Digital Generation, Generation Z, even the Silent Generation -- they are all names for a very young and saavy group of kids. Yes, kids. According to Wikipedia, the oldest members of this generation are teenagers and it's youngest are yet to be born. Personally, I liked the name Generation C, with "c" standing for many things: click, content, connected, computer, community, creative and celebrity. The interesting "c" that wasn't mentioned ... collaboration.
My favorite Wikipedia entry was that members of this generation "are active consumers, with a high degree of influence over their parent's purchasing decisions." Oh, how true. I have two members of this generation in my household. They are very good at spending my money and I have to admit, I am very good at making sure I consider their needs before my own. I'm not sure what technology has to do with that spending issue, but it is an interesting characteristic.
The other characteristic I found interesting was that a number of kids in this generation have sleep issues from being awakened at night by text messages. In fact, universities are looking at issues this generation faces due to "mobile phone addiction." I had never thought of it as an addiction, but it is true that the teenagers I know are very dependent on their phones, primarily as a social connection. And yes, I can believe that some participate in text message exchanges at very late hours, even on a school night. I haven't asked, but I bet my own kids would have to admit to that!
This is a generation of immediacy. What they want, they get, and they get it NOW.
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I couldn't but help notice the negative tone in this post. In reference to "are active consumers, with a high degree of influence over their parent's purchasing decisions." I do not see any binding cause-and-effect relationship between technology and control over parents' spending. At best it is a co-incidental byproduct kind of relationship, if at all. I went to college with a cellphone and iPod and text messages and Facebook, but I worked my butt off at various jobs (4 at once, at some point in time) so I can pay for college instead of asking my parents for money. I WASN'T good at spending my parents money. I have a long list of friends and people I know who are now in college with their iPods but aren't good at spending their parents' money. It made me smile when you said "oh how true" and then went on to say yourself you weren't "sure what technology has to do with that spending issue".
And about the mobile phone addiction. Just because we are dependent on something doesn't make it bad. We are dependent on food, that doesn't make food bad. Same way, I think the dependence on mobile phones isn't necessarily bad. It could be abused but that's an individual's decision not something inherent in the cellphone. I can say out of experience I have used my cellphone to acheive constructive goals and tasks much quicker and more efficiently than I could ever have without my cellphone. Yes I am addicted to my phone, but only because it makes me much more productive. I do not consider my cellphone addiction an "issue"
Oh - I agree with you and didn't mean to sound "negative." As I said in my blog - I can't see that technology has anything to do with parent's not saying "no" when their kids want to spend money -- I think that's a cultural thing. I admire you for working to earn your way and I know there are a lot of Net Geners that do the same thing you do.
And the cell phone addiction is interesting. Like you illuded to -- it's a matter of personal choice. There are so many good things that come from this technology. I'm "dependent" on mine and well. But I think most of us would admit that any extreme dependency is a bad thing whether it's alcohol, drugs, pornography or ... text messaging. When you are experiencing health issues because you can't turn off your phone at night, you may have a problem!
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