More than ever before in the history of the world are youth connected. Youth have the ability to stay connected 24/7. Connected to the web, connected to social media, connected to global world, and most importantly connected to friends. We have a generation that survives and thrives off of staying connected. They connect without even many times ever actually talking, through the power of their smart phones.
There is new school culture that is highly tied to technology, social media and their smart phone. This generation doesn’t feel the need to share and spend quality time the same way previous generations did. Through snap, they can now send a snap that sends a message that is sometimes only a picture, that disappears once it is viewed. They are highly connected, but it’s a different type of connection.
Youth have the ability to stay connected 24/7
The connection that they seek is not the same connection that the older generations yearns for, and perhaps that is why there is constant disconnect between the older and the younger generations. For instance, the older generation (baby boomers and above) still find value in taking on the phone, having verbal conversations, this new generation is satisfied with simply just texting. They don’t need to speak or hear a voice to feel like they are connected or in community. Part of the trouble may be is that at the end of the day, when all the texts of been sent and all the snaps have been fired off, they still many times feel lonely and depressed.
For instance, the older generation (baby boomers and above) still find value in taking on the phone, having verbal conversations…
Could it be that with all the technological connection, they are still lacking something. Maybe it’s human face to face interaction and personal face to face conversation. There is something to be said about human interaction and engagement. They say we need at least 10 touches a day! That is hard to come by if most conversations only take place through text message and social media platforms. Don’t get me wrong even as a millennial, my preferred method of communication is through text message, that’s how I stay connected, but I do long for a sense of community and interpersonal/intrapersonal connectivity and engagement.
I often wonder, with all this technological connectivity through social media, where is society going? What will the future generations look like? Will there be less personal connectivity? Are we headed to full blown virtual reality, where humans rarely interact? Who knows?
One thing is for sure though, we are all connected through human fabric!