Being in college, I will occasionally have free time to kill (HA!), and unsurprisingly, I spend quite a lot of that time on the internet. I read almost all of the icanhascheezburger picture blogs, and spend a lot of time surfing YouTube. I also watch quite a few sketch comedy groups like LoadingReadyRun, and of course Zero Punctuation. What is it that draws the current college generation toward these things? Most of my friends watch the same videos, and read the same blogs, albeit to a more or lesser extent.
Are today’s fads and trends similar to poodle skirts and rock’n’roll from the 50s? Are younger people more attracted to technology? I have a slight view bias on this since I attend a tech school where the entire population are self-described “geeks” or “nerds.” Even here, there are people involved in non-computer fields who are very internet savvy, and spend as much time as I do online. Is there something physically or psychologically different about the younger generations which draws them toward the internet and online interactions?
I have heard various theories on how younger generations are more “A.D.D.” and switch their attention between topics more frequently than older people. I have not seen the statistics on this, but I don’t think it is actually a rise in ADD, but a difference in how we think, based on the technology we had growing up. I think young people are predisposed to new technology, and that it isn’t just for what we had growing up. The tech changed so rapidly that we had to deal with new game consoles every few years, computer upgrades more frequently, and toys becoming more electronic every year. I think this allows for young people to adapt to new tech better, and use it as thoroughly as it can be used.
Of course, I am merely speculating, as I have no formal experience or training in psychology. Viewing it from the perspective of a twenty-something college student it seems interesting that each subsequent generation since the 70’s has been more tech-oriented, and it has been accelerating at a rate equal to that at which computers have been developing. I wonder if my generation will end up where our parents are with current technology when we have children of our own. Will I be calling my son weekly to have him fix my holographic mail?
Does this mean that you will be supplying grandchildren to said mother? Because I certainly won’t be.
Maybe. No promises.