Flickr user theonashow3
I’m 22 years old. I was a good, creative kid growing up, played sports, did well in high school, did very well in college and have had a full-time job in what many refer to as “the real world” for almost nine months. However, I have noticed that the 18 years I grew up by my mother’s side have made very little difference in her perception of how I get things done or how I spend my free time a mere 4 years later. The times a’ changin’* so quickly has made it challenging for her to keep up with or fully grasp how and in what ways the social, cultural and technological context of my generation differs from hers.
Wow. I'm going to go ahead and say that I had the worst taste in this case.
This goes way beyond me listening to N’Sync back in my middle school days and being less than a happy camper whenever my mom wanted to play Julio Iglesias. The generation gap is no longer in the dissimilarities between parents’ and children’s likes and dislikes. Technology has changed everything from how and what we communicate to how we get directions to how we make decisions and transactions. The challenge for me is not just to get my mother on my same page so that we can still communicate without it feeling like we live in the Tower of Babel, but to yank away her old textbook and give her an entirely new book to read. And by book I mean Kindle.
Now, I know this isn’t true for all parents. And it’s also not just true for parents. I am a member of a highly coveted demographic and marketers who thought they knew exactly what we would grow up to be have had their worlds’ shifted and are trying just as hard as our parents to reconnect with us.
This may be old news for some of you.
Behold! I give you the fresh-out-of-college 20-something.
- Is on Facebook 24/7. Not an exaggeration. If we’re sitting in front of a computer, chances are Facebook is open in our browser. If we are out and about, chances are we’re checking Facebook from our phones every hour or so.
My children will probably start this young
- Probably own either a BlackBerry on an iPhone. And our interactions often revolve around our mobile devices. And even though you don’t quite get it, we don’t think it’s weird or anti-social at all.
- We check our email in real-time. So if we don’t get back to you immediately it’s probably because we don’t want to get back to you immediately or need to check on something first.
- May or may not be on Twitter. I use it slightly differently but from what I’ve gathered… a few of us are still catching on but those of us who have Twitter accounts are using it to exchange messages with friends here and there, send updates that resemble our Facebook status and get updates from our favorite brands, artists, events, news, etc.
- Has yet to figure out the value of LinkedIn. And who can blame them? But more of us will build profiles when the impending job search starts to look bleak, and bleaker.
- Is fresh out of college and looking for a job. So if you’re hiring, let us know.
- Is struggling to keep in touch with his/her parents. So we’ve talked them into joining Facebook so we can communicate with friends and family and kill a few birds with one stone.
- Considers him/herself a musician, artist, writer… content producer. And is probably not too bad at it so don’t crush our seemingly unattainable dreams because we now have the resources that can make them happen if we work hard enough (and are in fact good). You can blame that on liberal arts education and Web 2.0.
- Finds videos like this one HILARIOUS. So viral campaigns work on us.
- Are addicted to video and online games. Again, it’s not anti-social.
- Watch TV shows that are witty, complex or so terrible that they’re funny. For example, The Office, LOST or America’s Next Top Model. Our brains work in complicated ways.
- Use Google Maps to get places. Having a poor sense of direction is not an issue for any of us.
- Don’t ever pay for content. And I’m talking ANY type of content – audio, video, written… So don’t try to charge us for anything.
- Have forgotten what a CD looks like. Thanks to the iPod as well as Pandora.
- Use the terms FAIL and WIN. Which actually mean and help us express so much more than they lead on.
- Want Rob Dyrdek’s life. So if you need a spokesperson, get someone who is creative, down-to-earth, funny, personable, unpredictable and carefree.
- Read sites like FML and TFLN. Because we find that our most embarrassing moments are often the most memorable ones and we have a thing for acronyms.
- Don’t read newspapers. I know. I’m sorry.
- Wake up somewhat early, play sports, exercise, try to eat healthy, go out, read books/blogs, keep up with news and current events, have hobbies, make friends, are curious, interested and interesting. Don’t be fooled. We may live a great portion of our lives online and may be looking at our phones 80 percent of the time but we are listening to what you are saying. We are not apathetic, ungrateful or straight up bums.
If it weren't for you, there would be no Beatles Rockband. So thanks for that.
I realize we may be playing hard to get but know that we are easier to approach, more forgiving and less high-maintenance that we look. We also owe you guys for The Beatles, Journey, Queen, Bruce Springsteen and the original Saturday Night Live so everything is cool; we just need to get better at communicating again.
* That’s from a Bob Dylan song. Yes, I know who Bob Dylan is.
