Gen Y but not Lovin' It
Ariela Haro von Mogel November 23rd, 2008
As a 27 year old American, I am technically part of a demographic dubbed “Generation Y.” This is a generation absolutely weaned on technology. So much so that human interaction can become very awkward.
Now, I was brought up with computers and when I was a teenager, and I thought the internet was an incredible amount of fun. But, as I got older, it seemed like another practical thing to use on a daily basis – like checking email, bank statements, playing some games, et cetera. But, I seriously feel like the only 20 something that does NOT own or want an iPod, know how to send text messages (or want to receive them for that matter), or regularly check their Facebook page (which I do not have even though I am a university student). These things really shouldn’t make me feel awkward, but when everybody and their Momma and their Grandmama has an iPod, you start to feel like a weirdo.
So, a couple of days ago, I went out with some friends for dinner. Wow. I was literally transported to another universe of tech-obsession. I should mention that these friends of mine are almost 10 years my junior, which may explain why they acted the way they did. But let me go on.
We all order our food and sit down to chat. One of my friends starts pulling out a camera to take random pictures of stuff. So, out of morbid curiosity, I ask what she’s taking so many pictures of. She explains that it’s a thing on Facebook called “My Day,” where you literally take pictures of everything that happens in your day (including, and no I’m not making this up, taking a dump!) I just looked at her and tried very hard not to judge her. Oooooookkkkaaaayyyy….
It gets better. When the cashier calls out our name so we can get our food, these two characters I know just sit there and look at their cameras and cell phones, going back and forth over their asinine photos. I go to grab my food and am staring at them in amazement that they are so completely absorbed in this techno-bubble, that I just sit down with my food and the cashier has to bring their food for them. (And, may I add, they didn’t tip, and I did!) When we’ve all finished our food, one of them begins to wax supreme about how we have to go soon, that she’ll be late for another engagement. So I agree, say we should all get going and begin to get all of my stuff. So, I’m standing there with all my winter gear on when the other person suddenly decides that he wants to show some silly pictures of himself on his camera. Wow, how terribly fascinating. While I’m standing there! So, I had to sit back down, wait for him to go through his little ritual, and then we could finally all get up and leave.
I think this goes beyond tech-obsession, but just plain rudeness. I must have been this way when I was their age. It’s scary to think that. That you were once so self-absorbed, unaware of your surroundings, and just uninteresting.
Damn, now I know what my parents were complaining about.
Why does this little girl have an iPod and I don’t?!
Stumbled on your blog by accident and felt I wanted to comment on this entry. Ariela, it’s OK not to be a sheep. Find your own path (it helps to find others of like mind) and live your life your way. Doing this is frustrating as so many people around us just follow trends without much thought, blindly do what everyone else or the “cool” people are doing but it’s no way to happiness. Being happy is understanding yourself, not following gender/race/social patterns slavishly (it’s very difficult to ignore them completely). Find your own role models, people who do stuff that matters. Pop stars, actors and other airbrushed product-pushing ‘perfect’ people are a bad place to look. Although I’m white most of my heroes are not – Mandela (greatest national leader in the last 50 years), Martin Luther King, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Bob Marley, BB King, Louis Armstrong and a million folk/world musicians from all continents playing with soul. The UK’s Two-Tone music of the 1980s was a conscious effort of black and white musicians to mix and make ska- and reggae-influenced music and it succeeded. By contrast the so-called successful white people I see make me sick – politicians, businessmen, those at the top of sport are often vain, money- and power-obsessed people whose values are so distant from my own I’d rather live on a different planet to them.
That’s enough rambling. Be true to yourself, look for inner strength, values, individuality and so on and you can find your way in this confusing world we live in. Technology can be your friend, but invariably the people who watch less TV, don’t surf the web / live with their mobile glued to their ears / stare at the screen on the back of their camera for hours on end can learn far more and live far greater lives. There’s a world out there with so much to see, hear, touch and experience, why not find it? Simon.
Thanks for this post.