Generation Y For Dummies: We Trail Early Adopters
May 16 2008 
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Sarah Perez recently wrote a fantastic article on Why Gen Y Is Going to Change the Web. She delves into the highlights of the generational shift in the overall status quo as to how things are done, how we will impact not only the web, but also the workplace, how marketing gets done and more. It’s an excellent piece that everyone should read if you haven’t already.
While I wholeheartedly support the article, it moved me to want to explore who is pushing the web today. Unfortunately, that push isn’t being made by Generation Y. In fact, we’re sorely lagging behind early adopters (generations before us) when it comes to pushing new web services to the forefront of the web.
Sarah noted to me that:
Early adopters are a slice of the web that progresses it forward – in fact, they are a slice of the population that pushes *anything* forward. Early adopters of hybrid cars, color TVs, microwave ovens – some group is always trying out certain things first. It’s a given. Gen Y is a completely different slice of web users, whose behaviors can be recorded and contrasted with X, Boomers, etc. but not other cross sections – like types of users for example.
Gen Y Are Types of Users
Generation Y are the types of users that can help make new technologies more mainstream. One can even argue that to some extent, we make up the majority of mainstream. We’re the more narcissistic users. We’re the supposedly savvy users of the web. Yet, we’re also the ones who have yet to learn how to properly and effectively user new technologies. We’re the ones that depend on Wikipedia for our homework, yet do not know how to effectively use Google Scholar to our advantage. We have a million resources at our fingertips. We’re the ones that will pick one or two and not bother to explore the others. We just might be the laziest web users of all time.
Latest Gadgets Versus Latest Technologies
Generation Y is normally well informed of the latest gadgets. We switch cellphones every chance we get. We’re switching from PC’s to Linux and Macbooks. We have GPS in our cars and upgrade our stereo systems about as much as we change clothes. However, when it comes to technologies, most of us are at a loss.
Ask us about IMAP and we’ll give you the most confused look. Throw out a music codec outside of MP3 such as OGG Vorbis, or ask Gen Y what LAME is. Can you speak in plain English please? DataPortability, OpenID, OAuth, APML? RSS, OMPL? We’ll probably ask if that has anything to do with HTML. These are technologies that early adopters are pushing for our future on the web and we don’t know a damn thing about any of them.
It seems the perpetration of Generation Y being up on the latest technologies is a bit skewed. We’re more up on the latest gadgets (hardware). The technologies (software) that power the gadgets that we use, we honestly have no clue about them. While we may also be savvy at using these gadgets, ask any of us to troubleshoot it and that savvy facade will crumble worse than cake. Just because we’re on Facebook and Myspace doesn’t mean why know what the hell we’re doing.
Social Media, Social Networks, and The Social Web
Don’t ask any of us what these things mean. Don’t tell us that a social network is part of social media which is part of the social web. We most likely don’t even care, but we should! The social web is the wave that we’ll be riding in the future. We know brands like Facebook, Myspace and Bebo. However, we have no clue about Google’s OpenSocial. Hell, I barely have a clue to what exactly it’s supposed to be. We know about Youtube, but not Veoh, Vimeo, or Qik. Twitter? Barely a blip on our radar and I do mean barely! Everything we know about the Social Web, was over for early adopters in 2007, with the exception of Facebook. We can definitely claim that.
Our future is already here and wholeheartedly involves the use of these services and applications. Part of our ignorance could be due to that fact that we only see what’s popular, when it hits mainstream. We hop from network to network based on the recommendation of our friends. To some extent, early adopters do the exact same. However, while they’re bouncing from the latest to the next potential hit, Generation Y ping-pongs back and forth between a bubble of networks, which we rarely venture outside of.
Why Generation Y Is Lagging Behind
Laziness and pride put us behind more than anything else (except possibly games and sleep). If you look at the age of the early adopter crowd you’ll see that people like Scoble, Stowe Boyd, Dave Winer, Guy Kawasaki are not "young bucks". Hell, get off the usual A-list train for a second. Those who are also pushing Friendfeed, Twitter, various RSS Readers, and social aggregators are over the age of 35 too.
I’m 20. My mom is 40. My dad is…over 40. The aforementioned folks that are old enough to be my parents. Their old enough to be my friend’s parents. Would you really want to learn about the web from your parents, who didn’t even grow up with the internet? What the hell do they know? That’s our mentality. That’s our pride. In our heads, the internet is our birthright. If my mom tries to show me anything on the internet you can bet your bottom dollar that I probably won’t listen. What does she know? If we’re taking the early adopter crowd into perspective, then apparently a lot more than I do!
On the other hand, future technologies and services are extremely complicated, time consuming, and not always productive. We’re way too lazy to want organize these things ourselves. We’re glad you guys are taking the time to do it because it would take us a lot longer to get it done. There’s so much to learn and explore. Yet, we just want whatever’s going to get things done the quickest. We don’t even mind if it’s dirty, as long as it’s done!
Stop The Perpetration
There’s way too much hype being placed on Generation Y. Sure we’re savvy, but we’re also clueless and most of us don’t care to do the research. We’re waiting for these things to come to us while early adopters are going to them. We’re weren’t the first on the web, though we pretend to be. Who invented the internet? Puh-leeze! That’s a pop quiz that this generational "wave" would drown in.
Since we feel that the internet was our birthright, I think we should start investing the time to learn the both the history and the future of it. We need to set aside our pride, clean up our rooms, and get just as involved on the web as we are in politics, economics, and the environment. One thing is definitely clear to me: Generation Y has no clue about the future of the web and the perpetration that we do needs to stop.
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To a point, you're right. Many of the people you reference are in fact early adopters, but in their generation, they are the rarity, rather than the norm. There is a niche that transcends generations, the 'early' early adopters. We occupy that niche. We grasp onto things as soon as they are available to us. We use them throughout the rough early goings, and about the time the wrinkles are worked out, we've been pushing it so hard, for just long enough, than generation Y starts to pick up on it. Gen Y is really like a 'second stage' of early adoption, who grasp onto something after it picks up some momentum, and then drives it into the mainstream.
As part of that small niche, I can remember that although I was pushing Facebook for a couple of years, way back in 2003, it wasn't until the last 30 months that most of my friends actually jumped on board. They were still far ahead of the curve compared to anyone not inside the tech industry though.
Those of us who live in a geeky, techy, early adopting, if it's not out yet I need to be a part of it world, often forget that we are in an extreme set of early adoption. Gen Y is still ahead of the curve, but they're still lagging us.
thattalldude, great, great points. I like this one the most:
Those of us who live in a geeky, techy, early adopting, if it's not out yet I need to be a part of it world, often forget that we are in an extreme set of early adoption. Gen Y is still ahead of the curve, but they're still lagging us.
A big part of what worries me considerably about the members of Gen Y that I've dealt with is that they generally seems to wear about them an air of entitlement. They show up for work – perpetually late – and saunter through the office with an attitude of, “Well, I'm here now. What were you planning to do for ME?” I don't know if their work ethic is just pathetic, or it only seems that way because of their arrogance. Granted, I'm generalizing here, but this is predominantly true of the Gen Y folks I've worked with or encountered. Has anyone else experienced this or am I just getting a skewed representation?
I worked with a 20-something lady that was like this. She was hired because she demonstrated brilliance coding in python and perl, proceeded to do nothing for 4 months except get paid, and then got hired by Yahoo!
She quit that job after a year too.
Awesome post Corvida. I also think that early adopters tend to be business people who see the potential role these tools can play in our lives. This may be why most of my friends on Twitter are over the age of 35.
That's why I love that members of gen Y are also blogging about their experiences with these tools. Its great to hear about everyone's experience with apps like twitter, facebook, etc.
I'm in between Gen Y and Gen X. It's a great place to be. I grew up without the internet, but was on it by my senior year of high school when the first Netscape hit (def Web 1.0). I've had the advantage of seeing the world without the web, yet I was able to watch it bloom during my late formative years. The generation ahead of me is still resisting the change, and the generation behind me can't see the change. It's a perfect spot because I can speak with the older generation and then turn around and drive the younger generation to deliver. :)
Interesting post. I watch cultural and generational adoption of technology and I believe GenXers (born 1961-1981) are the primary value creators of the internet. GenXers tend to ping to a job well done, a task completed, a system effectively installed. GenXers tend to use the internet for intentional, effective communication supporting functionality and daily-reality stuff. GenY (which is only a pop media creation, the real term in generational theory is 'Millennial') are more about connection, peer-based expressions and observations and team orientation. They use technology to announce what are they are doing, watch what others are doing and step in alignment with their generational cohorts.
That's my two cents.
Great article expanding on who Gen Y really is…I thought I was going to get to debate stuff, but there's nothing here to argue with after all!
I definitely agree it's a lot of hype…most of the 20-somethings I know barely have a clue about any of the “Web 2.0″ technologies we have flying around…and most don't care. I've also heard from college professors that kids are barely blogging, much less Twittering or anything beyond texting, Facebooking, etc. Even if GenY is on board (say on Facebook), they are far less active than early adopters. And, I'm not sure the younger generation is set to deliver the next waves of innovation. We'll see. Great post!
This got me thinking what generation I'm in. I've actually had access to computers since 4th grade when I learned Logo Writer and had a computer on my desk in 6th and 7th as well as one at home (I was in a special program for geeks, I guess).
I grew up being all about the internet and programming and Linux and all that, but is that because of what generation I'm in….or do I just have nerd in my blood?
This article definitely strikes a chord with me in that my little bro and all his friends live on their computers, but they have no clue what the hell they're doing. They play on YouTube, play a few online games, Poke eachother a little on FB, but that's it.
I wanted to be a programmer when I “grew up,” so I taught myself all I could before college. He wants to do the same, but just kinda expects the knowledge to fall into his lap at some point.
Nice reference to us being the 'second state' of early adoption. I can definitely agree with that. :D
I just feel that all the hype surrounding us isn't well deserved and people need to see the other side of the issue which seems to me to be that we know how to use these tools once we discover them, but “we” don't usually discover these tools ourselves. We are the first to the table. So your reference of being the 'second stage' is dead on in this case.
I'm definitely not like that and the group of Gen Y friends that I have don't operate the same way. We definitely have that air of entitlement though. I think that's because we've always had things handed to us on a silver platter from birth. That's a hard habit to break.
And a worthy two cents!
So can one assume a breakdown:
GenY – Social Web
GenX – Business Web (for lack of a better term)
Good, I was afraid you'd demolish my post! :P
Familial ties can definitely play a part in this. Just look at Scoble and what he teaches his kids! My family is far from tech savvy and I've always been ahead of my peers when it comes to technology.
Maybe it was in my blood too?
No way! It came out different than I imagined it would. It's more of an extension than contradiction, so, yeah, nothing to debate. All good points. Darn. :) Maybe I'll go check YackTrack and find someone who thinks I'm full of crap and debate over there instead. LOL
What I DO know is, it definitely is NOT in either of my siblings, even though my mom was a computer/web programmer for years. She never really was a “real” geek, though. So I guess I'm just the odd man out…or in….whichever way you wanna look at it :)
Choose a position. Consumer or Consumed. I'm pushing 50 and making an entry on this Blog. I use Twitter, LInkedIn, FaceBook, Feedburner, Twitterfeed, etc. I blog & have seven websites.
Some of these technologies may not pay off for a while and others are simply an excuse to give tech people something to blog about. Which they must do. Talking is the most important thing to a person who spent far too much time locked up in the basement playing with the guts of gadgets. Yes, early adopters need the limelight. Geeks, like early adopters don’t fit in. I digress.
There are fewer engineers in Generation Y. Hmmm. Choose a position – Consumer (A lifelong learner ready to do the research and synthesize information, inventor, creator) or Consumed (buy gadgets, pay credit card bills).
BTW: If the batteries die, all the gadgets in the world will add up to a mountain of silicon with no purpose. Do you know what the price of a barrel of oil was going for at close today? Do you think it will come down? ts a big problem and we need help solving it. Tell that to a game console.
I'm loving the comments here. I can remember the comments we used to get when Gen X was entering the job market, but we also have the dubious honor of being the first generation that hasn't done better than our parents financially. Gen Y is made up in most part of kids of Boomers, which explains the entitlement issues. Many of us view the Boomers (many of… I'm generalizing!) as sell-outs… a generation that was supposed to change the world and then got some money and all became the establishment they fought against.
I sometimes wonder if the “must work ass off” work ethic just relies on which generation your parents were, and it hits every other generation.
Loved your article. As a boomer parent of twin y's I have to agree emphatically and disagree completely. Their parents both work high tech jobs. (We're both geeks.) But only one of our sons thought it important enough to learn to understand. The other decided to play music and saw no use for any tech other than that used to make music. In the latter I see every trait you described here, but in the former I see few of them.
I'm not so certain that there's any real difference though, even between members of different generations in respect to the age-at-observation. In the 70s, when Gates and friends were tinkering in the garage, the “early adopters” were still that age group you defined above. Teenaged geeks didn't really make their mark until they were adults. Looking back through tech history, we find few very young examples of “movers and shakers”. It's not that they weren't (aren't) capable. Our society is extremely age-biased, and if you're “too young” or “too old” your contributions are somewhat undervalued by prejudice. It seems to take nearly-Einsteinian qualities to have your contributions noticed and honestly evaluated if you fall into one of these categories.
I'm glad to say it looks like you conquered the bias.
I'm a geek and an early adopter and I totally fit in. We're rockstars! :D
You make great and valid points though! Thanks for your comments. This adds a new perspective to the situation for me.
Well Gen Y definitely doesn't feel like we need to work our asses off. However, that's not to say we're not hard workers. For us, work just isn't everything and we're more concerned about our own benefits and not necessarily the benefits of corporate America or any job for that matter.
Well thank you for the compliment. I wasn't trying to generalize Gen Y, but it's hard not to when I see so many of us with the same behaviors. Like you said, there are a few that do things differently. I just felt like there's too much emphasis on how tech-savvy we are and its a bit misconstrued. Just thought I'd try to clear the air a bit.
@JessieX 1956, early Internet adopter …. X – 1??
Seeing what technology has done – or rather, really, not done – for Gen Y, I'm really concerned about the way that computers are being so naively thrown at Gen Z children.
Schools are buckling under the pressure for budgetary cuts across the board and slashing staffing and important stuff like arts and quality meal offerings, yet they're scrambling to outfit kids with computers in the classroom. Jeez, they're teaching Kindergarteners to do PowerPoint presentations, for crying out loud!
But there's no evidence that access to technology has truly bettered the educational experience for Gen Y. This cavalier approach to immersing kids in technology is truly frightening… We're not giving kids time to just be kids and learn to exist in the real world before plunging them headlong into the cyber world.
I belong to the early adopters generation (if I can claim this name for my generation), and find your point of view to match mine. Great and sincere post.
Ooooh. I like your thinking, Corvida. From what I've studied and what attracts my interest with how different generations communicate, GenXers experience personal and collective (albeit in tinsy groups) power through efficacy, efficiency and filling small gaps and structural deficiencies that others don't even see. That's why they are, to co-opt your term, the power behind the Business Web. Things need to function and well for the GenX mindset to be satisfied. GenXers are also “gamblers” and willing to go for high-stakes gains and losses. Gambling is often a better bet than trusting institutions and older adults to make wise decisions in their favor. (And history bears this out.)
Millennials (1982 – 2002ish) experience individual and collective power as a TEAM. They function better inside of a group … and not just any group, but a group of their peers. Social media relationships and use, for Millennials, are starting to groove into their personal and (now) professional worlds a way of watching, in real time, what their peers are doing. To be able to respond in a moments' notice to the movement of their peers, to bring support, bodies, sheer force of numbers.
Each generation will communicate and use communication tools for the core values that underlie its world view. And GenXers and Millennials grow up in wildly different worlds, see the world differently, and they frame and then solve problems differently.
Just adding my own thoughts here. I see exactly where you are coming from, Corvida. My nieces aged 18 and 21 are just the type of users you describe. The oldest is forever on Ebay buying and selling her life and the youngest uses Facebook with her friends but that is about it. Their parents are not very tech savvy though. I am 51 (today!) and am definitely a geek but my son (aged 28) is one too and taught me everything he knows. I have just completed a BSc in IT and am teaching my younger girls (12 and 15) everything I now know..they are much more tech savvy than their cousins. We are a very switched on household with computers and gadgets everywhere. I am taking the lead in social media though and am now merrily blogging and twittering away!!
I love your blog and find it very inspiring…have just started a new blog of my own looking at social media from the perspective of change management and how many users are a bit fearful of the new technologies. I thought this might be age related but now am not too sure. will have to explore further. Thanks for the food for thought! xxx
Julia
Like it or not, internet has revolutionize the ways we do things. We can't even function without the computer. Just can't imagine what the world would be in say 20 years time. It will probably take over our lives completely.
Like it or not, internet has revolutionize the ways we do things. We can't even function without the computer. Just can't imagine what the world would be in say 20 years time. It will probably take over our lives completely.
Like it or not, internet has revolutionize the ways we do things. We can't even function without the computer. Just can't imagine what the world would be in say 20 years time. It will probably take over our lives completely.