When I was a child, I remember my parents (baby boomers/teens of the 60′s and 70′s) used to tell me stories of how their parents “just didn’t get it”. Their teenage years were filled with Woodstock, the anti-Vietnam movement, Nixon… These were the years of Rock ‘N Roll and there was a sharp divide between the baby boomers and their “Greatest Generation” parents.
Through my teenage years, I never really felt that level of misunderstanding. In fact, my parents “got-it” almost too well. I wanted to learn drums and be in a band, my dad taught me how to do it from his own experiences, If I tried to dye my hair, my mom would show me how. The classic parent/son anti-piercing or tattoo fight? They actually encouraged them. I would say I wanted to go to a Green Day concert, and my dad would ask to come with me.
From talking to my friends, this is pretty standard. Where was our rebellion or revolution? Where was our Rock ‘N Roll? Today, after multiple events, including one of the biggest fights I’ve had with my mother in a long time*, I think I found it. Our Rock ‘N Roll is Social Media.
As I mentioned, the big events of our parents’ formative years are immortalized as the hippie and rock movements, I look back on the last ten years and one movement sticks out plain to see, Web 2.0 and the rise of the social networks. Today, the first trailer for “The Social Network”, the movie about the founding of Facebook came out and watching it gave me chills.
While it is hard to imagine, Facebook has only been around for five years. In that time, it has amassed nearly 500 million users, half of which log in on any given day. More than half of everyone in their 20′s has a Facebook profile.
I am not exaggerating when I say it is hard to imagine life without Facebook, but it is just one site. Think about how much Youtube has changed the way you watch entertainment. I believe we just witnessed a milestone in how advertising is done with the recent Old Spice man response videos. Who hasn’t been talking about those? In a time where not so long ago, people were saying TIVO was going to destroy advertising, we are passing around commercials and watching them for enjoyment!
The eternal disagreement with my parents is, “why don’t you get off that computer”. They would rather me do anything other than sit at the computer, including sit and watch television. For the baby boomers, the first computer they ever learned to use was at work or the Atari. It is a single use tool, or a complete “waste of time”. For us Millennials, we probably can not even remember a time before computers. Sitting and just watching television is absurdly boring when I can be doing other things at the same time.
For me, my computer/iPad/iPhone are my television, office, bank, notebook, phone, book, canvas, post-office, etc. Try to think when was the last time you had a phone conversation for over a hour on a landline… When was the last time you stepped foot in the Post-Office? Been to a Blockbuster lately? How about bought a newspaper? Stood on an actual line to get tickets to a concert? How about had film developed?
Even our dating has moved online, with online matchmaking sites being one of the internet’s biggest businesses. Eharmony throws around the statistic that it is responsible for 2% of US marriages and a recent study says that up to 1 in 3 relationships today start online.
I think one of the biggest differences is old friends. My parents have a tight circle of friends, but anyone they knew from high school or college that moved away from the area, they have little, if any contact with. Doesn’t this fact sound alien? My best friends are scattered all over the country right now, but through twitter, Facebook, and texts… I have constant contact with them. Sure, its not physical, but its comforting to talk to people I have known since childhood.
I know through things they have said to me, that my parents think on some level what I do on the computer is almost akin to playing a video game. They can’t even fathom that I am actually talking to real people on gchat, having interesting conversations on twitter, producing content that helps get my name out there, or god-forbird making money on the internet. With friends scattered all over, in many ways my computer is my primary link to social interaction.
We are living in an absurdly exciting time. In my opinion, this could be looked back as one of the most important decades in history. We are (almost) all carrying pocket-sized computers which hold access to all of humanity’s knowledge and able to instantly connect us with anyone we want, even in video form. We get updated the second any important thing happens to our friends and family, and get the world news at basically the speed of light without the limitations of paper. Think about this: 150 years ago, it took the Pony Express ten days to get a letter from Missouri to San Francisco. Today, we can get a letter from Missouri to China in seconds.
From my parents, I have seen the wonder, but usually aversion to the progress that not only the internet, but the socially networked internet is bringing to the world. They are amazingly supportive of what I do with my life, but every so often things break down and they show just how much they don’t understand. There are times I am positive that they think what I do is just playing with toys. Yes, I know that the largest growing group right now on Facebook is the 55+ year-olds, but for the most part, they aren’t using social media in every facet of their lives to the level the Generation-Y, Millennials are.
I hate saying this. I really do. It makes me sound like a whiney brat. It makes me sound like a hippie/rocker/punk talking about their parents in the 60′s and 70′s.
Our generation changed the course of an election using Social Media electing the first black president, saved Conan O’Brien’s career with Team Coco, almost destroyed and then revitalized the music industry with MP3 downloading, and are completely changing the publication and advertising industries.
To our generation this is exciting, this is ours, this is Rock ‘N Roll.
For more of my generational insights, listen to my interview on Wired’s The Hopkinson Report here.
*A Personal Note
I try not to get too personal on here, but I seriously need to vent. Tonight I had one of the most heated fights with my parents I’ve had in quite some time. This was a fight that I have had before… Why can’t you get a real job? Why are you always on the computer? Why don’t you just watch tv? Why don’t you put down that iPhone?
I don’t make excuses. Like many people my age, I graduated into the economic disaster with a masters and nothing to do with it. I have applied to over 150 jobs, attend meetup groups monthly, but still have not found full-time employment. Instead of wallowing in self pity, I decided to put all my time that was not spent working on freelance design jobs or searching for full-time into developing this site. I do this to hone my own skills, provide those that want it a place to express themselves, and give you, the readers, kick-ass content.
Great article. I do like the “it’s our rock and roll” theme. Still, ANYONE can use social media, not just people of a certain age. So while it’s easy to portray social media usage as a generational thing, the fact that social media provide value to tweens, 20-somethings, and everyone else – including even us baby boomers — is what I think is really significant.
Great article. I do like the “it’s our rock and roll” theme. Still, ANYONE can use social media, not just people of a certain age. So while it’s easy to portray social media usage as a generational thing, the fact that social media provide value to tweens, 20-somethings, and everyone else – including even us baby boomers — is what I think is really significant.
anyone can listen to rocknroll too. but lots of parents think social media is a timewaster and dont get it. i have older friends and am myself the age of parents of teens.
of course even worse than your parents decrying social media would be your mom friending you on facebook lol
Between my mother & I the issue is always tattooing. She abhors the idea while I continue to get ink slapped on blank surfaces on my body.
But when it comes to social networking she’s a champ. Almost 60 years old and her FB page is brimming with games and applications. She even scoffed at me awhile ago when I told her I wasn’t planning on replacing my broken laptop for awhile. As I pointed to my iPhone as my source of techno-candy, she informed me that she really didn’t understand because she couldn’t ‘live for one moment without her Netbook.’
Hmm. I saw the Beatles concert in Shea stadium in ’64, graduated from high school on the day Bobby Kennedy was shot, and have been attending peace marches for 45 years. But I also got the first Mac in 1984 and the first iphone. etc. etc. (Never used an Atari. Too clunky.) The internet is totally natural to me, and to most of the people I know. As the Baby Boomer generation, we represent an enormous number of people – not to be dismissed. We’re not fluent with it the way our kids are, but we probably use it for different purposes. (I don’t know where my all my friends are at this moment.) And Facebook – it was barely used as a college facebook before it was appropriated by my generation. (Women over 40 are the fastest growing user group.) So I agree that we use it differently, but some of us are perhaps too tied to our electronic selves.
And here’s what I have to say about your parents: they sound really cool, very loving, and like really interesting people. But it’s their job to be thinking about your future (aka nagging). There’s a limit to their coolness – you don’t want them NOT to be worrying about you. That’s when they stop being parents. Luckily, someone who writes as well as you do will be fine in the world so nobody really needs to worry. Hang in there.
You have some real insight here. I enjoyed reading your take on this. It counters the common argument that Rock n’ Roll, Metal, Punk were initially vehicles for social rebellion. With your argument I guess they would be seen as vehicles for connecting an emerging generation in a common cultural experience. It is the inability of older generations to “get it” that causes the cultural and generational friction.
Very interesting to think about. Nice piece.
Social Media = Rock n Roll? Sorry, no.
Rock and Roll was the soundtrack to major social cultural movement that permanently changed western society. Political, sexual, racial, economic and cultural sensibilities were rewritten in a generation. Social Media is a new communication medium, and without getting to Mcluhan, changes the message. But not much has changed. Your politics, sexual attitudes and music are probably not all that different than your parents. You just talk to your friends and go about your life using different mediums than they do. My 80 year old Dad is on Facebook and no reward could have dragged him to Green Day with me.
And by the way, Social Media did not elect Obama, 8 years of Bush and his cronies destroying America woke up enough swing voters.
I think the point was that Obama would not have been the Democratic candidate if not for his use of social media to stir up young voters in a primary.
Social media and Rock n Roll are different in what they mean to the generations that used them, but I see the parallels in how they spark a reaction in the parents of the users. As Alexandra commented above, it is a parent’s job to worry. They have a deep-rooted fear that their child will turn out screwed up after all the time spent trying to raise them well. Human nature makes most people resistant to change, and when massive change occurs in the way people live their lives, parents with that deep fear will latch on and say “this change is ruining my child”.
I do have to add though that I burst out laughing when I read that Facebook was not really used until the 40+ female demographic jumped on board. Perhaps you were referring just to the Farmville portion?