Tapscott Part One

In “Grown Up Digital,” Don Tapscott takes us through time, from 1946 with the Baby Boom Generation to Present with the Generation Z. He mostly compares the Baby Boom Generation to the Net Generation. He illustrates the Net Geners everyday lives compared to their boomer parents lives in the past and today. What I found interesting in Tapscott’s book is he provides a short illustration of a typical Boomer Generations daily life, as well as a Net Geners daily life. Being a Net Gener, it was interesting to read life for the boomer generation at my age.

I found the first section of “Grown Up Digital” very informative and appealing. Tapscott discusses the Baby Boomer Generation’s outlook on Televisions in chapters one and two, and is even named the “TV Generation”. The boomer generation got much of their information and entertainment from television, unlike my net generation who gets their information and entertainment from not only television, but through texts, phones, emails, and websites. Tapscott states, “Net Gen kids growing up looked at computers in the same way boomers look at TV…And as technology relentlessly advances each month, young people just breathe it in, like improvements in the atmosphere”(19). For Net Gen kids technology is the norm, we grew up with them, we don’t question it, we just take it all in.

Reading Tapscotts book, I began noticing these same things in my family. My parents being from the boomer generation, I can definitely relate to what Tapscott discusses through the text. I have noticed within my own home and life, the boomer generation saying, “If you don’t understand how to use a computer, cell phone etc just give it to your kid, they’ll figure it all out for you.” I made this comparison when Tapscott stated, “The Net Geners don’t just take what they are given either. They are the active initiators, collaborators, organizers, readers, writers, authenticators, and even strategists, as in the case of video games. They do not just observe; they participate. They inquire, discuss, argue, play, shop, critique, investigate, ridicule, fanaticize, seek, and inform”(21). My generation does not just sit back and watch others play with new gadgets, we like to be hands on, and learn by doing so. For example, I think with my generation we rarely read an instruction manual for a new cell phone we get, we like to explore. But yet I notice my parents reading the instruction manual for their new phones, and months later return to that manual, or ask one of their children! I think this shows how different and how far we’ve come from generation to generation and the differences in our technologies have a lot to do with how the net gener has been wired as oppose to the boomer generation.

With the boomer generation television revolutionized the way they learned about the news, and were entertained, they were no longer sitting around the fireplace listening to the latest news on the radio, or reading about it in the newspaper, they were now watching it, and taking it in through the television. With the net generation we primarily get our information from the internet. Like the home phone was replaced with the cell phone, soon the television will be replaced the same way with the internet. Tapscott states, “But if you ask them which medium they can do without—Internet or TV—TV is the loser in all 12 countries we surveyed”(42). I personally rarely use the TV, to watch my shows; I primarily use it for movies. With the internet and TiVo, we no longer have to “wait” for our favorite show to come on, we can just watch it online, or record it, replay it, pause it, fastforward, and rewind. Tapscott mentions how the Grammys are a popular segment for young teenagers to watch. Tapscott also shares that in 2004, 9.7 percent of teens aging from 12-17 watched the Grammys, in 2007 only 3.8 percent of this group watched. Today, many go online to watch the highlights of similar award shows, because after all that’s what really matters to some. Many don’t care to waste their time watching something they are not interested in anymore, internet sites such as youtube, have made it possible to see what we want to watch and what we’re most interested in. The virtual world has made it possible to do things on our time, instead of television networks time. Another reason I like online viewing as oppose to television viewing, because thankfully I only have to sit through 30 second commercials! As oppose to the long never ending commercials on television. My time is precious, I don’t like to waste it watching things that I don’t care for. This is a capability that many boomers were not able to experience when they were younger. Many adults in the boomer generation, rarely go online to watch their shows, I asked my father born in the boomer generation why doesn’t he just save some time and watch his shows on our computer? He just thought that was ridiculous, why would he do that? The computer screen is too small for him to watch it comfortably. Like Tapscott was mentioning, each generation was born into technologies, boomer generation with TV and net generation with computers. I am perfectly fine with watching my shows online; it’s just more convenient for me.

We continue to move forward with our technologies; each month something newer, faster, and more convenient comes on to the scene. Once again, I begin to wonder what will the next generation be savvy with, what will be the technology that they grow up using in their everyday lives and not think twice about.