High Road Communications

I just read through a great article that appears in the current issue of New York Magazine (http://nymag.com/news/features/27341), which contends that emergence of social media is creating the most significant generation gap since rock and roll music burst onto the scene.

It is a worthwhile read for people on the north side of the generation gap (let’s say aged 30+) who are looking for a better understanding of how the south side of the generation gap defines personal information and privacy. Let’s face(book) it, part of the attraction for marketers to the web is just how personal the information online has become. And part of the mystery for people in understanding social media + youth is “Why would anyone put it all out there like that?” Young people on the other hand, are responding by getting more and more active. For them, public life is fun, it’s creative and it’s where their friends are.

In the online world, everyone has an audience where they can belong and connect with friends. The desire to belong and connect with others makes social media sound exactly like every other revolution embraced by young people in every generation. Yet, at the same, it is like nothing else that has come before. (Via Clive Thompson http://www.collisiondetection.net/)