We’ll Meet You at MySpace
Way back in 1991, at the ripe old age of 10, I made friends the old-fashioned way. Kickball on the playground. Swapping Jell-O cups for Handi-Snacks. Hiding from the requisite bully who attempted - and succeeded - in terrorizing us little guys. They were all good times.
But that was then, and this is now. I no longer require the presence of others to feel personally connected. In fact, the days of face-to-face communication are about as useful as my mom’s dust-collecting VCR and her library of obsolete cassette tapes. It’s the end of an era, say some. To that, I raise my glass.
Along with 113.4 million other Millennials - a general label given to those born after 1978 - I was raised on e-mail, AIM, and a host of online applications: Facebook, Friendster, HotOrNot, Classmates.com, the list continues. With all of that Internet exchange, there’s really no reason to leave the house. I can accomplish most - if not all - of my tasks without ever staring into the eyes of authority.
Somewhere along the line, however, factions have formed: those who can’t live life unplugged, and those who struggle to find the power outlet.
For maturing, non-Millennial generations - older than age 27 - a lot of stock is still put into conducting business verbally rather than electronically. But it stands to reason that even those who have resisted the post-modern technological revolution will soon find themselves in the minority. Not only will they discover that they’re declining in number, but also that if they do not succumb they’ll be left behind altogether.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. We Millennials collectively stand to welcome you with open arms.
Go on: wave the white flag. The bandwagon awaits.
Michael A. Knipp, Copywriter/Editor, Creative Direct Response
March 15th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
There is a great deal of value in digital communities. Robert Putnam, the author of Bowing Alone called these type of organizations “checkbook” organizations because the so called members did not have to meet face-to-face al they needed to do was write a check once a year. Some experts claim these digital orgainizations are keeping alive associations and membership organizations.
The point proponents of of the all digital world and all digital communications, and all digital meetings, and all digital communities miss is the human mind is hard wired for human contact. Whether the Y generation or the digital generation or the wired geration or whatever they call themselves choose to think about being “digitally connected” emperical research has shown that humans crave human face to face contact.
Notonly do humans need contact with others, the very act of participating, doing something as a volunteer enhances the person’s ability to be a better citizen, increases their chances of supporting charities and volunteer membership organizations, and strengthens the democracy.
Organizations such as the Independent Sector, Princenton U., John Hopkins U., the Brookings Institute, and the U of Chicago have all done mutiple emperical studies on this subject and have confirmed the value of social capital.
By advocating more face to face communications I am not a luddite wishing to halt the progress of technolgy. Technology is not the answer to everything. Try building a capital fund without face to face meetings.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
what a sad prospect, a generation not too far in the future learning to text before they can speak. If you’re right, perhaps through natural selection our mouths will evolve and close over, and we will inhale food dust through our nose. (Maybe some of you are doing something like that already). White flag? forget it - get a life!
More seriously, since we’re all interested here in non-profit marketing and probably fundraising, what advice do you have for us to entice involvement and donations from this self-absorbed, self-congratulatory, socially inept and insular Millenial generation, that you know so well? We’re not here to gratify your me-me MySpace self-indulgence. Show us that you care, and have clues to making that connection, and maybe we’ll be interested in what you have to say.