The Generational Divide

In the1980’s a common question for teenagers who weren’t able to drive was, “can you take me to the mall?”  When teenagers could drive and had to answer the question about where they were going, the answer was usually, “I’m going to the mall to hang out with my friends.”  Once at the mall, meeting current friends and meeting new friends was driven by important teenage factors such as who knew who and whether a new teenager was introduced through a connection to the group.  If a friend in the group “signed off” that someone was cool, they were at least given a chance to be a friend.  Unfortunately, appearance was usually a major component of a group’s willingness to accept a new teenager.  There were two factors that expedited the level of openness the group might have.  First, if the person was considered attractive.  Second, was the cool factor which often came down to how the other teenager dressed and what kind of music they liked.  To have a rare t-shirt of a band that the group liked could score major points in terms of how open the group might be to acceptance.  In current times, there is no longer a need for a teenager to ask for a ride to the mall or to drive there themselves because their friends are usually online and they are there even after the mall closes.

It is interesting to know that MySpace grew as a social network site (SNS) because of the desire of “music junkies” to connect with bands, download music and try to acquire VIP passes or other unique items from a particular band.  (boyd, 2007, p. 4).  Music has always been an important aspect in the life of teenagers striving to know themselves and find their place in society. 

Part of the importance of music is expressing angst and highlighting the generational divide.  Even before Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff declared “Parents Just Don’t Understand” (1988) in their light-hearted rap song, music has been a primary tool for youth to attempt to describe the generational differences.

In her chapter, “Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites:  The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life” (2007), danah boyd helps us explore key questions about teenagers and their affinity for using social networking sites.  boyd offers great perspective and reasonable answers to these questions by drawing upon ethnographic data collected during her two-year study of MySpace. 

Most specifically, boyd (2007) argues that social network sites “are a type of networked public with four properties that are not typically present in face-to-face public life:  persistence, searchability, exact copyability, and invisible audiences” (boyd, 2007, p. 2).  These four factors have altered the mall scenario that many of us in our late thirties and forties may have experienced.  Although boyd (2007) makes it clear that currently teenagers are typically connecting online with friends that they already have in face-to-face relationships.  Regardless, these four properties of a networked public up the ante in teenage social development because of the potential for communication to be saved for long amounts of time (if not forever), be copied from place to place so that the original intentions of expression are potentially misinterpreted, and the near impossibility of knowing all those who may run across some communication at some point in the future with detrimental effects.  The searchability factor of an SNS might help develop a relationship in a less superficial process than the mall scenario because a teenager can join groups based on similar interests and ideas.  Undoubtedly the impacts of these four networked aspects of an SNS on society are major and many of the effects have yet to be realized and studied. 

Considering SNS through the lens of education is still a very new concept as well.  A source of information that I recommend at this point is “Navigating Social Networks as Learning Tools” by Will Richardson.  As Richardson states, “This new networked space where we all can connect, create, and collaborate is one that is filled with amazing potentials for learning, many that promise to reshape the way we go about our lives both in and outside of school” (Richardson, 2010, p. 302).

Boyd, D.  (2007).  Why youth (heart) social network sites:  The role of networked publics in teenage social life.  In Buckingham, D. (Ed.), MacArthur Foundation series on digital learning--youth, identity, and digital media volume (pp.1-26).  Cambridge:  MIT Press.

Richardson, W. (2010).  Navigating social networks as learning tools.  In Belanca, J. and Brandt, R. (Eds.), 21^st century skills:  Rethinking how students learn (pp. 285-303).  Bloomington:  Solution Tree Press.