(Note: I received permission from the participants to post this information. Their names have been changed)
Stanley (age 76)
Stanley was sitting in one of the large armchairs (you know, the ones with the outlets) reading a newspaper. He was dressed for his Caribbean vacation: floral t-shirt, linen pants, and sandals. Here's what Stanley had to say about social networking:
"I have a Facebook, but I don't know how to use it. My grandkids set it up for me. They love the social media. Their faces are always in their phones. Heaven forbid they have a conversation with each other. [My wife and I] don't have WiFi at our house and you'd think their world was over. I do have the Internet. I go on the Internet to check email. Thats about it."
Alison (age 14)
Alison was sitting in the airmchair next to Stanley. She didn't seem as thrilled to be going on the family vacation. The entire time I spoke to Stanley, she was on her phone. When she realized I was talking to her grandfather about social media, she was very interested to join the conversation. Here is what Alison had to say:
"Snapchat is my favorite. I'm on Snapchat all the time. Old people don't use Snapchat, which is cool. It's just for, like, younger people. I like it because you can be private when you want. Not like Instagram where you have to make the choice to be public or private. I use Instagram sometimes, but Snapchat is way better. "
It was interesting having this social networking conversation with two different generations. I'm hoping to talk to some locals when I get to Aruba about their tools/habits, so stay tuned!
Generation gap? Old people tend to think "I live this long without using such stuff. It's time-consuming to be always online. No actual communication." Young people are energetic and willing to explore new things. When most of her friends use snapchat, she uses snapchat to identify with her peers.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree! Young people are using Snapchat, rather than texting each other.
DeleteBTW, very smart data collection!
ReplyDeleteThat is really interesting topic. I had always wondered if the art of conversation is really lost on the younger generation, or whether we are over-generalising. More importantly, (me trying to give a positive spin) perhaps we need to change our definition of social interaction. After all, why do I need to give a 30-min rundown of my day, when I could just show my parents a series of snapchat or instagram photos.
ReplyDeleteExactly! I feel like my family can now see what I'm doing, rather just listening to me talk about it.
Delete"the social media" ... killing me.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? I tried really hard to react...
Delete