Outta Time Units (June 2012)
Not a lazy generation, a Geek Generation, fixing things one Google search at a time.
Hello, my name is Dave Wright, known to some as Magic Dave. At the end of each month I am going to take some time to share a few of the many geek-related thoughts that run through my head.
Something I have been thinking about lately is the next generation. I am not a father yet, but I am involved in the lives of several young people, and I am always looking for new ways to connect with them. Usually that looks like hosting a LAN party, or working a production gig and recruiting some of them for tech labor. I love passing on knowledge, and I really love seeing the light bulb click when a young person finally grasps a technical concept.
A lot of people will tell you this generation is lazy and will never accomplish anything. I wholeheartedly disagree. The generation of our fathers’ fathers, the men of the 1940s, projects an image of someone who will roll up his sleeves and do whatever it takes. Many say we have lost that American spirit and become a culture of consumerism and instant access. There I do agree, and it is terrifying to watch it happen in front of you. Our kids are tied to their smartphones and social media like never before, and the result can make for a lazy generation. Those are broad generalizations, I know, but you get my point.
So, back to this generation. I do not know what its name is supposed to be, but I think we are starting to see a new one rise: a Geek Generation that is embracing that older 1940s mindset of getting your hands dirty and doing whatever it takes. Do not see it yet? Here is an example. How many of you have cracked an iPhone screen? Some of you went straight to the Apple Store. But some of you stopped and thought, okay, what does it take to fix this? And where did you go? Google. You searched the parts and the know-how and you fixed it yourself. The slice of the population willing to take that second path is still small, but I think it is growing. It is an old American way of life, making things last and doing what it takes to do it right. The Western Expansion of the 1800s spurred that spirit and that individualism, and now, with the internet, that expansion of freedom is being realized all over again.
We could choose to look at this generation with scorn for its place in the internet and social media revolution. But that is just it: a revolution, and sometimes I think we forget we are living through one. It is messy right now, and nobody really knows where all this technology leaves us. History will look back on this as the dawn of social media, maybe even of globalization. And what will it say about the generation to come? I hope it speaks to their ambition to embrace who they are and the knowledge laid out in front of them. Are there things wrong with this generation? Sure. Will they be lazy ultimate consumers? Maybe. But not if we embrace them for who they are and push them toward the world-changers they could be. Anyway, just a thought, and it seems I am out of time units for this month.