Documentation Generation

[Vir]

I just had to read a paper for class where they finally gave our generation a name. We're being called the documentation generation for multiple reasons.

Read whole article its fairly short link (http://www.newsweek.com/id/123484)

Summary: We have become accustomed to being filmed and filming, most people record their lives through youtube and blogs. Shows such as Real Life and Laguna Beach and High School Confidential have led people to think that their lives are worth recording and they go about it with full gusto.

Potential problems arising from this: When children are producing a persona it could make it difficult to make relationships with trust when any event could become public on the internet. The desire to have videos worth showing drives people to do things they otherwise wouldn't, be it more stupid or horrific than normal.

So do you think you fit under this heading or do you think this article is bullshit. Post.

[SquidWard]

I thought we were the 'I want it now' generation.

[cptlol]

I thought we were the "lol butts" generation.

This article is also bullshit, only stupid fucks want their shit recorded.

[Iceshade]

Yeah you can't define a full generation by a couple of the idiots on mtv/vh1 and the slugs that spend an entire day watching. Looks to me like the article is free advertising.

[Casalen]

Crap article. Almost meaningful, but too many assumptions abound in the article. The main thing they miss is that people have always been attention whores to some extend, and the psychologists who get to talk about this in an article or the person who gets famous filming a documentary are no exceptions. I'd say they have the condition much more than the people they're talking about.

And this from someone who spends most of his time behind a camera.

[Valkyrie]

I've heard most of our generation will be partially deaf by the age of 30... meh.

[Jinjiro]

Fuck that. I don't want to be lopped in with MTV watching douches.

[CalculatePie314]

So when people back then recorded their lives in a diary or journal... all of that meant nothing?

[paraskeet]

Most people who think their lives are worth recording, aren't at all. I don't care about what happen at school today or some bullshit.

I think the name is fucking retarded.

[paraskeet]

So when people back then recorded their lives in a diary or journal... all of that meant nothing?

'CAUSE IT WASN'T AIRED ON MTV TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DUH

[Ikin]

I think "digital generation" or "internet generation" would be better. Like already mentioned, we don't all go around recording everything. But we did all grow up with cell phones and iPods and the Internet.

[I_Smell]

I've bin calling us the Myspace generation for ages.

[LandMarkMoon]

The DeGeneration.

[I_Smell]

D-GENERATION X!!!
http://www.wearyourbeer.com/images/WWE_DGX_Pair_Black_Shirt.jpg

[Souldrinker]

Aren't you guys already Gen Y? And for those that would come after this, wouldn't it then be Gen Z?

Also, there's more problems associated with this internet generation than just being stupid and a lack of trust. "Simulated participation" leads to a lack of development of real social skills - hiding behind a computer doesn't count as real, especially when you can block someone or shut down whenever it becomes too hard. It also leads to a lack of development in relation to physical skills that were staples of previous generations who played sports instead of sports games on the XBox etc.

There's a chance that, down the track, the lack of real life participation will produce adults that aren't as skilled at being real human beings and aren't as physically capable, competent or developed as their parents. This could lead to health problems, mental health problems and problems with the likes of parenting etc.

Self-validation could also become a problem if the kids of today feel that they're not worthwhile or that their actions are meaningless unless they're "out there" for everyone to see or if they don't have enough "hits".

It's no coincedence that the rise of the emo and increase in instances of "self-harm" have risen hand-in-hand with the internet. Whilst on one hand you could say that emos took to the internet because it plays into their stupid mental state of disassociation, it's also very obvious that it exacerbates this disassociation and even produces it in some cases.

The ability to flee an encounter (blocking, logging off) and the fact that interwebs encounters are not actually real also increases the dismissal and decay of inhibitions, which could lead to (as previously mentioned) people doing stupid shit. One possible negative outcome could be that, down the track, if every stupid thing you did as a kid was put onto the interwebs, your bosses might see more than you want them to. Just look at the way in which workplaces are relating to Facebook these days.

Hell, I could go on forever so I'll try to show a bit of restraint and stop here (for now).

[Vir]

I think you're sort of generalizing those that use the internet Soul, at least of the people I've gone to school with through K-12. The people I hung out with, didn't necessarily spend the most time on the internet but they did certainly use the internet as much as anyone and they were smart and very physically fit. We were all on sports teams and many of them got scholarships for sports. Though I'm not sure how we compare to the physical ability of our parents I know world records are being broken and athletes are getting progressively better at what they do so I would say though we game it up alot, there are still those who balance that with real activities and are fit.

[SpaceRaoul]

The fact that something is up in the tubes doesn't mean the 'tubers want to see it... I wonder how many blogs are out there with 0 replies in every single rant.

[Casalen]

He is generalizing, but that doesn't make it invalid. 'Generally' just means 'usually' or 'more often than not', which is valid here to some extent. People are less physically active than in most times in the past, in general. A lot of our technology leads to a lot of problems, and the trends can be seen throughout today's youth. It's the same thing that happened during the last few generations, but better documented and possibly more widespread due to the increasing speed of technological developments.

And no, people normally don't want to see it... but people don't get that sometimes.

Modern technology also leads to some amazing progress, these things are a necessary side effect to reach them.

[Souldrinker]

He is generalizing, but that doesn't make it invalid. 'Generally' just means 'usually' or 'more often than not', which is valid here to some extent.

Definitely generalising. There will always be those who are not acting with the majority and sometimes even the majority will be acting "normal". Nevertheless, even slight differences to large portions of the population or large differences to small portions of the population can have flow on effects down the track.

People are less physically active than in most times in the past, in general. A lot of our technology leads to a lot of problems, and the trends can be seen throughout today's youth.

Absolutely.

In my day, once you got home and did your homework etc, you'd grab a ball and go down to the park with the kids from the street. This was because, well, apart from watching Knight Rider or The A-Team there really wasn't much else to do.

These days, kids have so much at their fingertips that they don't have to use the rest of their body to be entertained.

It's the same thing that happened during the last few generations, but better documented and possibly more widespread due to the increasing speed of technological developments.

Yeah, it's definitely the speed that is the dominant factor. The last few generations have had advancements that changed the way we interact and our level of activity - television, the telephone, cars, even agricultural advancements that made mass farming easier and less physical. The differences that have come over the last generations, however, have been amazingly fast. Just in the last decade the way that the internet has advanced and become ubiquitous has been amazing and had significant impact on the daily lives of many individuals.

And no, people normally don't want to see it... but people don't get that sometimes.

As the case has always been, when you see someone famous do it - or even when an average person gets widespread credit for it - you feel the need to gain validation from doing it yourself. The thing is that, previously, the means weren't there to do it yourself. The way media has been placed in the hands of everyone has changed the rules of the game like no other time in history.

Modern technology also leads to some amazing progress, these things are a necessary side effect to reach them.

I disagree that these side effects are necessary. Personally, I view them as a teething problem of sorts. They are not good for us in the long run and we'll either wake up to the negative effects from them and suffer only a short term detriment or we will fail to wake up and continue to suffer due to them.

[OoooF4LiFe]

My generation could beat up your generation.

[Tweek]

Yeah thats a bit of tldr, but this sounds like crap to me.
Stupid name, and I was under the impression that I was Gen Y.
I don't know about you guys younger than me, because it generally goes in 15 year increments, right?
So 1976 - 1991 = Generation Y
1991 - 2006 = Generation whatever.

And then inside that there is different categories, right? Like obviously someone born in 76 is a little different to me, born in 91.
So my older brother, born in 81 would be more MTV Generation than me, and I'd be more Internet Generation, but not quite to the extent of someone born in 95.

Anyway, the whole point is, it is a shit name and nobody is going to use it.

[Metalhead636]

Anyway, the whole point is, it is a shit name and nobody is going to use it.


Yes Tweek but what should we use. Maybe the "Royally Fucked Generation"?

[cptlol]

Well-endowed generation.

[Tweek]

How are we royally fucked at all?
We are the perfect consumers, suckin' on mummies titties for the rest of our lives and appropriating what we want with what we are told we want.

[Tyler_Legrand]

How are we royally fucked at all?
We are the perfect consumers, suckin' on mummies titties for the rest of our lives and appropriating what we want with what we are told we want.

Unless, however, we're those kinds of people who stick their noses up at anything mainstream, preferring to be the first to like a band, etc.

[Tweek]

My point is, this generation, or the generation of teenagers at the moment, have everything sweet and are in no way 'royally fucked'.

[Tyler_Legrand]

Unless we're lepers

[Souldrinker]

My point is, this generation, or the generation of teenagers at the moment, have everything sweet and are in no way 'royally fucked'.

I can only speak from an Australian perspective but there has been a lot of talk (and journalism) recently about how this "sweet" time is coming to an end and about to backfire, thus making things "royally fucked up" for Gen Y.

Here in Australia the 96-07 era was very prosperous and this was the time when Gen Y came into existence. Increased wealth and education has led to a decline in the number of children per family thus generating more funneling of wealth into each individual child (less children to share with). In addition, the last few years that have seen Gen Y enter the workforce were a time when we were experiencing an almost zero-unemployment economy and these emerging Gen Y workers could dictate terms.

Thus, they had it all. They never wanted for anything, got everything they asked for and dictated terms in the adult world they were emerging into. Everyone pandered to their every whim and they ate that shit up.

No more, it is being said. Unemployment is rising and putting the power back to the employer, not the Gen Y employee. The financial crisis is forcing everyone to be more frugal with their cash and so demands from Gen Y aren't being met. Credit is becoming tighter and so Gen Y can't continue to put everything on plastic forever.

The world they grew up in, the world they took for granted, the world they demanded everything from and expected everything from is dwindling. Soon enough, say the pundits, Gen Y will be brought back down into the hard, cold world that the rest of us had to grow up in.

It is being said, here in Australia at least, that the golden days are over and the "royally fucked up" days are on their way...

[Tweek]

Thats actually a good point.
And it had to happen just when I try and get into the workforce.
I should have listened to my economics teacher when he told me to drop out in year 10. :argh:

[Souldrinker]

He just wanted you to be paying tax sooner so that there would be more money to cover his pension...

[Laurence]

The number of generalisations in this thread are astounding.

The only thing I will say is that what generation you are part of does not dictate the level of competency you are capable of showing in your work. What we are going to see will not be a generation being "royally fucked", but a generation adapting to changing conditions. That is all.

[Casalen]

I can only speak from an Australian perspective but there has been a lot of talk (and journalism) recently about how this "sweet" time is coming to an end and about to backfire

I think when Tweek (or whoever said it) mentioned that, he was referring to the incredible conveniences that technology allows, as well as things like medical abilities and overall safety related systems. This is different than the Australian perspective, in which prosperous times are dictated by the cost of large hunting knives and a reduction in kangaroo related homicides.

[Pope]

wow, does it really matter? Cuz hell, I'm generation X, but that doesn't mean I'm important, cool, anything. Yeah its a dumb name, and yeah, you might not like it, but whatever. The only time I could think of it being brought up is, well, in this thread.

tl;dr: Get over it.

[Souldrinker]

The number of generalisations in this thread are astounding.

Welcome to an internet forum debate, dickhead.

The only thing I will say is that what generation you are part of does not dictate the level of competency you are capable of showing in your work.

No, it won't dictate what you are capable of, which is your potential. It could, however, dictate how that potential translates into results. Please also go back and read the actual fucking thread and notice we're talking about many different things here such as social interaction and physical health.

What we are going to see will not be a generation being "royally fucked", but a generation adapting to changing conditions. That is all.

And if your generation of teenyboppers isn't able to effectively change? Or the change that takes effect is negative? That would makes things royally fucked, wouldn't it?

I think when Tweek (or whoever said it) mentioned that, he was referring to the incredible conveniences that technology allows, as well as things like medical abilities and overall safety related systems. This is different than the Australian perspective, in which prosperous times are dictated by the cost of large hunting knives and a reduction in kangaroo related homicides.

Please learn your Australianisms. Dingoes steal our babies, not kangaroos. We domesticated the kangaroo over a hundred years ago and it has since become a passive animal that can safely and effectively be used to perform such tasks as delivering our mail and carrying our groceries home from the supermarket.

[Metalhead636]

My point is, this generation, or the generation of teenagers at the moment, have everything sweet and are in no way 'royally fucked'.

However we have all this shit to deal with like the economy, wars, and the day 12/22/12

[javaD]

Weren't we Gen. DIY?

[Rex_Mundi]

I was under the impression we were the Technological Generation what with our computers and internet and high definition televisions and iPods and laptops and next generation gaming consoles.

[Vir]

And if your generation of teenyboppers isn't able to effectively change? Or the change that takes effect is negative? That would makes things royally fucked, wouldn't it?


Yes because we will remain teenyboppers for our entire lives. If we really can't adapt to figure out the problems presented to our generation it will either completely fuck over humanity or it will be the most massive, efficient natural selection of humanity ever. Hitler won't have shit on the world wide cleansing of inadequate people that's gonna go down. Either way I can't wait, but I think we will be able to cope and life will go on without any epic apocalyptic movie events happening.

Our generation has a bunch of titles, gen Y, technological generation, this is just another proposed name for us. Noones really gonna figure out who we are until after we die.

[Allen]

What an intelligent conversation :hmm:

[Tweek]

However we have all this shit to deal with like the economy, wars, and the day 12/22/12
:indiff:
I don't even know how to properly form a response to this. War, economic downturn and stupid doomsday predictions have been around since forever.
Like, fuck dude.
Rewind back 70 years when the economy was 10x worse, war was actually fought in the Western world, on the streets of Paris and the skies of London. There were subs in Sydney harbour and attacks on American soil. Oh there was also the impending threat of the Nazi holocaust.
I mean, shit bro. Think about what you say before you say it.

[Jordan_Hanrahan]

I thought we were gen Y because we're getting damn close to the end...

It's pretty shit though, a teacher at school once said to us about global warming and all that, that "this problem has fallen in your hands".
I laughed and told her to clean up her own mess.

The only reason we are being classified as this is because these are the people who stand out the most; they're not the majority. We shouldn't be judged based on a bunch of prats with phone cameras and computers.

[wellsy]

We are the MTV generation, we feel neither highs nor lows.