Losing television would have been akin to ripping out a chunk of flesh. Television quickly became forever ingrained into the social consciousness and has impacted it like no other before it.
What was it like for society before television existed? Could they ever have imagined the world that followed? Would they view television as a good invention or a bad one? Certainly television had its critics and detractors when it first came out. It still does today.
I also wonder about the generations who grew up with television simply as a matter of fact. It has always existed and likely always will. There is nothing thought provoking about it; television simply is a part of life.
I don’t have to imagine what it would be like to be one of that generation – I’m already a part of it.
Generation Gap
There are three generations who deal with every new medium that arises. Those who have already developed their lifestyle and worldviews before it arrived; those who are still shaping their lifestyles when it comes out, and those who grow up with it as an integral part of their world.
The majority of people today fall into the third generation regarding television. It has simply always been a part of life.
When it comes to the Internet, however, many of us are of the second generation – we remember what life was like when the Internet just came out. We marvel at its novelty and potential use, but we can certainly relate to living without it. It’s not so difficult; we did so for many years before the World Wide Web became “a thing.”
Today’s youth who are now the Internet’s third generation have grown up in a world that’s Web-connected. They cannot relate to life without it. Taking away their access to the Web is just like taking away our access to TV.
If that still doesn’t seem convincing, how about also blocking off radio? Or books? Imagine taking away a bratty child’s ability to read. Now it seems sacrilegious – deny a child his or her learning?
If you were to make that motion a couple of centuries after Gutenberg’s press, however, no one would bat an eye. Why yes, that child has been antisocial and buried in matters unimportant to life. He’s not doing his chores or selling wares. That book is destroying his personal integrity and making him more immoral every day.
So goes the standard reason for taking away access to Facebook, MTV, The Lone Ranger radio show, or any book.
Kids These Days
Normally the harshest of these criticisms comes from the first generation: those who have never developed their lifestyle around the new medium. They perceive it as a threat to the values they have grown up with, and, in some cases, they are right. In others, their beliefs are completely unfounded.
Has Facebook, TV, radio or, and books kept us from playing outside? Yes. Have they allowed us to communicate ideas across the globe and expand our worldviews? Yes, too.
The benefits of these mediums are long-term. The change brought about by them is short-term. To those who have already decided how the world should be, change is a wrecking ball. And, whenever you see a wrecking ball come toward you, you fear it.
Meanwhile, the second generation is still in the process of building their worldview and, to them, emerging mediums appear like a tool of incredible convenience. This tool allows them to be faster, better and have more fun along the way. They love their new tool, and embrace how it has radically changed their lives. They see life before the tool as boring and slow compared with what they’ve been able to accomplish with it.
The third generation doesn’t see a wrecking ball or a new tool – just a part of every day life.
When the first generation sees the third generation blindly using the new medium, the elders look at the youngsters with scorn. These kids seemingly waste away their lives with these new mediums, ignorant of the world around them.
The second generation, meanwhile is disdainful of the third generation, for clearly these young people do not fully appreciate the “gift” they now possess. They cannot know what it was like to not have that tool that now makes life so much easier and richer. Things used to be so much harder! Things could be so much more difficult! They should view their “playthings” with more appreciation.
The third generation, of course, sees the first and second generations with indifference. They literally cannot imagine a world without the medium in their hand, so why bother trying? The medium is in their hands now and always will be, so what’s the problem? If anything, it’s just a matter of time before something even better comes along.
It’s Not About Perspective, But Experience
Is any one generation wrong? No. Is any one right? Nope.
Fear of change, clinging to nostalgia and taking things for granted are all negative traits. But, by the same token, remembering what else the world has to offer, having a before, and after perspective and anticipating what’s next are all positive traits as well.
It happened with books. Why bury your head in one when there’s an actual world out there? You don’t know what it’s like, being able to record ideas and actually be able to pass them on reliably. And yeah, these books are cool, but what about books we could broadcast? Now that would be something.
If it happened with books, it’ll happen with the Web and the Internet as a whole.
Which generation do you think you fall under, or do you, perhaps, overlap a couple?
Vince Ginsburg is a web designer and blogger for Corsair Media Services, which specializes
in online marketing strategies and development. He doesn’t just look at the current state of the Web to figure out what’s going on, but tries to understand why it’s happening. Always eager for discussion, you can find him at his company blog or Facebook.
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The Three Generations: A Look at How Different Generations Treat New Mediums
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