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9 explanations for the internet’s generation gap
Those of baby-boom-years and beyond shake their heads at youngsters seemingly reckless use of the internet. Generations X, Y and Z see their elders as paranoid old dogs that can’t – or won’t – learn new tricks.
In truth, the young and old have very different perceptions of the risks and rewards offered by the World Wide Web. Internet expert Patrick Schwerdtfeger has studied the generation divide that has created alternate realities in cyberspace. Schwerdtfeger, an award-winning speaker on social media and creator of the Tactical Execution website, has crawled into the minds of old and young internet users and diagrammed the divergent attitudes they have embraced.
Here is what he found.
What the older generation would say: The internet is NOT personal.
What the younger generation would say: The internet is MORE personal.
Older generation: I need to meet someone face-to-face to really get to know them.
Younger generation: If I only meet someone face-to-face I don’t know anything about them.
Older generation: I can’t do a major transaction without meeting the person and shaking his or her hand.
Younger generation: I can’t do a major transaction without seeing their website and doing my own research online.
Older generation: I’m not confident processing a transaction ONLINE because I’m worried about the security of my personal information.
Younger generation: I’m not confident processing a transaction OFFLINE because I’m worried about the security of my personal information.
Older generation: If an online transaction goes wrong I have absolutely no recourse.
Younger generation: If an online transaction goes wrong I can personally destroy their reputation.
Older generation: It’s easier to be deceptive online.
Younger generation: Being deceptive never pays off online.
Older generation: The internet has too many distractions.
Younger generation: I can find precisely what I want online.
Older generation: The internet has too many scams.
Younger generation: Scams are much easier to spot online.
Older generation: I can’t trust people on the internet.
Younger generation: I know exactly who I can trust online.
What do you think? Leave your comments and I’ll share them with Patrick Schwerdtfeger.
Comments
I think that everything that you have said is correct, but I have also found that the younger generation has a difficulty communicating or getting their point across correctly. Some times it can be to difficult to adequately convey a thought through the written language when you cannot witness the visual response of the recipient. Is your point hitting home?
In business it is all about personal relationships in consummating a deal even though initial discovery may happen via the internet. Most business transactions are not “off the shelf” type of relationships, point and click satisfaction cannot be obtained just with a internet relationship.
Final point, how often have you been in a verbal conversation with a X, Y & Z generation, only to have that conversation interrupted by a text message. Perception is everything, and the perception I get is that my conversation isn’t as important as the one coming over the text.
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