I’ve heard it split into ‘old millennials’ being digital immigrants, and ‘young millennials’ being digital natives. Both are shaped by the wider macroeconomic effects and have similar outlooks, but older millennials are more likely to have been in work with some career progression under their belt before the crises hit.
I spanned that divide. We got an Amiga in the home when most families had no computer and even then, I had to log all my computer time in a little book to make sure I didn’t spend too much time using it. I was frequently told to “go play outside”. I was taught not to give out my name or personal information online. A few years later, I remember downloading the full resolution Hubble Deep Field images, completely filling the family computer’s hard drive and probably saturating the dial up for quite a few minutes. Now I work for questionably evil companies (on my computer all day) then go home and do computer/tech related hobbies. I went from digging holes on the edge of the woods for fun to sitting in front of a computer, phone, tablet, or other tech most of the day.
Is life better post-digital? In some ways yes; in some ways no. We’ve kind of hit dopamine saturation where everything is just a click away and everything has already been done/thought/built/conceived. I have communities for the most niche of interests and I can find info on almost anything that tickles my fancy. On the other hand, there’s very little reason to leave your home and anything that makes you (or your friends) special probably looks like shit compared to the accomplishment of some random 10 year old kid from a foreign country. When the world was smaller everyone could feel bigger and more significant, but post internet, it’s clear every day that we are one of billions of people. The ads still tell us we’re special… to sell us stuff.
I find my solace in the outdoors and in regularly scheduled fully-offline social activities. I imagine being a kid got a whole lot harder after my little micro-generation.
I’ve heard it split into ‘old millennials’ being digital immigrants, and ‘young millennials’ being digital natives. Both are shaped by the wider macroeconomic effects and have similar outlooks, but older millennials are more likely to have been in work with some career progression under their belt before the crises hit.
I spanned that divide. We got an Amiga in the home when most families had no computer and even then, I had to log all my computer time in a little book to make sure I didn’t spend too much time using it. I was frequently told to “go play outside”. I was taught not to give out my name or personal information online. A few years later, I remember downloading the full resolution Hubble Deep Field images, completely filling the family computer’s hard drive and probably saturating the dial up for quite a few minutes. Now I work for questionably evil companies (on my computer all day) then go home and do computer/tech related hobbies. I went from digging holes on the edge of the woods for fun to sitting in front of a computer, phone, tablet, or other tech most of the day.
Is life better post-digital? In some ways yes; in some ways no. We’ve kind of hit dopamine saturation where everything is just a click away and everything has already been done/thought/built/conceived. I have communities for the most niche of interests and I can find info on almost anything that tickles my fancy. On the other hand, there’s very little reason to leave your home and anything that makes you (or your friends) special probably looks like shit compared to the accomplishment of some random 10 year old kid from a foreign country. When the world was smaller everyone could feel bigger and more significant, but post internet, it’s clear every day that we are one of billions of people. The ads still tell us we’re special… to sell us stuff.
I find my solace in the outdoors and in regularly scheduled fully-offline social activities. I imagine being a kid got a whole lot harder after my little micro-generation.