Children of the Net
posted by Annie Frost on March 31, 2007
A recurrent Sci Fi theme is that of the upgraded children. From classic oldies like Clarke’s Childhood’s End or Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos, to the modern Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear, there is the almost medieval horror of a sudden change in the children’s psychic abilities, presaging a new stage of human evolution, leaving their parents excluded and outmoded.
This comes to mind because nowadays we keep hearing the prophecy that today’s teens – the “Millennial” Generation – have new cognitive capabilities absent in their elders. The reports are anecdotal, as in “I go into my daughter’s room and there she is, doing her homework while conducting 10 simultaneous Instant Messenger chats”. And the assumed implication: “when these kids reach the workplace, they won’t mind all this information overload; they, unlike us, will be fully equipped to multitask and cope with the endless interruptions”. Which is quite dubious, to my mind. These kids are certainly smart – I know, having raised some – and I’m sure their digital social networking skills will serve them well at work. But consider:
- There is multitasking, and then there is multitasking. Just because a person can chat in 10 IM sessions at once doesn’t mean they’ll be able to design 10 Silicon chips at once (or design 5 chips while reading 5 emails simultaneously). The tasks of the modern workplace may well require more cognitive focus than chatting with one’s high school peers.
- Even if they can do 10 chats at once, no one has measured whether this is more effective than doing them in sequence. Since the human brain has not evolved in the last generation, the fact that it can’t multitask well – as confirmed by brain scans and other research – still applies to these teens.
- In any case, we may not understand what these kids are doing. An eye opener: when I asked my teenage niece how she can do homework and follow the show on TV all at once, she replied “What follow? It’s MTV, it’s just background noise!”
But perhaps most important:
- Of all the great achievements of civilization – in science, art, technology, literature, philosophy, whatever – not a single one was created by a Millennial. They’re simply too young. Before we decide that they’ll make better workers, we should wait 20 years and see how they do.
My guess, BTW, is that they’ll do very well; but not by doing 10 IM chats + MTV while trying to do serious work. They’ll use the new tools, but also know when to turn them off and concentrate on their work. So maybe they won’t find the cure for cancer and eliminate world hunger all at once; I’m happy to let them do them one at a time!
Comments?
Comments (3)
tagged: Generation_Y, infoglut, infomania, information overload, Millennials, multi-tasking
Comments
Apr 26 | Qua Veda said:
Hi Nathan, Very interesting topic.
The following is not a rebuttal, but intended to add some additional perspective.
From the research I have seen on the subject of Generational differences, the concern regarding new entrants (GenY) into the workforce has to do with broad issues beyond comfort with technology tools and toys, and so-called multitasking.
Concern is around their expectations, work and life styles, work ethics, sense of entitlement, etc being significantly different than that of the Boomers who have a dominant influence in the workplace today. IT (and coporations in general) are advised to become increasinly aware of the need to understand their employees and customers as well as they do technology and business processes. That is why I believe the research supporting significant differences in the new entrants (Intel’s hiring is expected to be predominatly recent college grads) should not be ignored by IT. End User expectations regarding mobility and alternative work arrangements will need to be understood and addressed in some manner so that IT (and Intel) can attract, retain, and keep the employees that we can count on for creative imagination, innovation and productivity in an increasingly competitive environment. In addition this kind of data should be part of the market intelligence that provide guidance to product teams during the pre-Explore and Explore phases of their life cycle.
Of course there are always exceptions, and Intel employees do not represent a random sample of users with these generational behaviors. They are filtered by the hiring process and such.
I don’t feel that the GenY’s will be unsuccessful unless the companies that hire them become unsuccessful by not understanding and valuing their characteristics.
Apr 26 | Nathan Zeldes said:
Agreed, Qua… we definitely need to take into account the Gen Y lifestyle and expectations in the ways you articulate. They may not multitask as much as people think, but these young people do bring in a fascinating perspective on everything!
Apr 30 | Marissa said:
Qua, you bring up a good point. Beyond the technological and multi-tasking capabilities of Gen Y, they approach work in an entirely different manner. Being Gen Y myself, I appreciate being able to do what I want, when I want, where I want. Initially, that may seem very self-centered but my output will justify this type of lifestyle. I will go great lengths for my company because of the faith and trust they’ve shown me by implementing a Results-Only Work Environment created by CultureRx. Most importantly, I will stay with this company because I know I can do my best work there, team with amazing people, and have a life!