The Youth of the Nation

The Youth of the Nation


A trend that I have noticed recently, and briefly touched on in previous articles, is that today’s youth are radically different than the youth of prior generations. I am drawing this comparison from my interaction with today’s youth and my own experiences growing up.

Technology and communication have radically evolved since I was in high school so it seems logical that today’s youth are using technology differently than I did and is also seems that the youth are communicating in a radically different way than I did. Within the last 10 years the changes have been dramatic and in my opinion have helped build a very large communication gap between my generation and the current generation of youth.

We’ve all seen the commercial from AT&T where the girl speaks exclusively in text abbreviations to her mother ('IDK, my BFF Jill?', translated 'I don't know, my best friend forever Jill?'). This is meant to be an overexaggeration, but for the most part today’s youth have never known a time without text messaging or even a cell phone. Today having a cell phone and being a teenager are synonymous. I remember when I was growing up, Zack Morris from 'Saved by the Bell' had a cellular phone making him the 'coolest kid' at Bayside High School. Even when I was in high school, a teenager having a cell phone was the exception, not the rule. Eventually, I got one before I went off to college, but I didn’t get it to make a social statement or fit in with others; I got it to have a line of communication with friends and family back home. Today I still don’t use my Blackberry that much; the occasional (emphasis on occassional) text message, work related email (because sometimes things are that important), and of course keeping up with friends and family. Today’s youth (at least the ones that I am most familiar with) treat their cell phones (text messages and phone calls) as their lifeline to the outside world. They’re behavior regarding appropriate phone use and their communication styles as a result are changing dramatically.

I have noticed that today’s youth use text messages at an alarmingly high rate. A few particular individuals that I know of, if they are not being spoken to directly, will text endlessly to friends. Then if try to converse with them while they are in the process of texting, they only catch half of the information or what you were asking them. It appears that they prefer a text message conversation over a face-to-face conversation. Text messaging presents a new medium to gathering information without the need to actually have a face-to-face conversation. Thanks to the ease of texting today (with the use of full keyboards) it seems to be the preferred method of conversing with others. The value and importance of actually listening and connecting with another person face-to-face is dwindling as a result. Conversationalism is being lost in a generation, and is being replaced with text messages.

My greatest fear is that this change in communication amongst the youth is going to impact the success of the next generation when the new generation and the other, older generations meet in the workforce and the two cannot understand each other. Texting, in my opinion, is dumbing down our communication. Short, simple words are preferred to longer ones that not only exemplify more professionalism, but also more accurately convey a message. I remember that I received a lot of my diction from my father and then actively sought to increase my vocabulary. I wonder if this is the case for today’s youth or if they are content to rely on a very limited vocabulary and communicate in the easiest way possible? I certainly hope not.

With the public education system what it is today, I really cringe when I think about the future of today’s youth. I certainly hope that today’s youth is receiving some formal education on how to communicate effectively with others (and for that matter in the professional world). I hope they are receiving good instruction on vocabulary and it’s appropriate use. I know my education experience did not prepare me for college as adequately as my parents and I had hoped. I was lucky enough to have the self-determination to make something of myself and learn all that I could. I hope that schools have moved away from teaching for the CATS test, or whatever it’s called today, and more towards providing students with a good education foundation that will prepare them for whatever life decisions they make.