Digital Generations - Why They Have an Impact Now and in the Future

Just the other day I had some wonderful discussions with several long time colleagues and friends at a social event. Invariably we wandered into the realm of what we observed in the marketplace and what we believed it meant.

One of the major topics we discussed happened to be what we called the digital generations. These are generations that have significant exposure to the likes of the Internet in their lives which sets them apart from earlier generations.

One of the key differences we noticed was that the current and future digital generations are looking to extend what would be the classic human network not only into the real world but the digital world. This desire is not really surprising. However the degree of impact it has on individuals is very significant. I am not simply talking about what many would consider isoteric discussions but rather a very pragmatic and practical shift between generations. For example it is not uncommon for both generations to reach out to their network of contacts to ask questions. What is fundamentally different between the two is the degree of reach, immediacy and value. Earlier generations tend to reach out via email or phone after they have debated on whether to ask the question. This means they obtain feedback in what can be hours to days. However, using more immediate mediums such as Twitter or Facebook, those of the digital age get answers within minutes to hours. This means that they can make decisions more quickly and potentially with better quality since they can reach more people more quickly. This ability to "crowdsource" answers is a powerful extension for young professionals. It enables them to navigate through issues at a far faster pace than prior generations using mediums that while technically not out of reach from older generations, philosophically are unattainable due to the widely different attitudes. This appears to a business that younger or more digitally adept professionals are able to move more quickly and decisively with what appears to be less information than others which is a must to maintain competitive advantages in highly pressured markets.

Another intriguing point that I and many of my colleagues have noticed as well is the fundamental difference in learning between digitally adept individuals and prior generations. Whether it be crowdsourcing with their social networks, sharing and collaborating using technologies such as Google or BoxNet, catching up to news via Twitter, learning new things via YouTube, Vimeo, and podcasts, the digitally adept share a common ability to absorb, navigate and filter multiple streams of information and derive value that is interesting to them. The fundamental behaviors that I see are reflections of common requirements in a professional world: problem solving, information seeking, education synthesis, learning, and practical application of knowledge. They are learning these skills in addition to their traditional education by performing them intuitively to meet their needs in a digital world. A very simple and specific use case would be wireless networking. This is a task that most older professionals explore very rarely; most will be happy with a wireline cable connection. Yet wireless is a more common task especially with regard to gaming consoles for the digitally adept. They search the web for answers to questions that they have, troubleshoot problems and finally achieve the end result they were looking for which is to play games or watch movies wirelessly. The end result is that someone who is perhaps younger or digitally adept is actually much more experienced with technical issues that many older individuals find daunting and quite foreign. This learning follows them in the industry where they are capable of learning concepts much more quickly since they have a very strong base of understanding with which to grow from which may not always be the case for their experienced counterparts.

The differences we noticed between the generations is how comfortable the digitally connected generations are to technology. They do not see it as something bizarre or foreign. Rather something that is a part of their life. This fundamentally different view of the digital world gives them insights that prior generations are simply lacking. These insights make them more comfortable in the industry where technology for many companies is still viewed with suspicion and fear. More importantly by moving past these prejudices they are able to come to solutions more quickly, with greater confidence and in many cases with better perspectives of what really matters to people.