What is communication in the 21st century? Are we merely talking?? Research actually is saying “no”. The above chart from the University of Liverpool illustrates the differences between age groups. We are really are what I would term to be global communicators; in that, we use a variety of communication forms. That has good and bad sides to it. The need to be generationally intelligent becomes necessary for all of us if we are going to get along. Why? It’s important since the presence of a digital world has made these differences even more pronounced than they ever have been. The differences are also permanent. Technology is not going away any time soon and is changing every day quite rapidly.
Jean Twenge gives a great deal of insight about the concept I am introducing. She discusses the differences in how people are living, looking at longitudinal studies that she has conducted. Her latest book documents this: https://www.amazon.com/iGen-Super-Connected-Rebellious-Happy-Adulthood-ebook/dp/B01N6ACK3B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529427009&sr=8-1&keywords=iGen. Sadly, she notes that those who are born in an age of smartphones and the internet are not as happy as a result of the social isolation of many digital natives. Wouldn’t this now point to the need for increased and easier access to mental health care?
Technology has also had an impact on physical health, both positively and negatively. http://www.digitalresponsibility.org/health-and-technology/ Only you understand how you individually are being affected or not. It is interesting to think about and then consider if there are any issues that impact on your life. How is your life being affecting and how are you communicating pre-post technology or as a digital native?
(2012) Generational Intelligence: A Critical Approach to Age Relations By Biggs, S., and Lowenstein, A., Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 10:3, 304-308, DOI: 10.1080/15350770.2012.698975.
