'Millennials' lead the wired life

Growing up online
A speech by Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, published in March, “Life Online: Teens and technology and the world to come” described how “Millennials have a special relationship to technology. They are not all tech-savvy…in the sense that they all know what’s going on ‘under the hood’ of their gadgets... but they have a unique attachment to the communications power of these new technology tools.”

It’s an attachment Goodstein said stems from some pivotal points in their upbringing.

“IM was a huge development in that it revolutionized the way younger teens communicate with each other — especially younger ones, they’re not going out quite as much. They’re spending a lot of time on IM and text messaging finally taking off in the states. All these are new ways for teens to stay hyper connected to each other,” Goodstein said.

It’s such a part of this generation’s daily life to maintain connectivity, said Beverly Wilkes, an executive with Oz, a Montreal-based company whose gear allows IM programs to function on cell phones.

“This is a technology instant generation, instant with staying connected with group of friends,” she said. “If you’re running to school you’re still able to chat with your friend… In study period, you can’t jump on the phone, but you’re able to quietly tap over a message and keep the conversation going.”

While Malcolm Gladwell points to a select group of people who are natural “Connectors” who link to a wide variety of people in “The Tipping Point,” this generation of students has practically been reared to do that without thinking. They’ve tapped into the communal kind of flow of information and have figured out quickly how to use the technology they’ve got on hand to further it.

“They’re individuating from their parents and finding new family with peers and they want to talk to them constantly — whether that means commenting on MySpace, texting, IM’ing, etc,” Goodstein said. “These are all these different ways to keep conversation going digitally, 24-7. Any devices, any technology that helps them do that is less about gear and gadgets and more about utility.”

Ten, 20 years ago, going back to school meant shelling out for a new wardrobe and a Trapper Keeper, she said. Now, it’s laptops, desktops and cell phones.

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