I recently stumbled across literature in relation to generational gaps in social media. It was made blatantly clear that this gap is evidence of an elder generation being unable to keep up with habits and preferences of those that are running ahead. We understand that as the predecessors of this current 'digital age' the new technologies they were exposed to wouldn't have been any less quizzical then what is exposed to us now.
Take for example, the mobile phone vs a cordless home phone. One could strut their cordless phone to all private and secluded areas of the home or garden; one was given flexibility. Yet the understanding was it was a communal object. The mobile phone in our understanding, is completely personal. Second, compare the use of e-mail communication vs instant messenger. E-mail's are often extensive, take some thought and care, are private or business matters. Instant messenger immediately feels like a social lubricant, there is no waiting period; you are aware of who is on and you have their (attempted) full attention. These are minor examples of what created 'generations' and what is now causing the 'generational differences' in media usage.
Of course taken largely into account now is the use of social networking sites, and whom makes use of them. I cannot, however, largely discriminate on those that are evidently internet savvy. However, there are many also whom this digital generation has to sit down and count step-by-step the methods to successfully create and maintain a Facebook profile. The only problem then - in many cases I'm sure - is please I beg of you, do NOT complain about how intrusive it feels.
* Buckingham, D & Willet R 2006, Digital Generations: Children, young people, and new media, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., New Jersey
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