I have, for some considerable time, dispatched from my lingua franca (language for convenience) the term ‘
cyberspace’. Marilyn style gasps aside, my argument is there is a
considerable divide between the manifestation of a 1990s cyberspaces and today’s array of ‘social media’. Used not only by the 'cool kids', 'geeks', 'dorks' or 'nerds' this observation is apparent through technologies ubiquitous and taken-for-granted everyday use, emphasised by the numerous (web-based) social presence(s) that we connect.
So much so, that the construct of separate worlds disconnected / divided from each other by an online Vs offline, or real Vs virtual simply does not compute. Indeed, to recognise that the use of social media is becoming ever-more common place is to acknowledge (albeit grudgingly) that we share at least one friend in common – either the self-pronounced ‘
Wossy’ - Jonathon Ross, or the more straight forward, self-proclaimed ‘dork’
stephenfry – Stephen Fry. Here it is likely that both you and I can count ourselves as increasingly ‘one’, amongst the many. To add to the burgeoning social crowd, the house wives favourite ‘
Schofe’ - Phillip Schofield, after he admitted posting live to Twitter during updates on This Morning, now has a ‘cool’ 74, 310 ‘followers’ flocking to his tweats. To say that
'everyone' is now connected would be an over-statement, but your everyday use of social media, their related networks and ‘friends’ does say a lot about your generation.
Under 15: You’ve been born with the metaphorical social media spoon in your mouth. Not that that’s ever stopped you from Tweating. Most likely your parent’s have spent longer referring to the text-only based edition of their parenting manual than the likelihood of your having had to refer to any type of handbook to ‘connect’, ‘link’, ‘unite’ and ‘get on’ with others. Once out of the womb you had already at least ten friends on Facebook. None of whom are your parents.
15 – 20: Too cool for MySpace and Bebo – that’s for the ‘sib’s’. You YouTube for entertainment, point, click and post directly to Flickr with the push of one button. You live by an expected continuous stream of social information that is supported by your steady and faithful connection to peers. Your parents may have ‘friended’ you on Facebook, but you have them on ‘Limited Profile’. You’re too cool for Twitter. That’s for the ‘old’ folk.
20 – 25: The original ‘Digital Generation’. You were fed on MTV and dabbled with email when there was still dial-up. You were amongst the first on MySpace, but quickly ditched ‘that space’ for Facebook. Now your Facebook is ‘LinkedIn’ with your LinkedIn's and Tweats. Smug? Maybe. Your friends know you because ‘we used to go to school together, like years ago’ and because they’re the only one’s who read your blog(s). You might be friends with Wossy, but only in an ironic way.
25 – 30: Cyberspace chatrooms and forums are within close memory. You still remember your first Avatar and 'username'. Now signed up to the latest social media you don’t give a damn how many friends you have on what networks. These (of course) all sync seamlessly to your iPhone. Sweet. You've only sent one '@' Tweat to stephenfry, but didn't expect a reply.
30 – 40: Facebook is FriendsReunited without the fee. You ‘remember’ those school friends, but really signed up to social networks to ‘spy’/reacquaint yourself with exes and those ‘bitches’ from school. Wossy was your first Twitter friend. Schofe will be your last - most likely through the link on this blog.
40 – 50: That nice Mr Schofield is on Twitter. I don’t understand what that is, but I will follow him wherever he may be…
50 – 65: What’s all this Twittering? Bird watching was never so popular in my day. We have a computer, but only for email – one shared account that has more Spam than messages from the family. Lots of ‘Friend Requests’ from someone vaguely familiar on something called Facebook. What’s wrong with a
nicebook instead? There's bafflement when the mobile phone rings. Especially as this is indication that it's still in charge.
65+: Twit? Certainly not. How rude. I’m at home you can call and verbally abuse me here.
And where do I fit?
Follow mazphd and find out...
It was so much simpler back in the cyberspace day. We knew where the offline and the online lie of the land was placed and happily ‘logged-in’ to take part in flame wars and avoid ‘reality’. Back then, there were no Facebook’s cancer risks, no Twitter’s to cause injury to our mental capacity and wither our brains, no stumbling around in the dark on Flickr only to reveal in the cold light of day ‘opps I didn’t mean to upload that’, too late I’m sacked, you're humiliated. In these darker social media times it is getting increasingly difficult to really understand where the You as 'yourself' ends and your alter-ego social Profile(s) begins.
You love to update on the go. Even more you love the gizmo’s and gadgets that sit happily alongside as you chat with friends in bars, whilst at the same time ‘quickly’ updating to Facebook just to let the rest of the world know where, when and what you are. Your parents use of email may leave you tutting and rolling your eyes, but your Tweat talent is as much beyond their years as the lack of theirs is beyond yours. In the social end, it’s the least that your parents can do to friend you on Facebook. After all you share the same surname, you all once shared the same address, it would be rude not the share the same social network. It’s just like moving back home all over again...
