To start off this conversation about technology and its impact on respective generations, the definition of terms Millennials and Gen Z should come foremost. Millennials or Generation Y refers to people being born between 1980 to 1994. Currently, individuals between the ages of 24 to 39 are all millennials. While Gen Z is the most recent generation born between the years 1996 to 2015. Their current ages range from 5 to 24 years old.
With this explained, we will now see the difference of technological preferences between these two generations.
Millennials vs Generation Z
When it comes to Millennials, prefer social platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Generation Z, on the other hand, are more into Snapchat, TikTok, and other similar apps. It is evident from Gen Z’s preferences that they have an appetite for magnified interactive and visual content.
Smartphones are the main source that ensures the easiest access to interactive content. Hence, Gen Z tends to spend great amounts of time on mobile devices, generating, and sharing content.
Millennials, in comparison, spend more time on computers, approximately 16.4 hours weekly according to research. Unlike Gen Z, the Millennials much prefer to engage in online activities from their laptops.
Effect of Technology on Millennials
Generation Y has basically grown up depending on technology much more than their parents. The people born during the early period of 1980, belong to an era before computers. However, TVs were present in almost all households. Video games were a common and beloved form of entertainment for young Millennials.
Since the development of Facebook in 2004, online interaction has taken a new meaning for Millennials. Technological advances have greatly influenced their childhood, adolescence, and even adult years. The advent of smartphones dramatically changed the perspective of technology even further. Music, communication, maps, calculator, note-taking, cameras, and much more, all came together in a single portable device.
Information seeking has become accessible within seconds. Millennials have basically witnessed massive leaps of technology. Things that might have seemed improbable in their childhood, or were just seen in sci-fi movies, came to pass as they grew up. For instance, around ten years back a virtual assistant would be considered near magic. Or being able to send voice commands to your phone was a thing unheard of. Yet now the same kids who used dial-up network connections are using these functions on their smartphones.
The Positive Effects
Adaptation has become crucial with the rapid progression of technology and digital devices. This comes instinctively to millennials due to the exposure to smartphones and gadgets throughout their lives. Examples of this can be seen in workplaces when they interact with the previous generation like Gen X and Baby Boomers. They look for assistance by Millennials for training on untapped shortcuts and features on professional and personal levels.
The use of technological tools for training comes much easier for Millennials. This sort of collaboration builds a strong and dynamic team. The generational technology gap opens a lot of opportunities for everyone. It encourages learning of new skills, communication, and teamwork amongst colleagues of different ages and experience levels. People accept each other’s weaknesses and strengths and balance them out.
Furthermore, familiarity with technology allows Millennials to be more productive and prompt. In comparison to older generations, multitasking has become much easier for them. They have grown up with digital devices and are in a much comfortable zone when working through them. The traditional ways of snail mail and creating documents with a pen and paper are more daunting to this generation.
The Negative Effects
Despite the positive impacts of technology, Millennials are also notorious for instant gratification. Google is society’s answer to everything. It is satisfying to have an instant answer to any question you can think of. Although this encourages the thirst for knowing more, it also lessens the capability of working hard and focusing too long.
It has also impaired communication skills in real life. Millennials have a prominent social media presence but they find it hard to connect with people around them. Constantly being hidden behind a mobile, tablet, or computer, create hurdles in developing proper social skills. The previous generations are adept at that more than Gen Y has learned to be.
Millennials depend a lot on showing a certain personality on social media platforms. And they strategize, even unintentionally to maintain it. Instead of having a chat in real life, they prefer to share their lives via virtual means. And most are careful to keep it within the bounds of what is trending on the internet. However, these precise factors, if used wisely, can also enhance the interpersonal skills of a millennial.
Hence, as a final verdict, it is clear that the relationship between millennials and technology is unbreakable. It is a generation that has seen the beginning and evolution of technology, making the ties stronger than previous generations. But like everything else in life, it has certain pros and cons. The negatives are certainly worrying and have intense consequences. Yet it does not erase the positive effects technology has on Gen Y either.
Electronic sources have changed the scenario of learning and career development to a vast degree. And Millennials are more than happy to rely on them for improving most parts of their lives. For academic papers on technology or any other subject, reach out to our capstone project writing services.
