Pew

Feeling much like an entry in the entertaining “Worst-case Scenario” survival guides, I was faced with my very own online life-or-death challenge the other day—whether or not to friend my mother on Facebook. I remember logging on to the popular social networking site and wondering just who was behind the harmless little red notification flag that serves as an alert for new Friend Requests. I soon discovered, with what can only be described as a mixture of shock and chagrin, that it was my very own mother. Instantly, my entire Facebook life passed before me—every photo, every comment and every video. You get the idea.

Where do you draw the line with connections on social networking sites?

At this point, the “Ignore” button was looking increasingly attractive. Fortunately, I’ve never been one to over share so I soon realized that this situation might not end so badly. After all, Facebook has privacy protections and I can be selective about what I do and do not share. Choosing to look at the bright side and pushing aside any lingering thoughts about potentially embarrassing content, I hit “Confirm” and posted a welcome message on my mom’s wall.

At the end of the day I emerged with one more friend, but my online world would never be the same. Before this experience, Facebook represented a familiar online space where I went daily to see what my friends were up to, to post something entertaining from LOL Cats or to read the latest news from the Case Foundation (yes, that was a shameless plug). Things change though when familiar relationship roles are abandoned and the traditional rules no longer apply.

The reality is that social networking sites are rewriting the rules of etiquette, relationships and even friendships. This evolution of how we interact with one another will be particularly challenging in the coming years as different generations intersect in the online space. A recent study from the Pew Research Center revealed that while young adults still dominate the online space, older Internet users are growing exponentially. According to Pew, “Social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled—from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010.”

I have to wonder how my own mom, and those who didn’t grow up with computers and social networking as part of their daily lives feel about the ongoing shift in technology and communications. With this growing rate of online use across age groups, the question now becomes whether or not we will merge together or collide when we meet at this important online intersection. To be sure, it's a tough intersection to find... my mom and I will see you there!

From what I can tell, the level of caution about how much personal information we share online seems to be roughly correlated with the number of candles on our cakes. Forgive the generalizations, but most Millennials are largely unconcerned with censoring the personal information they put online - often to the point of oversharing - because they assume most of it will be forgotten, and who really cares anyway? Most Gen Xers and Boomers, on the other hand, are wringing their hands and shaking their heads over the school admissions decisions and employment opportunities that are being lost every day as Millennials seem to post every controversial opinion, irresponsible photo and awkward relationship drama they can come up with. And don’t even get my mom started on identity theft.

While many in this latter group thought (or hoped) this social network sharing was just a phase, technology experts now predict that getting older will not discourage Millennials from continuing to share information online. The experts once thought our nearly constant use of Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms was a passing fad, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that 895 technology experts surveyed by Pew Research Center and Elon University say it’s here to stay.

It seems likely that instead of abandoning our online tools, Millennials’ use of social media will continue to mature with us. We’ll increasingly use our presence on blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to build (rather than undermine) our careers and social circles. As for that the fear that an employer or colleague might see an embarrassing twitpic, an incriminating wall post or something else overly personal - it will likely fade as everyone gradually (probably some generations more gradually than others) realizes no one is immune to embarrassing moments online, and it’s not the type of thing that will make and break careers.

But what would a debate be without a dissenting opinion? While a smaller contingent than a few years ago, still nearly 30 percent of Pew’s experts warn that the consequences of our online oversharing (which one called an upcoming “social media hangover”), along with other interests and demands on our time, will lead Millennials to pull back much of our online personalities. At the same time, Mitch Joel suggests on his blog that people are already gravitating in significant numbers toward tools that allow them to keep their anonymity, like Chatroulette, Formspring and Second Life. These tools still provide connection and person-to-person interaction, but give users the added comfort of being anonymous, if they want it, and that, Joel says, encourages content you won’t find on less anonymous platforms.

This potential trend toward sharing less about who we really are online is in many ways reminiscent of how many first started interacting online, in AOL chat rooms. We talked to strangers online about sports, relationships, politics and other shared interests, but the cardinal rule was to keep your real name, where you live and other personal information private. Newer waves of online interaction pushed us to trade in screen names like luvsdogs21 for our real identities, and now we may have reached a point of peak transparency and authenticity. If the dissenting experts are right and people continue to revert back to more anonymous social sites in greater numbers, will we see an emerging cycle of anonymity and oversharing online?

The opinion is still split over what the consequences of putting our identities online will be, but I have to agree with the majority on this one. I respect people’s need for anonymity and I’ll admit I’ve learned some things about a few of my Facebook and Twitter friends that I wish I hadn’t, but generally I’m still resistant to the call for anonymity and limited sharing online. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If we’re not willing to connect with people we don’t already know in real life and we’re not willing to express our opinion (and claim it) and we’re not willing to share some of the little bits and quirks that make us human, then we’re missing a lot of what social networking has to offer. Building the connections and trust that leads to collaboration, partnership, favors, employment, and other opportunities requires us to give up anonymity and own who we are online and offline.

Where do you think we're headed with anonymity and oversharing online?

When I first saw the headline “Will Millennials become the chump generation?” I was gearing up for another intergenerational throw down. I wasn’t exactly sure what we were being accused of this time, but last time I checked with Fred Durst, being called a chump was not a good thing. After reading Robert Samuelson’s column in the Washington Post, I realized that it was a more of a warning than a criticism. Samuelson discusses the recent Pew research on Millennials which shows that our generation is taking the effects of the recession hardest of all. Thirty-seven percent of Americans 18-29 are out of work, and proportionally more Millennials have lost jobs during the crisis than those over the age of 30.

Says Samuelson: “The adverse effects could linger. An oft-quoted study by Yale University economist Lisa Kahn found that college graduates entering a labor market with high unemployment receive lower pay and that the pay penalty can last two decades.…As baby boomers retire, higher federal spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid may boost Millennials' taxes and squeeze other government programs. It will be harder to start and raise families. Millennials could become the chump generation. They could suffer for their elders' economic sins, particularly the failure to confront the predictable costs of baby boomers' retirement. “

Having repeatedly heard the suggestion that Millennials might be the next great generation, I’m much less excited about this new potential tag line. Millennials: The Chump Generation is not a phrase I want to see inscribed on anything. While we may be saddled with some unfortunate economic circumstances, both now and in the future, I hope that we can do something more than sit back and watch it happen.

The traits of our generation may give us an advantage in facing these economic challenges. We are a tech-savvy, collaborative, upbeat, pragmatic and innovative generation, so, with the right resources, we should be able to dodge oncoming bullets…especially if some of said bullets are coming from 20 years down the road.

According to Pew, we are bound to be the most highly educated generation in America. I hope this means we should also be the most prepared to face some of these challenges. But education isn’t everything, so what else can we do now to ensure that we don’t end up looking like chumps?

We respect older generations and recognize we can learn a lot from them. Even if they’re not going to balance the national budget, perhaps the generations before us could try to atone for their economic sins by helping to prepare us now for the challenges to come. They could invest in us through career development, helping to make sure we get the opportunities for collaboration, resources and learning experiences that will help us thrive. Or they could provide advice and funds for Millennial start-ups, both in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Since we respect those who have gone before, we would be happy to have Boomer and Gen Xer mentors and partners.

We not only adopt new technology at astonishingly high rates, but we’re helping to shape it. Many of both the most used and most innovative technologies were created by Millennials - Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook, Jack Dorsey's Twitter and Chad Hurley and Steve Chen's YouTube being the most obvious. And others are applying technology and new platforms to bring about social change. There's a great list of our generation's social entrepreneurs started on a previous post, and there are surely more to come.

We are the most diverse generation, respect those who are not like us, and hope this leads to a more just and open society. After use of technology and music/pop culture, Millennials reported that our liberal and tolerant outlook made us distinct as a generation. The Pew study confirms that we are the most open to interracial and same-sex couples, immigrants, and nontraditional family arrangements. Maybe our openness will translate to a willingness to work in nontraditional ways and arrangements to face the coming challenges.

What else can Millennials, and Boomers and Gen Xers for that matter, do to help prepare us to face a potentially shaky economic future?