My daughter asked me the other day if there are boy colors and girl colors. She was wearing blue, and one of the boys in her 3rd grade class told her that was a boy color. My daughter didn't know what to say. I told her she should tell the little boy that, "Colors are not made for boys or girls. Colors are for everyone. More boys may like a certain color, but that does not mean that it is a boy color." My daughter, looking confused, said that the little boys father told him that blue is a boy color. I tried to explain to her that, "There are many different people in this world. In the past, when grandma was a little girl, many people believed in girl colors and boy colors. People also used to believe that we all aren't the same type of humans. White people and non-white people used to use separate bathrooms too. My daughter was shocked.
I continued trying to find the 3rd grade appropriate words so she would understand, that as people exchange information faster and faster each year, she will see some people get trapped in old ways of thinking, while others will move on to new ideas.
The texual gap is growing . . . but not necessarily based on age or location. People are individually "hearing the call" to technology. The youngest generation will be immersed in a society of weightless digital storage. Gone are the days of desktops and designated office areas to house your arsenal of computer hardware. Today we have server farms, which function similar to a cooperative garden in a metropolitan area. Just we pay for it, instead of working for our space.
When my daughter's generation hits the workforce, they will have the skills to do things we can't even dream of yet with technology. However, they will enter a workforce that is largely managed by us. Some of us still clinging to file storage, in a file cabinet, that has to wait 7 years before being sent to the master shredder.
I have seen on G+ people getting hit with a wave of technology that they weren't prepared for. Many people never imagined "pen pals" by the thousands, that will walk through your entire day with you. Never thought that they would rant about something, and get immediate responses.
People are teaching people about tech one person at a time. This is so important, because each person who is made aware of the speed, at which we are advancing our tech and production capabilities, is a better member of our society. Knowledge is power, no matter what the subject is. People who are not aware of how quickly we are advancing are going to be obsolete much faster than they think.
Life skills are all on YouTube. Sewing, cooking, cleaning, gardening, and other traditional crafts, as well as, attempts at magnetic generators, wind turbines, and anything you would like to learn, will probably start with a video on YouTube. A well traveled person in the past had to be very wealthy and have the time to travel the world. Our generation . . . the G+ Generation . . . are defined by the worldliness we gain from jumping into the Grand Central Station of the internet on Google+.
You and I, the tech lovers, the texually advanced, need to keep parroting the value of tech and "enlightening" one person at a time, or thousands of people at a time, (depending on the platform you are using).
I start conversations about "boring" or "off limits" topics like politics, healthcare, religion, non-religion, sexuality, and apple mind tricks, intentionally to draw out the G+ Generation newbies. I have noticed lately that I have had a very small tolerance for G+ faux pas, like blue heads and spamming. I need to personally work on being kinder, and respond in a more constructive way. I am human, and learning just like you.
FINAL THOUGHTS
We are the G+ Generation. Our "birthdates" and "ages" are defined by the first game console or computer we owned.
My first pieces of tech: Pong, Intellivision, Sega Genesis around 1986.
Making my Generation G+ age about 10 years younger than my physical age.
What is your GENERATION G+ Age and what were your FIRST PIECES of TECH?
Have a MEANINGFUL WEEK!
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