RE: The Greatest Generation (of Networkers)

The Wall Street Journal‘s Jeffrey Zaslow posted an interesting article entitled “The Greatest Generation (of Networkers)” wherein he talks about the Millennial Generation and their seemingly “subconsious” propensity for using communication technologies such as cell phone texting, instant messaging and social-networking applications (e.g. Facebook, MySpace).

The key concern: How can young people get any work done if they are “hyper-socializing” and holding multiple conversations with others through these technologies?

The experts weigh in.

In one corner: They can’t. The communication that is going on is “futile and trivial” (according to one expert cited in the article). What’s more, the interactions with devices and online networks while in the workplace are a drain on productivity. People are goofing off and employers are paying for it.

In the other corner: They can, and because they are multi-tasking socializers, it actually helps their social skills. They’re able to prioritize, optimize, and nimbly handle multiple streams of interaction while quickly boiling issues down to their essence. This, says another expert, is an important skill in today’s work world.

My take is this:

1. The onslaught of hyper-connectedness is here to stay — in the home, at the workplace, in school, and in society. So, we can complain all we want, but the horse is out of the barn. People will have to adjust to the new ways of always-on, always present interactive communications.
2. People have been goofing off at work since time immemorial. Before the internet it was private phone calls. Before phone calls, it was water cooler chat, three martini lunches, and golf. Then (and now) it has been reading the newspaper or daydreaming. Productivity will always be affected by people goofing off. The prohibition of social networking sites in an effort “thwart” drains on productivity is akin to turning off email or preventing phone calls and can actually send signals to employees that you don’t trust them, as Shel Holtz has been arguing on his blog.
3. “Futile and trivial” conversations have also been going on since time immemorial, and even though folks might not be using social media and other networking technologies to wax philosophic about “important” issues such as the meaning of life or how to end world hunger, the “superficial” conversations occurring through social media can actually lend themselves to building and maintaining relationships — something few would argue is not important in today’s business climate. Not all relationships developed through social media run deep. But what applies to interaction in non-work scenarios also lends itself to interactions in the workplace. For example, I communicate with many friends and family members in short bursts and in ways that might seem “futile and trivial,” but nonetheless important. My friend Brian van Huss put it well: If Nietzsche were alive today, even he wouldn’t be talking/writing/publishing “important” content all the time. But he probably would find time to think about such things. And this leads to my final point …
4. What I’m more critical of is the loss of contiguous, uninterrupted blocks of time to concentrate on whatever endeavors one needs to get done … so, can this generation disconnect from these tools when necessary, disengaging the “surface,” and focusing in-depth on issues that need such attention?