Archive for the ‘Citizen’ Category
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
A recent article in the New York Times by Robin Marantz Hening explores the evolution of adolescence and how psychologists are struggling to describe the “unfinished” nature of twentysomething adults. According to some, like “Emerging Adulthood” author, Jeffrey Arnett, the twenties are an under-recognized stage in adult development, created by a rapid change in our economic and cultural space. In an information-based economy, Arnett sees“…the need for more education to survive in an information-based economy; fewer entry-level jobs even after all that schooling; young people feeling less rush to marry because of the general acceptance of premarital sex, cohabitation and birth control; and young women feeling less rush to have babies given their wide range of career options and their access to assisted reproductive technology if they delay pregnancy beyond their most fertile years.”
These realizations have lead to the creation of the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood. Others aren’t quite so sure, nothing that the period of adult rootlessness that this life-stage is not universal – many, in fact, skip it, and progress towards marriage and child-rearing right after adolescence. Development scientist Richard Lerner believes that to be a “real” life-stage (in clinical terms), it has to be universal, meaning that there need to be real measureable consequences for those who skip it.
This debate has real significance. If a new life stage exists, societies need to design support services around the needs of an emerging population, who may not be defined around a specific age range. This has a real impact on how we spend our money on things like health care and education, or how companies market their products. If it’s not universal, however, it’s going to be difficult for institutions to get these activities right.
Whether strictly applicable to the field of developmental psychology or not, we at DECODE have been noticing the impact of the life stage on everything from civic participation to employee expectations and consumer behaviour. Young independents, as we call them (those out of school, and not with children of their own) are less likely to say they’ll vote or volunteer. It’s a period that appears to me marked by a distinct lack of connection to broader community.
Hening’s article raises as many questions as it answers, particularly for those in the demographic being discussed. But kudos to her, and to the Times, for at attempting to describe the demographic in an empathetic and considered manner.
Monday, July 19th, 2010
There is nothing worse than being stood up. But in the next 10 years, that waiting, wondering feeling will be gone.
Generation X, like the generations before it, came of age in a world where meetings for business or pleasure had to be committed to in advance, and could not be cancelled at the last minute via mobile or digital technology – at least not without the risk of standing up the person in question. A change in time of a business meeting required being able to get through to a contact’s office well enough in advance to catch them at their desk or leave a message that was guaranteed to get to them before they left for the meeting. A change of heart over a date required calling a home landline and leaving a, “Sorry but …” message days in advance. Failure in any of the above situations resulted in one half of the proposed meeting left waiting under the designated tree, in the designated café, or by the designated street corner, until they resigned themselves to the fact that the other half either was in mortal danger or had no intention of showing. Standing someone up was the ultimate slam (and sometimes revenge). Being “stood up” was the ultimate in hurt and humiliation, not to mention wasted time (and money).
For generation Z – the children of gen X, born in the Mobile Internet Age – the concept of being stood up, either in business or in romantic life, simply will not apply. One may say someone “bailed at the last minute,” even though the suspicion is the excuse given was actually code for “I want to cancel,” but one is never, literally, left standing. (The same is of course now true for most of generations Y and X too – apart from those older gen-Xers who stoically refuse to wholly embrace the digital age.) But what impact has this ability to organize things “on the fly” and to be “ultra-spontaneous” had, not only on the way we organize and behave within our social and business connections, but also on our psychology as individuals and society?
First, while commitment may well be just as strong, the desire to change one’s mind interferes with how this is lived out. The business deal may be a definite go, as may the conviction of a possible romance, but the desire to be “free” to change our minds has been promoted to the number one spot. Second, the inclination to banish fear has been given legs. We now no longer feel it is part of the process to experience an element of uncertainty in regards to the other person’s intention (although of course it still is, we just hide it under layers of reassuring last minute texts – “gonna b L8 c u in 10”). Freedom and fear are key here, yet perhaps horribly misunderstood. After all, one person’s “freedom” to change things at the last minute forces the other person to do the same thing. So begins a spiral of spontaneity where no one in the ”chain” of meetings can absolutely commit to anything. And a person’s fear in “taking the risk” of being at the designated spot regardless ought to perhaps be part of the self-recognition that we really care about this date or this business opportunity. Fear of failure (and dealing with it when it happens) is perhaps a useful part of human interaction.
On the other hand, perhaps a separation of business and pleasure is necessary here. While it may still be the case that a potential romance is better served by the kind of promise and conviction that last-minute changes via text message simply cannot substantiate, perhaps today’s business world is more productive given the tools for added spontaneity and contingency. Global transactions, mobile offices, flexible practices, and entrepreneurial partnering would certainly struggle to thrive as they have in the late 20th/early 21st century without the ability to arrange and rearrange with ease. If the obsolescence of being stood up has taken some of the stomach-churning fear/excitement from dating, it has simultaneously removed some collateral damage from the world of business.
So maybe no more of that looking-at-your-watch-every-minute-sinking-feeling for Generation Z. But for their own good, let’s hope they can stand up for spontaneity in spite of the risk … even in business.
http://www.themarknews.com/articles/1873-being-stood-up
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
This exchange between Chris Grayling, the UK’s Minister of State (Employment) and Labour’s Jim Sheridan illustrates the Catch-22 modern governments face in making the public (especially youth) aware of programming and strategies that could help cushion the blow of the Great Recession. Grayling touts the £600 million for programmes the UK government has allocated to help young people get back to work. Sheridan notes that 95% of businesses are unaware of the wage contributions that are on offer to train apprentices.
Awareness of this programming is essential to its success. And yet, the UK government is drastically slashing advertising and marketing budgets trying to focus on “essential programming.” It’s easy to pillorize a lot of government advertising work, but advertising is an important instrument for government’s work. Young people, who as most studies show are mostly likely to be unemployed during the current recession, need to know that there are steps they can take during these dark economic times to prepare for their futures.
Monday, July 5th, 2010
The BBC writes about Crowdsourcing on their News front page.
According to the article, getting suggestions in from multitudes of users can be very useful. On the other hand, doing something with those ideas is more challenging.
Tom de Castella concludes with the notion that effective crowdsourcing is actually just collaboration in disguise.
Read the article: Click here.
Saturday, April 24th, 2010
200 students at the University of Maryland when media free for 24 hours. According to survey authors, people felt alone, depressed, disconnected. Students described being disconnected in similar terms that addicts use when withdrawing from drugs.
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
Lisan Jutras has an article in today’s Globe and Mail about how those pesky Facebook pages for “causes” don’t mean a thing. Labeling Facebook-style list joining as “slacktivism,” she writes:
While it feels good, it basically replaces other, more hackneyed expressions of what sensitive souls we are, such as “I like kittens and walks on the beach.” What it doesn’t replace is volunteer hours or money in the pockets of real charities.
For the sake making an argument, Jutras sets up a helpful straw man: you know, the one that isn’t volunteering or isn’t donating to charity because they’ve smugly done their bit highlighting a cause on their Twitter account.
If Jutras can find said straw man, I would love to see this person say as such in one of her columns. Some research would be nice. Recent DECODE research finds that, contrary to stereotype, people who engage in some form of online activism are, in fact, MUCH MORE likely to donate money or volunteer their time. Our recent Life Stage DNA study of those aged 15-39 found that 56% of those who are “digitally engaged” donated money in the last year. Only 32% of those who were not “digitally engaged” donated money. Similarly, 41% of those who are digitally engaged volunteered for a charity. Only 23% of those were not “digitally engaged” did.
This does not necessarily mean that participating in some sort of online engagement causes people to engage. We don’t know enough about what is likely a complex series of factors that encourage civic engagement.
A more likely explanation, however, is that those who are community-oriented are more likely to be active in both their digital and “real” lives. Joining a Facebook group doesn’t mean that you will also make a donation, or write a letter to an MP, or attend a protest as an immediate result. But it does likely mean that that issue is on your radar and that you might be more inclined – at some point – at least, to do something.
It’s a complex and emerging field of study. If only “lifestyle commentators” would treat it as such.
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
If there’s anyone or anything TED lectures were made for, its statistics guru Hans Rosling and his fabulous Gapminder charts. Rosling’s latest lecture at the U.S. State Department is up here. Rosling’s major thesis is that human beings in the developed world have made remarkable progress on several key measures. The more sophisticated point is that we too often conflate regions of the world as having similar characteristics, when in fact they are quite different (Yemen is an impoverished volatile country, yet it’s neighbor the United Arab Emirates is stable and prosperous).
Rosling’s clearly loves data. And he’s a very clear advocate for having governing bodies around the world open up and publicize the reams of data they collect on their citizens for independent analysis. This could be a very tangible realization the “Government 2.0″ movement — after all, the policy implications of Rosling’s datasets are enormous.
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
That’s according to latest figures from Gallup.
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
Harvard Business School professor asked this question and came up with a painfully banal answer: To look at pictures.
“I just wondered why people spend so much time on these sites; what do they do?”
The biggest discovery: pictures. “People just love to look at pictures,” says Piskorski. “That’s the killer app of all online social networks. Seventy percent of all actions are related to viewing pictures or viewing other people’s profiles.”
Why the popularity of photos? Piskorski hypothesizes that people who post pictures of themselves can show they are having fun and are popular without having to boast.
Another draw of photos (and of SN sites in general) is that they enable a form of voyeurism.
Given that the primary interest people have in social networking sites is voyeurism, it is difficult for organizations looking to leverage social networking tools for their own purposes. Few people click on advertising on social networks, or visit corporate organizational zones.
Rather, people look to communicate. If you have something to engage in a two-way conversation about, well, that’s a start – but it is hardly the transformational tool that will help you attract young people to your cause or buy more of your knick knacks.
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Using the Pew Internet and the American Life’s latest data, two perspectives on online activities drive greater civic engagement, one from The Hill and one from Arts Technica. Hat Tip to Justin Stayshyn, whose Twitter feed is becoming like the radio.
Pew found (as we are also finding in Canada) that those who participate in online engagement activities are more likely to participate in “real-life” civic engagement. The study also found that 18-28 year-olds are twice as likely as the rest of the adult population to participate in online engagement activities. But, as both the Hill and Arts Technica note, socio-economic background is also a strong indicator of both people’s inclinations towards being online AND their overall level of civic participation.
Pew tried their best to get at what are the driving points behind the data, but you can see it straining under the weight of its setup: When comparing highest and lowest income earners, it found a relatively tiny gap between those who did and did not engage in online activities, but an enormous gap between those who engaged in real-world activities. But… those who are young are less likely to be affluent… but… less affluent are less likely to be online… but those young people are more likely to be online…but also less affluent?
You can see a somewhat broken mobius strip of “research speak” here. What would be most helpful is to study the larger sample of those aged 18-29. This would allow us to compare and contrast the various demographics more rigorously. As Pew itself notes, this means using research tools that reach young people on devices they use (such as cell phones or online panels). Pew admits their research was gathered using landline-only calls.
… Which leads to the convenient setup that DECODE has this data, for the U.K., the U.S., and Canada. Watch this space.
A recent article in the New York Times by Robin Marantz Hening explores the evolution of adolescence and how psychologists are struggling to describe the “unfinished” nature of twentysomething adults. According to some, like “Emerging Adulthood” author, Jeffrey Arnett, the twenties are an under-recognized stage in adult development, created by a rapid change in our economic and cultural space. In an information-based economy, Arnett sees“…the need for more education to survive in an information-based economy; fewer entry-level jobs even after all that schooling; young people feeling less rush to marry because of the general acceptance of premarital sex, cohabitation and birth control; and young women feeling less rush to have babies given their wide range of career options and their access to assisted reproductive technology if they delay pregnancy beyond their most fertile years.”
