Rose-Tinted Computer Screens

Generation Y (or the "Millennials") is an odd one in many respects. We are, in many respects, the generation of the new millennium; the first generation ever to grow up with such a remarkable thing at our disposal as the World Wide Web, with all its myriad possibilities and connotations. The post-war generation, told that they had "never had it so good", turned to rebellion and counter-culture to find some self-expression; we have no need of such things, when any fool can set up a blog and begin posting their thoughts (sometimes using a pseudonym, or the journalistic "we", or even still pretending to be two people). For a generation growing up in the digital age, with so much of our time spent in front of computer or television screens, it is no wonder that we have developed some very strange habits indeed (at least by previous generations' standards).

There is a view of the Millennial Generation as somewhat pampered and coddled, a view that probably owes more than its proponents would care to admit to jealousy. Generally speaking, we don't have to trudge our way to school clad in coal sacks, only to be beaten senseless for our own betterment. We have been dubbed the "Peter Pan Generation", on the basis that our rites of passage, and the taking on of adult responsibility, have been procrastinated and postponed to a great extent. To the extent that this is true, it is viewed in purely sociological and economic terms; i.e. how long we are taking to move out of our parents' homes and into the workplace. Yet our own youth culture reveals a more interesting variant on this trend.

Here is an experiment to try, if you are on Facebook: have a look at pages you have "liked", and count up how many of them are to do with programmes you watched or games you played when you were a child, or to do with nostalgia in general. If you were born in the 80s, you are likely to have joined groups involving 'He-Man', 'Thundercats' and such; if you born in the 90s, chances are you've joined a few groups relating to 'Rugrats', 'Pinky and the Brain', 'Earthworm Jim' and other such wondrous works of art. Groups propose the superiority of 'Buffy's' Spike and Angel over 'Twilight's' Edward and Jacob, largely on the basis that Spike and Angel are "the originals" (full disclosure: the present writer joined said group, but only because he is a huge fan of 'Buffy' and 'Angel' as well as, apparently, a hypocrite). Perhaps it is because our generation is reaching the age where nostalgia for childhood really starts to kick on; a nostalgia mediated through fond remembrances of things we associate with our childhood.

Consider the example of computer games. Many of us grew up with them, and may have early memories of playing a SNES or a Mega Drive. If you were born in the late 80s or early 90s, chances are your childhood was dominated by Pokémon, and I do mean dominated; the remarkable amount of merchandising that surrounded the series seems baffling with hindsight. Chances are many of us have fond memories of continually pressing the 'B' button, thinking that it aided capture of that elusive Kangaskhan. Our childhood memories are bound up with memories of 32-bit graphics and vibrant colours. Isn't it odd that some of our earliest memories of frustration and triumph involve trying to get Mario across a particularly tricky series of gaps (or, in the case of frustration, trying to play Mario Kart on 150 CC mode)?

Yet this isn't necessarily a bad thing; it doesn't mark us out as in some way inferior to previous generations; just different. Our formative experiences may have involved technology to a far greater degree than those of any of our ancestors, but that doesn't make us emotionally stunted in some way. What it means is simply that our generation is more familiar with technology, perhaps even more entwined with it. This too is open to misinterpretation; it does not turn us all into Cybermen, open to any suggestion from our technological masters. To continue with the theme, we're more like Daleks (in a good way), enhanced by and enmeshed with technology, though with that spark of individuality that (most) Daleks don't possess. Herein lies a lesson for all you readers: Doctor Who analogies can be extremely flawed.

Consider how the Internet has enhanced opportunities for writers and artists of all kinds. You wouldn't be reading this if not for the Internet (obviously); bloggers of all kinds talk about everything imaginable (think of a subject right now, any subject at all. Chances are, to paraphrase a rather trite and much-parodied ad campaign, "there's a blog for that"). Talented musicians are "discovered" on websites like MySpace. The recent American writers' strike provided 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog', a film written and shot by established writers and film-makers on their own money and put up on the Internet for free. The dissemination of culture has been discussed many times, and while its consequences are debatable, its impact is unmistakeable.

To sum up, our generation is fundamentally different, in both its dependence on and mastery of technology. For better or worse, it dominates our lives, and indeed our culture. While the development and impact of this will not be known for a long time to come, one thing is very clear: without computer and Internet technology, there would be no WAKE UP. That alone should make you thankful for the technology that surrounds us.



 
[This article was inspired by Alex Day's song 'Pokémon, What Happened to You?'.]

See also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k35pWbRwcs . Please note, however, that WAKE UP does not endorse any putting-down of Kate Bush.