Numerous pundits have explored the contributions and shortcomings of baby boomers and even Gen-Xers. But the real movers and shakers of tomorrow, according to author Don Tapscott, are members of the Net Generation.
Tapscott, chairman of the Alliance for Converging Technologies--a Toronto-based think tank dedicated to investigating the impact of new technology and the Internet--has written several books that address issues relating to today's digital technologies, including the bestseller "The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence." His latest book, "Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation," profiles the 80 million youths who make up this group.
The oldest members--those just turning 20--have quietly slipped past Gen-Xers to occupy history's center stage, Tapscott says. Not only is N-Gen more populous than Gen-X, it's also the first generation to grow up in a digital world, Tapscott says. Because of this, they are destined to shake up current economic practices, he says, and rattle the walls of the corporate world.
Tapscott talked about what we might expect from the group as it moves toward adulthood.
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Question: Would you profile the N-Gen?
Answer: There have been a lot of discussions about kids and technology, but nobody has truly looked at the N-Generation. They are the children of the baby boom, about 80 million youngsters born to baby boomer parents between 1977 and 1997. Demographers are just beginning to notice that this is the biggest generation ever.
On the basis of demographic muscle alone, these kids will dominate the 21st century. But the real defining characteristic central to the profile of this generation is that they're the first children to come of age in the digital era--they're growing up digital.
Two-thirds of kids above the age of 6 know how to use the computer. The Net is penetrating American homes with children as fast as television did in the 1950s--30% of households with children at the end of this year, 40% next year.
And it's cool to be online. Teenage Research Unlimited, which has been studying youngsters for many years, found that for 88% of teenagers, the three coolest things to do are to be online, partying or dating.
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Q: How do they relate to "geek culture"?
