How Millennial Are You?

According to the Pew Research Center, I am a GenXer.  That wasn’t quite as bad as I thought because age wise I’m really a baby boomer.  I don’t really think that I’m a savvy entrepreneurial loner either though.  The qualities of the Gen Xer include work ethic, traditional and respectful users.  I can say that I don’t sleep with my cell phone beside my bed.  When you get to be my age, sleep is so rare that no cell phone call is important enough to ruin it.  If I were a teacher I would be concerned about the quality of my students learning when it comes to technology.  As I look through the activity sheet for this class there are many assignments that I don’t have a clue as to where to even begin. Technology students would be so far ahead of me that I would be doing them a disservice to try and teach them. 

In the Frand’s 10 characteristics of the information-age mind set, I think I would be included in the Multitasking Way of Life.  Although the author indicates that this category is made up of many young people, I really think that it includes most people anymore.  For me it is nothing to answer the phone, answer texts, fix dinner, hold a conversation with my husband, watch the news, pet the dog, load the dishwasher and do homework all at the same time. The 10 characteristics are as follows:

1.      Computers aren’t technology – computers are definitely technology for me. I still haven’t learned how to use the DVD player (which I understand is about obsolete).

2.      Internet better than TV – still love my television set. I never watch programming on the internet. I don’t really know why not but it’s just not as convenient for me.

3.      Reality no longer real – I’m of the mindset that it’s never real until you can authenticate it. I have had my Gmail account hacked more than once so now I don’t trust anything I get through the internet.

4.      Doing rather than knowing- I know that doing is important and if you can’t do “something” that’s not good but being in higher education, I think knowing is very important.  It may not matter if you have a degree or where it came from but I still think that’s a big deal.

5.      Nintendo over logic – I have never played Nintendo.  I’m not sure what that says about me.  I am not a trial and error kind of person.  Give me the directions, let me read them and I’ll go at it. 

6.      Multitasking way of life – I’m definitely a multi-tasker (see above).

7.      Typing rather than handwriting – I would much rather handwrite something than type it.  I don’t know if it’s because I spend all day typing but I like to write.

8.      Staying connected – I do stay connected.  I have a cell phone, I have a Facebook account, I check my emails constantly so I guess I’m in on this one.

9.      Zero tolerance for delays – I think this really I a young person thing.  Sometimes I like to sit in traffic for a little while on the way home.  It gives me time to think and unwind.  I don’t always need instant gratification. 

10.   Consumer/creator blurring – I don’t want to have to debug anything.  When I buy it, I want it to work perfectly.  I am definitely not a creator.

I don’t know if it’s all that important to be in.  I seem to manage just find and I think I’m probably out more than in.  For a young person that has their whole career ahead of them, they probably really need to be in. The lack of an information mind set could be doom for us as a country.  Because the whole world is so advanced we as a country must be too.  (Don’t know Carrie Bradshaw’s take on all this).

I had my daughter take the millennial profile test and her score was 96, mine was 33.  There is apparently a huge difference in our beliefs and the way we live.