Social Media Generation

 
 
 

Vocabulary

access	look up	overwhelming
invite	after all	stay in loop
lonely	satisfy	in that respect
alone	network	generation gap
media	respond	make sense
vast	amidst	playground
up to	take part	get used to
savvy	on the go	after a while
notice	missing	inspiration
drastic	distraction	lose track of time
profile	extremely	to the point
pursue	back seat	take a back seat
aware	put away	get together
aspect	give up	convenience
flexible	be in touch	any other way
tailor	on the way

 
 
 
 
 

Video

 
 
 
 

Transcript

These days, you can check your messages anytime, anywhere. You can even look up news and respond to emails on the way to work.

For many adults, it’s quite overwhelming — but the younger generation couldn’t image it any other way.

Florian is 17 and has just come back from the US. He uses his mobile or laptop to stay in loop through emails, text messages and social networks, such as Facebook.

Florian, School Pupil: “It’s not necessarily something that I do for fun; it’s more of a feeling of wanting to be connected. And this makes it possible. It’s satisfying in that respect.”

For Florian, fast communication is key. He’s made plans to meet a friend, with only a time and general location decided on.

Florian, School Pupil: “I’m connected to people, even if I’m actually alone — on the train or in a cafe. It’s that old feeling of wanting to belong to a group; you want to be connected.”

Michael Lange, Media Educator: “There’s a big generation gap. It’s normal for children and young people to have mobile phones and computers with internet access.

The older generation still count how many hours their children are online, which doesn’t make any sense because they’re always online.”

Michael Langer teaches media studies and has been working with young people for seven years.

Over the last couple of years, technology has changed drastically.

The internet: a vast playground.

It’s about experimenting and communicating.

Jill is fifteen, and a member of numerous social networks, including Facebook, Jappy, and Twitter.

Jill, School Pupil: “You always know what others are up to. And you’re basically taking part in their lives. You’re always informed if something new happens. You know right away.”

A smart phone is a must for the tech-savvy generation.

Marvin is 19 and training to be a media salesman. Being linked in and on the go is no problem with a smart phone.

Marvin, Trainee: “After a while, you get used to having fast access: to always being able to quickly check Facebook or whatever the weather is doing. It really is quite important to me. And I probably notice something missing if I put it away for a week.”

It’s both an inspiration and a distraction.

Dorothea has just graduated from high school and wants to pursue media studies. She leads and active internet life.

Dorothea: “If someone starts a discussion on Twitter and people joins in that you don’t know, you go on their profile and see if someone has posted a link that has Facebook comments, etc.

It’s extremely connected to the point where you lose track of time — and an hour has already passed.“

Being cautious about information often takes a back seat amidst the fun of experimenting. Though the awareness is there, it can be easy to forget.

Dorothea: “Facebook has all our personal information. I always see ads, which are completely tailored to me. But not many people do anything about it because they don’t want to give up the communication aspect.”

Florian and Max don’t want to lose the convenience of being in touch. After all, it makes their lives easier.

Florian, School Pupil: “It’s more flexible and a way of planning when you’ll meet for real. Getting together as a group is much easier because you just invite everyone somewhere. You don’t need to phone since everyone knows what’s happening.”

Whether used to communicate or find information, the internet is the perfect medium for young people.

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 Questions

1. Nowadays, you can only check emails, read messages and surf the internet on a desktop computer or PC at home. Is this true or false?

2. Does everyone use smart phones, social media and the internet?

3. What is the most important thing for young people like Florian?

4. Facebook has the personal information of all its users. Is this correct or wrong? Do members care about this? Can they find out about other people?

5. What does Jill say about online ads?

6. Would these social media users want to become doctors, lawyers and engineers?

7. What happens if Marvin doesn’t use his smart phone or the internet for a week?
 
 
A. How often do you access the internet? What about your friends?

B. Can you or your friends survive without the internet for a week?

C. I use social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn. Yes or no?

D. Is there a generation gap between teenagers, young, middle-aged and old people?

E. What will happen in the future?