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The Young Generation

Saira Rao - February 08, 2007

By way of proper introduction to the esteemed Intentblog community, my name is Saira Rao and I am a lawyer-turned-writer. My first book, Chambermaid, will be published by Grove Press this summer. It is a comic novel about clerking for a rather deranged -- yet hilarious -- federal court of appeals judge in Philadelphia.

I am currently working on a second novel. Until recently, I was a lawyer at a large Wall Street law firm, where Facebook was a binder of incoming summer associates, MySpace was one's office and Livejournal sounded like the software litigators used to expedite document review. Which brings me to the subject of my first post: Emily Nussbaum's provocative cover story in this week's New York Magazine, http://nymag.com/news/features/27341/.

Nussbaum explores the coming-of-agers [hereinafter "the young generation"] need to expose every
detail/moment/success/failure/fillintheblank about their private lives on the most public of mediums -- the internet. Facebook, MySpace and Livejournal seem to be some of the more popular ones, but there are dozens of sites in which the young generation upload photos and provide status reports of their every move, regardless of how banal (ie. "John Doe is now eating a doughnut. John Doe is now washing his face."). In fact, you and I could know that John Doe dumped his girlfriend from his myriad online profiles even before his girlfriend.

This obsessive public documentation/personal declaration has created, according to Nussbaum "a true generation gap," one that we've not seen in fifty years. Perhaps the most interesting observation on the part of Nussbaum is that the generation gap of today spans as little as five years and not the 25 to 30 years of yesteryear. For example, Kitty, one of Nussbaum's subjects, is 26 years old and is "herself an old lady, in Internet terms." If Kitty is an old lady, then at 32, I've got one foot in the grave.

Consider this: last Sunday I met up with a group of recent Columbia University graduates -- all in their mid-twenties. Below is an abbreviated transcript (unfortunately, video from the "event" isn't available on Vimeo):

You ought to really get on GChat

No, you're Asian, you need a Xanga account.

Actually Xanga is passe.

Get on MySpace.

But that's just for artsy people.

Let's do it YouTube style.

HUH? They might as well have been speaking Swahili. I caught the MySpace reference, as I'd recently created a page on that website - as well as Facebook -- the experience of which has been akin to puberty: endlessly embarrassing and confusing, yet necessary (seemingly) for growth (allegedly). But Xanga? It sounded like a Jamba Juice flavor. What it is, in fact, is a site that's gone from cool to passe, with nary an intermediate status, all without my ever having even heard of it. Which brings me to some questions for you.

If you are over the age of say, 25, do you feel like you've missed the boat? That you don't understand those even slightly younger than you? Or in the words of my friend, feel like you are "28 going on 50"? Per Nussbaum, thanks to this incessant public posting of private details "every young person in America has become, in the literal sense, a public figure." Do you agree? Or do you think that perhaps, the inundation of personal information has had the opposite effect, ie. making people, in some ways, even less important? More anonymous?

On a final note, Nussbaum points to how the young generation has a totally different notion of privacy and embarrassment, namely they find public declaration to be freedom personified rather than an invasion of privacy and for the most part, by letting it all hang out, embarrassment fades away. In the words of Nussbaum: "There's a difference between being able to absorb embarrassment and not feeling it." But even assuming the former, how healthy is it to constantly absorb, rather than try to avoid, shame and embarrassment? I mean, do you -- can you -- really absorb the embarrassment of your mother --heck your grandmother --- watching a sex tape of you with a scorned ex-boyfriend? Seems unlikely (or undesirable). But then again, I don't even have a camera phone, so who am I to judge?

How will the young generation adapt to traditional workplaces -- or more appropriately, how will institutions change for or because of them? And what will happen to those of us who've not grown up in this tell-all-tell-everything-every-second-of-every day-culture?

Are we, like Xanga, passe?

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Posted by Saira Rao at February 8, 2007 10:36 PM

Comments

Being that the cybersphere shall soon displace those who went to law school, with those who did not have the luxury of going ot law school, I see nothing wrong with revealing one's innermost secrets, and even daily humdrums, into the great blog in the sky; tis sort of liberating actually!

In fact, being that I led such a 'sheltered' life, some of the best, and most brilliant, people whom I have ever 'meant' reside right here at Intentblog.

We can all write our own books now!

Quite different from the crowd down at Larry's Tavern down on skid row anyway . . .

If a thought needs to be a secret, then think another thought.

Peace

1. Posted by empyrius on February 8, 2007 11:54 PM

Heya, I'm also just discovering all the wunderfull fun things you can do with photosites
and blogs..

and emails adresses you 'by incidence' just happen to post in the Cc and Bcc.. up till soon I only used that for polsih pie purposes..

but it's just so freakin fun,

Better that my off-line mailbox, in the next couple of months, will be spammed with some (dutch) positivity, otherwise, I'm gonna make some nice pictures of Dutch (goverment) employes, and legal productions..

fun thing that internet..

lol,
ltz,
Love, Passion

2. Posted by marek dariusz podsiadlo on February 9, 2007 01:26 AM

And now that I mention it..

Check this moron, partner @

http://www.houthoff.com/nl-nl/content.aspx?cid=2270

Client's Choice Award 2006?
2e best law firm in The Netherlands?

My ass! retards!

Send him a mail.. I said hi.. he knows the case..

soon in front of a Dutch civil judge, if I get my way..

Love, Passion!

3. Posted by marek dariusz podsiadlo on February 9, 2007 01:31 AM

Ooeps..

the English translation,

I really think this guy, is gay.. don't you agree..?

http://www.houthoff.com/en-gb/content.aspx?cid=2270

Ltz,
Love, Passion

4. Posted by marek dariusz podsiadlo on February 9, 2007 01:49 AM

Well, I had a 'facinating' day, today,
No, it was that one Dutch princess I had an eye for at the gym, what was that Karma again..

And, no, it wasn't that other, formaly-know-as- a-princess-after-I-heard-today-she-for-sure-with
5/6 guys..

ohh..good thing there is a polish party tonight,
normal people..

Love, Passion

5. Posted by marek dariusz podsiadlo on February 9, 2007 12:42 PM

recification;
On Tuesday 27 September Houthoff Buruma was awarded the 'Client Choice Award 2005' for the Netherlands.

http://www.houthoff.com/en-gb/content.aspx?cid=2922&mid=4&aid=52

Nonetheless, Bert (and Ernie)
and that B$%* of insolad,

statechange, refocus,

Love, Passion

6. Posted by marek dariusz podsiadlo on February 9, 2007 01:00 PM

So I say to the girls, (Bert was just the official curator), who delegated the work to,
a female lawyer, wich.. in turn..and so on..

'Girls, all good, but if I may, there was, is this hypocrisy, in Dutch insolvation laws, please, keep that in mind'

Something, like, 'no worries' she said..

Well..
who was right, and who was wrong..

Bert is gonna see a judge soon..

Love, Passion

7. Posted by marek dariusz podsiadlo on February 9, 2007 04:11 PM

Houthoff Buruma, Bert,

My (Dutch) Dariusz legal, operation, Rotterdam, 2004,Kvk 243558951, for Polish (illigal? EU laws, my ass) immigrants, you shouldn't have..

carefully,

The magic word for tonight,

Love, Passion

8. Posted by marek dariusz podsiadlo on February 9, 2007 04:23 PM

Kiddies, Ego this, Ego that,

thank God.. for..

a European treaty or.. a national..

;)

who know's.. to bake..

some,
Love, Passion

9. Posted by marek dariusz podsiadlo on February 9, 2007 04:44 PM

So, there I was, some time ago, Wroclaw, Poland,
waitig on my connection, to that Dutch country, after, some courses of.. call it ..

There was this song,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JyC0lCYRns

while I was eating my burger, a decade ago,

Buzka,
marek
but than again..
Time..

10. Posted by marek dariusz podsiadlo on February 9, 2007 04:59 PM

Unbelievable..maybe..Deepak, but,
I loved that thesis.. she..mhmmn..
sweet,

love, pasion

11. Posted by marek dariusz podsiadlo on February 9, 2007 05:23 PM

Uh Marek, are you trying to impress this you lawyer lady?

You Polish paramour you!

12. Posted by empyrius on February 9, 2007 09:01 PM

My conclusion upon reading Ms. Nussbaum's article and Ms. Rao's ensuing comments on it was two -fold:

#1: We are old, not passe. Contrary to the new verbiage in the press stating,"60 is the new twenty and 80 is the new forty.", I beg to differ. First of all, I have a kid, which makes my mom and grandmother. How could I be old enough to have a mother that is a grandmother? That is old. Secondly, I am tired. So tired. I never used to be this tired. Thirdly, I find myself saying in all seriousness, "These kids today........" Luckily for me, I find that my other old friends tend to concur on these matters, which leads me to my next point: We are not passe. See definitiion ,"No longer current or in fashion; out-of-date.
2. Past the prime; faded or aged.
All I have to say is depends on who you ask if us 30 +s are "dated" and we say, we ain't.

#2: Those 30 and older have much to learn from those 30 and younger, but lot's not forget, that they have a lot to learn from us.
I must admit, it took me days to figure out how to post a comment to this blog and how will I ever find it again? Beats me. Ms. Rao's point about how will/can today's workplace adapt to the younger generation and vice versa seems to be very significant. Makes sense to follow that up with: How will parents talk to their kids and how will teacher's teach? We, as the olders, are the "adults" (allegedly) here so it is our responsibility to take the lead. We need to educate ourselves about these live journals etc.; it is imperative for all levels of culture. UGh. But, then, we can be assured, once we can "speak" to them at their level (it's ultimately all about us, right?), they will be more open to learning from us. And let's hope so.......b/c the way these kids dress today.......utterly atrocious.

13. Posted by WeeOnes on February 11, 2007 12:49 PM

This younger generation is a lost generation! The senior generations have given them so much crap for them to live with.

14. Posted by amanda on February 11, 2007 12:51 PM

I believe in the All Seeing Eyes of Horus and not any of this Bull about cows being blind.

15. Posted by Sower on March 5, 2007 03:01 AM

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