iCould: Is Technology Holding Our Generation Back or Are We Just FAILING to Use It Correctly?

It’s no secret that with trillions of dollars in debt, unemployment nearing double digits, and gasoline prices that rival most footlongs at Subway (premium sandwiches not included) things aren’t looking so good for America’s future right now…

As a sign of dissatisfaction, our generation a.k.a. the “Millenials” who were born after 1981, have begun to occupy some street corners here and there and write articles that may or may not end up in some google search results 2 years from now. But what are we really doing to combat the problems that many members of the older generations are leaving for OUR GENERATION TO SOLVE?

The answer may rest in how much success we’re having with one of our most beloved assets: Technology. Particularly, how effectively are we using the internet and social media to spur our generation’s growth?

Millennials are the first generation to exist in a world where information, entertainment and social connections are all accessible and available on-demand 24/7. The world for our generation is faster and more fluid than any other generation before us.

We have crafted and shaped one of the most advanced communication networks in the history of mankind, but what are we REALLY USING IT FOR? To drive action and make advancements, or to perpetuate distractions and massage our own self image? Is 24/7 access to information in all of its forms making us more enlightened or causing as to become more distracted?

The news outlets haven’t been short on statistics or poll results as of late, but in my estimations, there are mainly three sets of numbers that we need should give an introspective examination:

The first is 2 Trillion Dollars. This is the amount that U.S. Corporations are reportedly sitting on. Instead of using it to fund their future i.e. hire people from our generation, they’re simply waiting for a rainy day, expecting their peers to screw up (again) so that they can fall back on something. That doesn’t do us any good when we’re looking to grow and already have very little to retain.

The second number is 14 trillion, which of course represents The United States National Debt. Essentially, this is the older generations’ way of writing an I.O.U. and handing it off to our generation whenever they retire. It’s reminiscent of a scene straight out of Dumb and Dumber, and if we didn’t know any better, it’s as if the older generations have mistaken us for being the title characters.

The third number is 11 million, a less reported stat that should tell my generation everything it needs to know about itself, right now. It’s the number of followers Kim Kardashian has on twitter.

We created a medium that allows us to track and follow information almost instantaneously, however the person we have vested the most power in this channel is a woman with as much impact on society as the common porn-star (that might be low balling it). We have deemed a woman with no ability to enact public reforms, no record of generating awareness/making positive contributions to social issues, no ability to speak intelligently whatsoever…the title of one of the most important people to pay attention to on the planet.

Why?

Perhaps Kim Kardashian is a government spy that, when she’s not on TV buying shoes or on the internet nailing guys, is giving our generation useful information that will help eradicate many of the issues troubling our future (I don’t know, I don’t follow her on twitter).

Or perhaps that isn’t the case at all and we’re simply not using technology and social media effectively? Perhaps we’re using it for all the wrong reasons, as a distraction that allows us to escape the mess that’s been created instead of utilizing information and unifying ourselves for the greater good?

As innovative technology has become, it still doesn’t come equipped with the one thing that “The Greatest Generation” had driving them: Urgency. The Generations that fought through the World Wars and struggled through the Depression built our country into the powerhouse that it is today. Despite the gloomy harbingers on the horizon, we can thank these generations for providing us the privilege of living the life we have today.

But imagine if Twitter and Facebook existed during the times when Nazi Germany began its rise or when the stock market crashed? Who would people have “followed” or “liked” back then? Someone immersed in the details of the War or stock market, or a person touring with Groucho Marx on Vaudeville (how many followers would Groucho’s mustache have had)?

Are we in a state of global war or depression in America? Are times as perilous as when Pearl Harbor was bombed or when Hoovervilles were popping up around the country? Look outside your window and that answer may be no. Look inside your pocketbook and that answer may be yes.

The fact of the matter is that our generation’s future is not in a good position, despite the millennials’ proclivity to look at the world optimistically. We’re optimistic because we have the power of technology, but how much of its potential have we TRULY tapped into and demonstrated that we know how to use it effectively?

Many POINT to The Occupy Wall Street movement, and despite the rather bizarre twist it has taken towards a quasi hipster movement, it probably is the first sign of resistance our generation has shown in some time. It has generated plenty of attention — much through the utility of technology and social media — but how effective has it been in producing results? Since many people don’t seem to know what the hell Occupy Wall Street even stands for, I think it’s safe to say, it hasn’t had much of an impact.

The fact of the matter is that corporations in this country are sitting on over 2 trillion dollars in cash, money that normally would go towards investing in their future e.g. younger generations, but instead is being held under the assumption that businesses are going to screw up again. No one who is 20, 30, or 40 years older than us has any confidence right now.

Political leaders have terribile approval ratings, yet all they’ve increased is the number of times they decide to debate and how many national addresses they choose to make.

Where does our knack for using technology and social media fit in creating positive results amongst the semantics and histrionics that are at best moving us sideways?

The answer may be quite simple. Instead of using social media to promote our own status in an effort to attract likes, use it to monitor and hold other people accountable for what we dislike. Make it less about our own vanity and more about uniting our generation as a community of millions of people that won’t stand for any more bullshit or allow any group to suppress us.

At any given moment I can tell you what most of my 850 friends on Facebook are doing, what half of them are listening to or reading, and exactly where a quarter of them are. Perhaps the millions of us on social networks should provide the same surveillance to people who are supposed to be making a positive impact on the progression of our society?

If the Jace Hall Show fan community can find a criminal in a matter of hours, than the internet should certainly be able to hold those in power accountable for everything they’re doing.

To the countless public officials who seek 6 figure pensions on tax-payer dollars, to state funded college curriculums that can’t provide a stable route towards employment, it all adds up to taking advantage of our generation in the long run.

Perhaps if we used reddit for something other than meme’s, but for drawing attention to stories like the above, we’d notice that this stuff is more prevasive than we could’ve imagined and would feel obligated to do something about it? Undoubtedly, if the older generations knew we were paying as much attention to them as we were to Lil Wayne’s facebook page (33 million likes/followers/groupies and counting) they would think MUCH MORE before they decided to act. Ashton Kutcher found that out the hard way…

Maybe we make it a requirement that the Federal Reserve Chairman (one of the central figures controlling how much the American dollar is actually worth…kind of the Simon Cowell of the economy) must have their own Twitter account, so that we can track EVERY DECISION that they make?

Maybe we should use YouTube to record and review the performance of public teachers, opposed to relying strictly on a set of standardized tests?

Just like your ex-girlfriend who tries to make you jealous by “checking in” everywhere she goes (it’s not working), perhaps we should force every politician to check in and do the same — so when they decide to take an extended vacation during a budget crisis, we know where to expect a post-card from?

Innovation in social media and the internet encompasses some of the greatest achievements of our generation, but one can’t help but wonder if these improvements are making our society better or just different? We’ve shown signs of rising to the occasion during natural disasters or for causes that benefit society as a whole (Facebook’s Causes app has 2.5 million active users), but why can’t we use technology to facilitate action, rather than to react to it?

We might have to turn the webcams away from ourselves and towards the people who currently are avoiding the spotlight, but if we want to ensure our future is worth recording, it’s a sacrifice that we should be more than willing to make.

If anybody wants to help move this forward or has anything to add, please write me at Paul@HDFilms.com

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