The Net Generation

Introduction

The Net Generation is composed of those first children to grow and develop immersed in media and technology. As Tapscott (2008) states, "For the first time in history, children are more comfortable, knowledgeable, and literate than their parents with an innovation central to society" (p. 2). In today's society, this net generation has grown up. Tapscott devotes his book, Growing up Digital, to show us that the Net Generation is here to change society for the better. The Net Generation has already had an effect on political and education systems. The political and educational systems are the foundation for opportunity in America. Therefore, the Net Generation has already made a significant impact on my family, education, life, and our world as a whole.

Content

I have only recently decided to return to college. I have one class online, and two classes that are web enhanced. The methods of learning have become digitalized since my days in high school. In fact, when I was in high school, computers weren't an accessory for students. The Net Generation has influenced the school system in the sense that perhaps learning is easier and more convenient online; however, I am still adjusting to simply navigating the internet. If it weren't for the Net Generation, education wouldn't likely have an alternative to the traditional classroom. The Net Generation "tend toward independence and autonomy in their learning styles" (Barnes et. al., 2007, p. 1). They "...want a choice in their education, in terms of what they learn, when they learn it, where and how" (Tapscott, 2008, p. 126). I have benefited from online courses as well. The Net Generation has not only made schooling more convenient for themselves, but also for people who work full-time, and wouldn't otherwise have the open schedule to attend traditional classes. Aside from convenience, online courses are more likely to satisfy the Net Geners' [short hand for the Net Generation, coined by Tapscott] needs. Since education can be offered via online, it is to the students' discretion where and when he or she will learn the course material. Of course there are still course deadlines, but the learning pace is a little more flexible than that in the traditional classroom. "Net Geners are not content to sit quietly and listen to a teacher lecture." (Tapscott, 2008, p. 126). With today's online and web enhanced courses, students may "...read lecture notes online..." (Barnes et. al., 2007, p. 2) on their own time. Students of the digital age need more varied forms of communication and are easily bored with traditional lectures (Barnes et. al., 2007, p. 2). Furthermore, since "Kids who have grown up digital expect to talk back, to have a conversation" (Tapscott, 2008, p. 126), online courses have accommodated for this by implementing discussion forums.

The Net Generation has obviously made a real impact on the education system. The number of college graduates has nearly doubled since 1978; however, the dropout rates have significantly increased as well (Tapscott, 2008, p. 124). So, we can see that college has been more accommodating for the Net Geners, as "The percentage of young people enrolling in college rose 50 percent from 1970 to 2003..." (Tapscott, 2008, p. 123). Since the dropout rates are significant as well, clearly there are still some major problems with today's education system. Higher education was structured in an industrialized fashion that no longer works for the Net Generation (Carlson, 2005, p. 1) Regardless, the Net Generation is college driven, and "...the number one thing that Net Geners aged 12-24 are saving for is college tuition" (Barnes et. al., 2007, p. 1). Today adjustments are being made, causing my personal education to veer more digital every day. Imagine learning from more "videos, videogames... courseware, search engines, and library databases that are animated...and interactive" (Carlson, 2005, p. 1). The Net Generation has "...grown up digital...in the twenty-first century...but the education system in many places is lagging at least 100 years behind" (Tapscott, 2008, p. 122). These statements by Tapscott, Carlson, and Barnes et. al. were made only a few years ago, and in fact I have witnessed many of these new wave learning techniques implemented in today's courses.

The Net Generation has also affected today's politics. In the past, voting amongst the youth didn't compare with the elder generations. Recently however, political techniques have been implemented to take advantage of the youth vote. So many young people don't vote, and if there were a way to get young people involved, elections could be drastically effected. In fact, elections are already feeling the heat of only a slight increase in the youth