In the public eye

New York magazine adds its two cents to the question of leaving a digital record, describing the gap between those of us who would post our intellectual thoughts but not our dirty laundry and today's youth culture of constant public exposure as the largest generation gap since the 1960s. I found this stastistic amazing:

One 2006 government study—framed, as such studies are, around the stranger-danger issue—showed that 61 percent of 13-to-17-year-olds have a profile online, half with photos.

But I will admit to having a bit of leeriness of the degree of exhibitionism that seems quite common, from the personal details to the photos of drunken revelry. Are all of these kids really going to be proud of that stuff later? The counter-perspective is this:

And after all, there is another way to look at this shift. Younger people, one could point out, are the only ones for whom it seems to have sunk in that the idea of a truly private life is already an illusion. Every street in New York has a surveillance camera. Each time you swipe your debit card at Duane Reade or use your MetroCard, that transaction is tracked. Your employer owns your e-mails. The NSA owns your phone calls. Your life is being lived in public whether you choose to acknowledge it or not.

Funny to think that the fogies are all worried about our becoming isolated and lonely, when in fact these kids may be more comfortable with more personal sharing than any generation in ages. All fascinating possibilities. On the other hand, this sounds more foreign:

“To me, or to a lot of people, it’s like, why go to a party if you’re not going to get your picture taken?” [Xiyin Tang]

Does webification mean that rather than living your life you're just creating content for consumption by others? I'm back to weirded again. Anyway, I was tempted to exerpt even more, but really, just go read it. Here were the headers that the author chose for how this new generation is different:

1: THEY THINK OF THEMSELVES AS HAVING AN AUDIENCE
2: THEY HAVE ARCHIVED THEIR ADOLESCENCE
3: THEIR SKIN IS THICKER THAN YOURS

It will be interesting to watch this new culture space evolve, whether from inside or at the sidelines...

(via boing boing)