By special guest author: Sarah Newton of http://TheTeenCoachBlog.com

I recently I read something that really showed me the difference in the generations and their thoughts, feelings and use of technology.

A College Dean at Cambridge set up a fake profile to spy on his students. Using this fake profile he joined the group, St John’s Has Banned Us from Taking Wine to Hall, which complained about the new wine allowance rule at formal dinners.

Now for me, in the first instance, it brings up all sorts of questions, like why not just talk to the students? What makes you feel that spying is the only way? Surely, forming relationships and having conversations is a better way to treat an intelligent young adult?

However what is most interesting about it is the two differing thoughts of the two sides. The college, when challenged about their undercover behaviour, insist they have done nothing wrong, saying that Facebook is public space and people are making public comments. The young people insist that it is an invasion of privacy, saying what he did was “morally repugnant’, claiming they see it as a private place to express themselves and use it in that way.

So how can they both see the same thing so differently?  I think it is the new definition of public and private and the difference for each generation.

For Generation X, (born between the approximate years of 1965 to 1981) anything that isn’t under lock and key and is out there is public and therefore fair game. They have never understood that the generations below them need to share everything so openly. To them, you made your bed and lie in it…

For Generation Y, (born roughly between 1982-2001)sharing information is about honest, open connecting and as seen in this example, championing a cause.

We both need to learn and adjust so we can work together here…

In my mind, what the Dean should have done is to start his own Facebook group, asking for their comments and starting an open and honest dialogue with his students. They will have lost all respect for him. Spying is not something this generation likes…

For the students, they should realise that if something is private it needs to be private and if you want to keep us prying adults away, set the group as secret and invite members.

With Facebook and other social networking not just the domain of young people, we need to realise that everyone using it will view things differently……

Oh, and one last thought, social networking does not mean socially spying and if you feel the need to spy of any young person, ask yourself what it is you need to know and just go and ask!

Source: http://theteencoachblog.com/the-world-of-social-media-generational-differences/

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