The Young and the Digital

Below is a review I wrote a couple of days ago. Note that while I'm calling this a review, it's much more of a report (but who wants to say "book report" -- what is this, 4th grade?). This review will appear in the Oct. 11 issue of "Towers".

Review: The Young and the Digital: What the Migration to Social Network Sites, Games, and Anytime, Anywhere Media Means for Our Future (Beacon $26.95), S. Craig Watkins

“Have you ever stopped to notice the assortment of people using a communication technology while you are sitting in an airport terminal? Seated across from you is a business traveler checking her e-mail on a BlackBerry. Spread out along a nearby wall are several women from a college volleyball team using their mobile phones to send and receive text messages. And sitting right beside you is a twelve-year-old boy who has powered up his Nintendo DS to play a quick game of Madden NFL. This is the digital lifestyle in action,” S. Craig Watkins observes in his book, The Young and the Digital.

Watkins thoughtfully explores this digital lifestyle and its many and complex consequences for both the present and future of American life. Writing from a seemingly liberal, yet admirably balanced perspective, Watkins moves The Young and the Digital from simple observations about the new digital age to conclusions from extensive, scholarly research about the psychological consequences of an always-plugged-in generation, from cultural shifts in social media to pros and cons of new technologies in education.

“In the current cultural milieu, fast entertainment is more than a luxury or a way to pass time. It is an entitlement that more and more of us expect no matter where we are – at home, as work, in school, on vacation, or even when driving our cars. That cultural ethos, or the expectation that anytime is the right time for entertainment, is transforming our behavior,” Watkins observes his last chapter. This idea seems to be the thesis from which his book develops.

An unexpected literary device appearing throughout the book is Watkins repeated theme of “familiar and foreign.” Watkins consistently points out that while the young and the digital are exploring opportunities and technologies previous generations never could, younger people are still looking for essentially the same thing: relationships. In fact, Watkins notices that the reason behind the whole-scale embracing of new social media is much less about the technology and more about interactive and social involvement. Relationships are still the primary interest among the younger generation.

Further, research seems to suggest that participants in the often cultic world of online gaming are much more interested in taking part in an activity with other people, current and potential friends, than they are in the particular game itself. Watkins points to a number of cases where a husband and wife have begun online gaming together, not because of any special affinity for gaming, but as a way of spending time with one another. Some of The Young and the Digital’s research suggests that perhaps gaming will soon replace movie theaters as the requisite evening date activity. After all, gaming allows more social interaction, goes the argument.

In a fascinating chapter about the relationship between race/socioeconomics and social media, Watkins explains that, despite initial speculation, races and economic groups seem still to group together, even in the virtual worlds of Myspace and Facebook.

“Social and mobile media may be changing how we connect, but as we move into the digital future, it does not appear to be significantly altering who we connect to,” Watkins fairly observes, pointing out the familiar and yet foreign relationship between face-to-face culture and virtual culture.

Demonstrating a balanced analysis, Watkins offers at least three chapters with a decidedly negative perspective about the effects of the new digital culture. One helpful distinction Watkins points out is that while many people claim that new technologies allow them to multitask better than ever, research shows the increasing presence of an appropriately named disorder, continuous partial attention (CPA). Where multitasking at least gives the impression of efficient work, the effects of CPA are unfortunately detrimental to the quality of school and professional work.

To conclude The Young and the Digital, Watkins examines the presidential campaign and subsequent election of President Barack Obama. Affectively revealing a power and influence of new social technologies, Watkins explains how Obama and his campaign team uniquely and innovatively employed social media advertising and interaction, ultimately helping him win the presidential election.

So introducing the culture-shaping influence of social media and new technology, drawing cultural analysis of the phenomenon and even drawing conclusions about the problems involved with this new tech-savvy society, The Young and the Digital offers a thorough and fair survey of the digital world. Watkins’ book is an important one, both for understanding this new world and recognizing the dangers and opportunities it presents.