Detailing and dissecting Don Tapscott’s “The Eight Net Gen Norms”.

Don Tapscott’s “The Eight Net Gen Norms” details a society whose worlds ever technological advancements demand reform. It compares the baby boomer generation with the millennial generation, and observes the cultural differences and effect of growing up digital.
His text combines his own research and finding with factoids and memorable anecdotes that paint vivid images of the direction our world is inevitably heading.

The Eight.

This vivid imagery is then broken down into the following eight categories:

• freedom
• customization
• scrutiny
• integrity
• collaboration
• entertainment
• speed
• innovation
  

I scratch your back you scratch mine!

While the ever expanding online world consumes the old way of living, workplaces and social circles shift, into a less interpersonal, and a more customized or (strictly personal world). In this online world, “net geners” can spend as much or as little time as they please. They can work from home, contact relatives in other countries, or even share live video of what they are having for lunch. Though this may come across as problem, Tapscott argues that it may not necessarily be a bad thing with regulation and control. He talks about how companies like IBM encourage this playfulness, youthfulness and creativity, claiming it may bolster sales, or boost productivity.

“So does Google, its engineers are asked to spend 20 percent of their workplace time on projects that are of personal interest to them. Google says it has a strong business case for making such an offer. If Google’s employees are the best and brightest available – and google believes they are – then whatever piques their personal interest could open new avenues of business for the company.”

Tapscott, Don. The Digital Divide: The Eight Net Gen Norms. Edited by Mark Bauerlein, McGraw Hill, 2009.

By creating an environment like this companies are not only able to give their employees an opportunity to boost productivity, but are able to satisfy that need for freedom, customization, and innovation. These Tapscott argues are three of the eight net gen norms.

Making haste.

“Video games give them instant feedback; Google answers their inquiries within nanoseconds. So they assume everone else in their world will respond quickly, too.”

Tapscott, Don. The Digital Divide: The Eight Net Gen Norms. Edited by Mark Bauerlein, McGraw Hill, 2009.

Perhaps one of the most important details Don touches on is convenience, or as he refers to it speed. When talking about speed in this sense it is less about rate, and more about efficiency. Net geners want the best for themselves as sure as we all do, but where they differ from previous generations is in their ability to readjust at a moments notice.
For instance, when elder generations ordered a pizza they simply picked up the phone, spoke their order and were given a wait time. For a Net Gener however this is not enough. By simply looking online a Net Gener can find pizza places that not only allow you to customize your pizza, but see it’s level of doneness, know when it is being picked up, and where it is while travelling toward you. All while standing in their doorstep drooling over a phone gps. Net Geners know they are impatient, but have learned to rely on technology and digital solutions to make haste.

Even instant message should draw an instant response. If a member of their peer group doesn’t respond instantly, they become irritated and worried. They fear it may be a negative comment on their status and a personal slight.”

Tapscott, Don. The Digital Divide: The Eight Net Gen Norms. Edited by Mark Bauerlein, McGraw Hill, 2009.

A reform is inevitable. With the number of people entering a digital age that only ever moves forward, there are more people than ever, on social media platforms, sharing ideas, concepts, networking, and developing infrastructures. These ant like tunnels we dig through the web in order to get to where we need to go on a day to day basis become the environments we are most comfortable in. Navigating the city via gps, is another great example. If efficiency is the name of the game, the generations past laid the ground work for a system they weren’t prepared for. This results in a modern generation of tech-savvy digital minds, who think in digital solutions. Like Tapscott wrote;

“Boomers marvel at the consumer research, Net Geners expect it.”

Tapscott, Don. The Digital Divide: The Eight Net Gen Norms. Edited by Mark Bauerlein, McGraw Hill, 2009.