Social Network Evolution

Social networking is something relatively new to the general population but surprisingly we have been living in social networks our entire lives; from our family members, to our friends, to the way in which our airline flights are routed to their destinations. Wikipedia classifies a social network as “a social structure made of nodes which are generally individuals or organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of relations.” People have been living in social networks for generations, and recently we have begun to try and recognize and understand them. Through an examination of our social behaviors we will begin to see the social network of our youth and how it has developed throughout the last 40 years. Aided by technology people have been able to communicate in different ways, every time a new technology is released or developed we see a thrust into a new social network, that at first, is not understood by all groups but is soon adopted and accepted.

The purpose of a social network is to provide social acceptance and approval. Abraham Maslow discusses these needs as a “social need” or “love need.” This group of needs encompass love, social acceptance, friends, being wanted, and general usefulness. Maslow states individuals “will hunger for affectionate relations with people in general, namely, for a place in [their] group, and [they] will strive with great intensity to achieve this goal.” This is one of Maslow’s first needs that is not self-fulfilling but rather requires others to work together to help fulfill each other’s “social need.” In a social environment this is the social acceptance of peers; the need to fit in and be recognized in their surroundings. Social networking is how we measure our success of this social need. We measure our connections to others to evaluate our popularity and our social achievements.

Social networks have existed since the time of the “Baby Boomers.” “Baby Boomer” is a term used to describe someone who was born during a period of increased birth rates. They have since been redefined as a group of people born during the time of increased births after the Second World War. Social networks existed then; they were just not so technical. Baby boomers tend to approach situations with the following mentality: They have to compete to stand out and that they are the ones that make the difference. (Cox-Otto) Although the baby boomers seem independent and resilient to relying on support and encouragement Cox-Otto suggests otherwise. The Baby Boomer is driven by recognition, the support of money, title, and acclaim. They do everything for recognition and acceptance. They search out social groups that would listen to them and agree with their ideals. The Baby Boomers join together with their friends to “Make a Difference.” Things that would quicken them to anger are the thoughts of being left out, or “[implying that] they aren’t different [or] unique.” (Cox-Otto) Baby Boomers exhibit all of the signs of being interdependent and their driving forces rely on the support of others. They want to feel a part of something; they yearn to belong. The workplace was one of the social networks for the Baby Boomer. They used their workplace to achieve their social success. It was all about standing out and getting the recognition of their coworkers. Their social network was an engine that allowed them to achieve success. Maslow would agree that their actions at the workplace fulfilled their social needs, and the acceptance and promotions fulfilled their love needs. Creating an environment in which they felt safe socially.

As time moved on the social network evolved and the next generation arrived on the scene. Generation X was a softer generation. They were more in touch with their feelings. They dealt with conflict with statements like “anticipate my needs”, “do what I want or leave me alone”, and “I will vote with my feet.” (Cox-Otto) Technology introduced cable TV, fax machines, pagers, and palm pilots. The Gen X community focused on their families and protecting them. They were the first to experience the “Information Explosion” and time became a limited resource. The Gen Xer focused on achieving their acceptance from their family and friends. Unlike the Baby Boomer who sought acceptance at work, the priorities of Gen X were different after being raised by the previous generation. They began to focus on activities that would bring them closer as a family. “You save the world, I’m going to my kids soccer game.” (Cox-Otto) Time was a limited resource and ignoring, or wasting the time of a Gen Xer will only make them angry. They are focused on the family and the technological advances of their generation focused on making the workplace more efficient and getting them home to their families. The Baby Boomer used the advancements in technology to get more done at work while the Gen Xer used it to begin blending the workplace and the home life. The Gen Xer used their social network to remove themselves from the workplace. They focused on their home life with focus on the time spent with friends and family. They passed up financial, and workplace success to achieve success at home. They created a workplace that began to dissolve the “office.” Gen X likes to work alone and be free to adjust their schedule as needed. Because they are not rooted in the workplace for acceptance they don’t place as much emphasis on being there, work can happen around their schedule. To fulfill their social needs they gain acceptance from family; they turn inward to the family. The Gen Xer spends their life on the phone, it’s all about calling people and sharing their experiences. They begin to experiment with communication and express themselves for reasons other than for financial gain.

Although the Gen Xer spent so much time on the telephone they were connected and trapped to a physical location. They had boundaries that they could not break. The evolution to Gen Y librated the Gen X mentality and the cell phone was born. Generation Y experiences the freedom of communication anywhere. Walking down the street on the way to a movie and the Gen Y remains in communication with their friends. A small improvement on this revolutionary device also introduced text messaging, or “texting;” the ability, regardless of your situation, to communicate. No longer was Gen Y bound to a quite place. They could communicate their deepest darkest secrets without anyone knowing.

Gen Y sees conflict in new way, they return to some of the principles of the Baby Boomers and continue with the family principles of the Gen X. They focus on the family, but also embrace the need to work together. They are the feel good generation. They don’t like confrontation and just want to get along. They grew up with Mr. Rogers. “It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine?..” (PBS) Gen Y projects the happy community where everybody get along. Their social network is their community where they believe in making everything alright. When dealing with conflict they employ the mentality of “You help me, I’ll help you.” (Cox-Otto) They focus on the “win win” and their social network allows them to achieve that. They win in the office and when the work day is don, they win at home.

Generation V is a unique generation. They prefer to interact with people and gather their information through cyberspace. This connection to the digital world is what sets them apart. Many of the other generations view this as a tether, but Generation V sees this as liberating. This “tether” is a connection to the cyber world, a means to connect with a global network as opposed to the limitations of current communication methods. Contrasted to Generation X, Generation V is more focused, and tends to be drawn to collect information from digital sources, such as the internet, online gaming, and mobile communications. While Generation X and Y use traditional communication such as physical media and the telephone and lack the global perspectives of Generation V. Generation V is distinctly different from all other generations because they “are not usually defined in terms of a particular age, sex, race or location.” (Wikipedia Gen V) The term Generation has evolved to take on new meaning it has been liberated from the conventional understanding of a “generation.”

Generation V utilizes the ultimate in social networking. They have freed themselves of all physical boundaries and now act more proactively to express themselves. They no longer wait for face to face, or even voice to voice communication they leave their creations for people to find. They embrace online technologies like: MySpace, a place to leave your mark on the web nearly 80 million registered members. (James - Trendcatching) Facebook, a social network geared towards college students, supports 882 collages with a membership of 85 percent of their population. That’s 3.85 million members. (Arrington) Second Life a fully functioning virtual world with everything that we have here and more. Second Life boasts a surprising 6.2 million residents. Yup you heard it right, residents. Everyone in Second Life is real. With the count of social networks on the rise, currently 89 (Wikipedia Lists of Social Networking Websites), it seems that generation V is not so concerned with social acceptance in the real world. They are much happier finding their social acceptance from complete strangers. They are happy with their autonomy and the freedom that it gives them.

Second life is a relatively new kid on the block when it comes to social networks. Linden Labs has created an environment in which people can create what ever they want and virtually do whatever they want as well. “Second Life: Your World. Your Imagination.” As dubbed by their own meta tags. Claims to be a world where full expression is allowed. As the home phone was liberated to the cell phone, our physical existence is being freed by Second Life. People have begun to take pictures like they are on vacation, memories to remember. (Flickr) On their website they talk about Second Life like a brochure from a tropical resort. “From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.” It reads like a brochure for the new housing development where you are purchasing your new house. Second Life portrays a world in which the ills of society have been removed, a place where you can be what you have always wanted to be. Second Life has had a growing number of users from the inner city, they find it to be an escape from reality. Online, they are able to be whatever they want to be. They can explore new places, meet people from all over the world, and do it all without spending a dime. Second Life allows the less fortunate to live out their dreams contrary to the world in which they live. Second Live has also created a teen friendly place, a place where it is safe to send your children. “Linden Lab, [creators of Second Life,] is committed to providing a safe online environment for its teen residents. Teen Second Life will always be staffed with Liaison coverage during open hours. “ (Teen Second Life) They even offer safety tips to parents who have their children venturing online for the first time. Second Life has become the mall for the teens of today, but safer. They can still interact with their friend and do fun and exciting things, but now they create and make new things. The “mall” has become so much more. They can dress how they want, share their home movies, build a house or sell clothes. The list is endless. Generation V is not happy waiting around for input, they’re too busy living life. Generation V is interested in leaving something for the world. Generation V is something of an enigma right now. They have many of the virtues of all the Generations, but extend beyond them all. They work hard, but value their family. They utilize all methods of communication, but are reclusive from the workplace. The one thing that all the Generations wanted so badly was to communicate more efficiently which has evolved into a hermit mentality. Generation V would rather send you an email than talk to you on the phone.

The evolution of the “Social Network” has been driven by many generations, sending it into very different paths. The Baby Boomer Generation focused on work - instilling the values of hard work, but ignoring their family. Generation X focused on the family - teaching the importance of a happy home life and appeased their work. Generation Y valued both work and family, but embraced technology to achieve success in both environments establishing a bridge between work and home. Generation V has embraced technology to interact with work and family, but now avoids contact with the real world. It is possible that they do it to achieve the most efficient route to a solution, but have thrown away the values obtained from Generation X. This alludes to the idea that human interaction is not always necessary to have a happy working environment. It is hard to tell what the home life is like for Generation V since they are so new.

Examining Generation V demonstrates that there is a need for social acceptance. People yearn for the approval of others, but Generation V values their anonymity. It is this desire to be accepted by faceless masses that begins to question what the social acceptance is really about. Baby boomers filled it with coworkers, Generation X with family, Generation Y with family and work, but Generation V does not feel the need to be accepted in the real world. They exhibit the tendencies of escapism. Could this be an introversion of the human race? They, on one hand are very expressive and creative online, while in the real world they limit their communication with those around them. Our next Generation will be interesting as technology further improves our lives. With the introduction of virtual reality on the horizon will Second Life become our first life. Will we ever go to the store anymore, or will the store come to us? A professor of mine once said “There is a reason that you belong to what you belong to.” (Metcalfe) The future is unclear as to where we will be going and what we will be doing. One thing that is clear is that we will be doing something different. If it is an extension of what we are doing now, or will it be as drastic a change such as Generation Y to V, is not yet clear. Generation V embodies the spirit of the moon landing. John F. Kennedy encapsulated the motivations best when he said “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” (Kennedy) Generation V is blazing new frontiers, they cusp new horizons and they do it all because “it measures the best of [their] energies and skills.” (Kennedy)

Works Cited

Arrington, Michael. “85% of Collage Students use FaceBook.” Tech Crunch. 7 Sept. 2007.
<http://www.techcrunch.com/2005/09/07/85-of-college-students-use-facebook/>

Cox-Otto, Pam. “Teaching the New Student.” MiraCosta College, Oceanside. Feb. 2007.
<http://www.interactcom.com/presentation.htm>

James. “MySpace Usage Statistics.” TrendCatching Blog. 31 May 2006.
<http://www.trendcatching.com/2006/05/myspace_usage_s.html>

JazzyFox. “Second Life.” Online posting. 20 May 2007. Flickr.20 May 2007.
<http://www.flickr.com/groups/secondlife/>

Kennedy, John F. “We Choose to go to the Moon.” Rice Stadium, Houston. 12 Sept. 1962.
<http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/ricetalk.htm>

PBS. “PBS Kids – Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” PBS Kids. 1967.
<http://pbskids.org/rogers/songlist/song1.html>

Wikipedia. “List of Social Networking Websites.” Wikipedia. 15 May 2007.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites>

Splash: I'm in the blender

I have jumped in and I'm ready to go. I have begun to search the internet. Some interesting facts that I have found are;

My5pace has 150 million registered members.
MySpace statistics

Social Networks

Generation List