10 years ago the biggest internet anxiety was privacy, now it’s reputation online.
- Genevieve Bell, cited by Stuart Miles, 10 visions of the future
The shift from privacy to publicy, from fear of networks to fear of being left out, of missing out.
There is a notion that not being connected means you are bored. Not being bored means you are connected.
We will still be social but the way we use the networks will change
Social doesn’t mean Facebook. Half of the world isn’t on Facebook for example with many other social networks doing their best to connect people around the world. That said, the fastest growing group on Facebook right now is 50, 60 and 70-year olds coming online to join that party their children and grandchildren have been talking about. That massively changes the dynamic of Facebook believes Bell.
“People want to engage in new types of storytelling; Twitter, YouTube, Hashtags are all being used. All those mediums will eventually find their place in sociality.”
In 2010, YouTube grew up and was conquered by media companies to promote Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. It’s no longer small boys sticking fingers up their noses as they set fire to their cats. As the networks mature, so will the way in which we use them and eventually they should become the tools for every generation.
