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From Generation Google to GenGPT: How the Way We Search is Changing Everything
Specific questions can reveal someone’s generation better than any of the inferences that we can get from clothing or communication strategies. For instance, questions like “What were you doing when you heard about 9/11?”, “Do you prefer cash or card?” or “What was Usher doing at 7 o’clock?” can provide deep insight into your experiences and age. But, my new favorite questions focus more on education than critical cultural and historical turning points.
When conversing with students or teachers, I enjoy asking them about their methods for finding information. Specifically, how did they do their homework when they were younger? If you are an elder, finding information is a multi-step process, requiring card catalogs, library visits, and hours of due diligence. As a child, I learned to look up my questions if I had any, and I spent many hours flipping pages to find information.
As a millennial, I exist at the cusp of multiple avenues of information access. I grew up with physical encyclopedias and the CD-ROM version of the Encyclopedia Britannica. When I was once looking up information from direct sources, I always had search engines. Therefore, I would argue that millennials could also be called “Generation Google” because search engines such as Google and AskJeeves play a critical role in how we find information.
Additionally, computer classes were considered a crucial part of the curriculum during my school days. We learned various methods of finding accurate and reliable information through Google and research databases. My teachers emphasized the importance of distinguishing between the different types of web domains, such as .com and .edu, to help us identify credible sources from others that may not be trustworthy. I have listened to many lectures where we were reminded that “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog” and that it was our job to sniff out a communication catfish from the real thing.
