Generating Generationalism

After peeking at my profile for the first time since I entered grad school (when, like many [I think], I went through a massive "cleanup" of my facebook profile), I decided that I'd have to latch on to Stephanie Vie's description of "Generation M" before I could deal with any other issues between my profile and the readings.

Apparently, I first identify myself by my generation, which was a bit of a surprise considering it's become something of a moo point to me over the past year or so. Must've been a passing phase or something. Next, I identify myself as someone fairly involved with political affairs, including a dog-whistle reference to Bill Hicks fans. The last chunk of my "bio" identifies me as a fairly regional, urban person shaped largely by local affairs. My profile picture, leftover from summer, of my dog both identifies me as a dog owner and perhaps as more mainstream or professional than the rest of my profile (including my latest post), but the only other indication of a professional (as opposed to personal) identity is my friends list, composed almost entirely of grad-school friends and acquaintances. The box below my picture is significant because, in the genre of social media profiles, the "caption" box is meant to frame a quotation or phrase that essentializes one's identity; in my case, I've opted for a rather offensive quote that seems to reinforce the abrasive language of my "bio."

The audience for this little performance would, by most observers, appear to be either young adults or adults situated in a non-professional space. While my friends list seems to indicate that my audience is, in fact, composed of professionals, the remainder of my viewable profile seems to indicate to my audience that I view Facebook as a space outside of the office--and my online communication (I'll get into that later) reinforces this perspective.

Anyway, as a self-identified member of Generation X, I do feel that there is a generation gap between myself and "Generation M," or the Millenials as I know them, but not when it comes to technological ability (12). I've been able to engage with computer technology (let's be clear about what Vie's really getting at--Gen X had Walkmans [Walkmen?] and CB radios, those primitive versions of modern distractions; the iPod and the iPhone are only significant because they incorporate computer technology and interfaces) since I was 13, and since I began teaching I find that I'm far more adept at it than the so-called Generation Media that I primarily work with and teach. For example, I thought Wikispaces had an intuitive enough interface that I was able to figure it out in 10 minutes; two weeks into the course, I was still explaining to students how to create an account, get set up, and start posting their profiles and other homework assignments. Far from being one of the instructors who're a generation behind their students in technological and media prowess, one of my greatest complaints is that my students are incapable of using "basic" (to me, of course) technologies and interfaces.

Vie's study is flawed because, aside from being terribly outdated (2006? Facebook and Myspace were barely off the ground), it relies on a very selective and very small sample set for its data--127 instructors and 354 undergraduates responded to a "nationwide survey" (17). So her argument that instructors are a generation behind their students is, at best, unsupported by any credible evidence, and I'm certain that if NCTE were to conduct a similar survey, in 2008 or today, we might see some very different results. Furthermore, far from being the panoptical surveyers of their instructors' private lives, my encounters with students on Facebook (I don't own a Myspace account; long story) have been either quiet (am I lurking in their friend lists, amongst the Farmville players they never talk to either?) or they have engaged with me as they would with a respected family member or older sibling--occasional props and agreement, always with some level of deference (19).

I mentioned earlier that my profile seems to advertise my online identity as existing in a non-professional space, and I believe that this allows me to interact with others--especially my colleagues--in ways that I would never interact with them within professional spheres. For example, I wouldn't just walk into class and announce "I think it's stupid that Rowling's publishing two more Harry Potter novels! What more could she have to say after 'and his scar never hurt again?'" I mentioned once in Dr. Butler's 512 course last year that Dumbledore is gay, which launched a long off-topic class discussion that Dr. Butler had to try very hard to shut down; since then, I don't mention Harry Potter when I'm at school/work unless a professor brings him up first. However, on Facebook, that conversation would likely have gone far further than it ever did in class. In this respect, social media allows me to interact with my colleagues in a way that I certainly wouldn't in-class, and most of us tend to keep that distinction between professional and personal spaces (prompting me to ask Kristin, a few weeks ago, if she minded the intrusion were I to message her on Facebook about my book review).

Also, considering that trying to find time to interact with each other in academia is like trying to lean out of your car window to have a conversation with others stuck in traffic--we're all going different ways, and don't really have a chance to say much more than "Hello," and "I've got to get to class!" or "I've got to finish this paper."--social media seems perfectly suited to the types of asynchronous bursts of conversation that we academics tend to use to stay in touch and socialize. Since we're all familiar with the image of the overworked grad student, surrounded in their home or office by piles of articles and books (and empty energy drink cans or half-filled cups of coffee), the beauty of social media is that it still allows us workaholics to socialize outside of office functions.

I've now been writing this post for three hours, without multitasking (though I've done a bit of daydreaming and made a quick trip to the gas station for another energy drink), and so I think I'm going to leave it here. My last thought: wouldn't it be cool if we could do this with seminar papers too?