Electronic Etiquette:
I do feel in many cases that people are not courteous while using cell phones or text messaging. Most of the people I know, or the people I see, continue using their cell phones for texting or apps while they are engaging in conversations with another person. Not only is this distracting, but also it is rude. If a person is speaking, it is common courtesy to give undivided attention to that person. I see many people go through cashier lines while chatting loudly on their phones, which is very rude to the cashier, as well as everybody within listening distance. Nobody wants to hear the conversation, nor do they want to be held up because the individual takes an extra five minutes finding their wallet because they are too busy speaking to a friend.
The worst example, however, that I have seen of discourteous use while using a cell phone or text messaging took place while driving. Not only was this discourteous because the driver in question was unable to assess the road and the other drivers properly, but she presented a danger to the other drivers around her, myself included. At first, when I saw her swerving so violently in front of my car, I assumed she was either drunk, or perhaps a student driver. I assumed there would have been something severe that was inhibiting her judgment. It appeared that she assumed all the lanes on the interstate were hers. I decided it would be best to wait until one of her more lucid moments and drive past her as quickly as possible. As I did this, to my surprise I saw the cause of the mayhem was text messaging and talking on the phone. It was a highly inappropriate.
Given the previous situation I have just narrated, I am in favor of laws that prohibit cell phone use and text messaging while driving. I believe that if the individual has a headset that allows them to speak with their hands free the action might be feasible. Cars that come equipped with voice automated Bluetooth, allowing the driver to send and hear texts via talking may also be advisable. However, having the driver’s face buried in a phone while they are supposed to be driving is dangerous. There are far too many tragic stories involving car accidents and death for the population not to take it seriously.
Social networking sites, like cell phones, are also sometimes used with abandoned recklessness. Younger individuals, and sometimes older ones too, do not use respect on social networking site, primarily because there is little accountability for those who act out. I believe though that for those like myself who use it respectfully and dutifully, social networking sites can be a benefit in the business environment. It allows individuals to network with others, the original purpose of the site, rather than hurl snide, malicious remarks at people from high school they still do not like. Since taking this course, I have realized sites like this can be beneficial, but only if you use them correctly. I have taken down unnecessary personal information, such as movie preferences and “favorites” (i.e. favorite color), and have tried to only include professional information such as occupational data, future plans, and who I am searching to network with. Generational Differences:
Some of the best experiences I had in school when I was growing up involved general things like snow days and unexpected substitutes. Pizza day in the cafeteria was also something I looked forward to when I was a child. I was a simple child to please growing up in school. As the school integrated better computers into the curriculum, at the time, I hated it, but I found that it was one of the best times of my education. One of the worst times, of course, was 9/11. We all remember where we were, what class, what teacher, what classmates we were surrounded by. It was a tragic event solidified in all of our minds. All other terrible experiences seem to pale in comparison.
I visited with somebody who was fourteen-years-old during the Vietnam War. During their time in school, they had very different things to deal with than myself. Protests broke out frequently in their area. Unfortunately, for the woman I interviewed, she grew up in Berkley, California. This, according to her, was the site of protests several times a weak. There was an uprising of anti-war activity. There was juxtaposition for her as a child, because her father had attempted to raise her a strict, war-supporting Republican. School involved reading anti-war propaganda, which was exhilarating, and attempting to smuggle them into her home. She remarked that there were other things to deal with, but this was the center of her schooling while the war waged on. She also remembers struggling with whether to join the anti-war agenda, as well as whether or not to try drugs for the first time. Her father eventually considered home schooling her because he feared she was getting wild ideas about the war and becoming a Democrat from her friends at school. This event was one of the most tragic for her; to my interviewee it meant suffocation by the oppressor, at the time, though she admits she was a melodramatic schoolgirl even if the war effort was important.
My interviewee’s impression of other generations is that sometimes they do not take things seriously enough. However, she does believe that sometimes people are too hard on how younger generations act. She remembers very well how difficult it was to decide who she was going to be as she grew up to be a woman. She also understands this conflict as likely not been relieved has time has gone on, but only strengthened with all of the new conflicts in the world. While younger generations do not take some things as seriously as they should, she hypothesized that perhaps that is how they cope. Maybe they are given too many options and the only way to function is to shut down until nobody notices them making a decision. There is still so much pressure on going to the right college, picking the right career, and making a lot of money. However, she has noticed it is not like when she was a young girl; a college degree no longer guarantees you a good job. She did emphatically remark that young women do not understand feminism the way her generation did. She thinks younger generations hear of bra burnings and “Free Love” and believe they should be fighting for shorter skirts, when really, it was about equal rights, and nobody seems to understand this anymore. She found it disappointing in her gender.
As far as the work environment is concerned, she did not believe you could define how two people work together solely based on age. She herself had worked with older and younger people. Some situations were good, while others were bad. It rarely had anything to do with the individual’s age. Typically, it had to do with how the person had been raised, or what types of values they had developed throughout their life. She did admit that sometimes people her own age were more likely to have the same values as her, but it did not necessarily mean she would work better with them than somebody from a younger or older generation.
Relationship:
Personally, I have had a friendship with somebody of a different generation outside of my family. It was with a woman who was one generation older than myself. She took on the role of confidant when I needed a person to guide me and give advice. Though we were only one generation apart from one another, we were very different. Sometimes she or I would say something that would remind the other person just how far removed we were from the other’s generation. For example, in the flow of conversation she would mention her parent’s record player or her first 8-track tape. I had no knowledge or little knowledge of these things prior to speaking with her and it showed that we were not a part of the same generation. Similarly, I would mention a new smartphone, or some other gadget that was appearing on the market. My friend would appear baffled by it because these were inventions she never dreamed of seeing in her lifetime. Despite our separation, she taught me that generational differences are only a hindrance if you let them be a hindrance. She taught me so much about life and growing. She also provided a safe haven and guidance when I needed it, allowing me to understand that trust can grow in the most unlikely of places.
