Our business is rather B2B, but I suspect the new generation will not only leave its marks on consumer habits (for sure they will), but might also impact the way work is organized, and the way companies do business together. The table beneath gives a pretty good idea about the changes in expectations and attitude the new generation is adopting (I picked the table from the Internet, not sure about the exact source I’m afraid):
Some people commented that these chances are unlikely to happen because of the recent crisis. With regard to work, for instance, the crisis would have made the next generation go back to the ‘traditional’ views of security and lifelong employment.
This remark is a showcase of the ‘zeitgeist bias’, as discussed by Adam Gordon in his book ‘Future Savvy’ (discussed in a previous Blog post). Trends, and especially if related to generational changes, last much longer than the memory of a crisis.
No doubt the next generation will think differently, and will have different expectations of life. They will even learn differently, in that the Internet provides ways to educate oneself which were unimaginable just a few years ago. And this doesn’t account solely on the fortunate ones who got their first laptop at the age of 2. As Sugata Mitra shows through a number of experiments, the Internet profoundly increases the ability to learn in a meaningful way. It also shows that, if we can provide Internet access to an increasing amount of people globally, this might reduce the educational deficit that ‘poor’ countries have. Okay, I might sound naïve, or ideological at best, but I don’t see this as an insult ;-)
At any rate, the presentation of Sugata Mitra is worth watching, since it provides a complete new picture on the abilities of our kids:
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