Who I Am: Beyond My ‘Real’ Friends
“Access and connection make me part of a global community”
Globalisation, the internet and new technology – we are better connected than ever. The Internet provides us fast access to all the information we need. Our mobile phones contain all our personal information. We receive and send emails every hour of the day and stay updated on all our friends’ activities on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. High-tech computers fit in handbags, we read our books on eReaders, get our news update via Twitter and blogs. The Internet enables us to connect with virtually everyone in the world. This is something the millennial generation has grown up with. For us, it is only natural to have this access. But how has that changed our world view?
For me, as part of the millennial generation, the world has simply become more open, more visible and more accessible. That might be obvious. But because this is so normal for me, because it is so matter-of-fact, it is worth reflecting on its effect.
Through the Internet, I am practically linked to every other young person in the world. I believe that while we have become children of technology, we have also become children of a global community, which is connected via the Internet. I interact with other young adults in every part of the world. I meet my friends in social networks. I read and comment on what other millennials write about in their blogs. I communicate with hundreds of other users I meet there, may it be to discuss fashion, music or politics. I follow them on Twitter or Instagram to see what they are interested in and what concerns them.
While I know all of my 350 Facebook friends personally, I definitely do not know all the people behind the 25 or so blogs and interactive websites I read and visit regularly. We might not know each other personally, so I would not consider them “friends”, but we are connected nevertheless. There is sympathy and solidarity. I see what their way of life is like, whether it is on the other side of the earth, in the USA or the Philippines, or in France or Estonia. We share the same excitement over election results, the same fear of natural disasters, even if we are not personally affected. We share what moves us, what cultural and political topics are of interest for us – most of all we realise how we may be different and still have the very same experiences.
I have never felt before, at least not as consciously as I do now, that I am truly part of a global community, a global community of the millennial generation. And so, we are all in this together.
Lisa T; aged 22; Germany