Don’t you just hate young people? With their good looks, sharp tongues and lack of respect for the law. They listen to stupid music. Oh, and they also used the Internet to help get Barack Obama elected. But, once the “fun” of “being a part of something,” will America’s youth go back to using the Internet for selfish pursuits—sending Facebook flair to one another, gambling on bwin.com, surfing porn streaming sites till they pass out, etc.—, or will they embrace the Internet as an agent of Change?
My guess: people are lazy. It’s a whole lot easier to play a stupid Facebook game than it is to [pretend] to care about this nation’s future. That’s partially why The Economist asks, how have young people’s relationship with the Internet changed their outlook on life? Will we ever see student protests like the kind in 1968, or, again, is the allure of Tube8 so great that they’ll say, “You know what, our country stinks, but gosh darnit there’s pleasure on demand these days”?
Or will kids use the Internet to organize around wacky fads, like this Pokémon phenomenon in Chile. Apparently the youth there use the Internet to organize and promote their fun little subculture based on “odd hairstyles” and generally acting silly.
Keep reaching for that rainbow, Chile.