Digitalization and the intergenerational divide

We are becoming digital. And as we become digital, we are diverging, drifting apart, and disconnecting from one another. Labels such as X, Y, Z, and Alpha are expressions of this divergence, fragmentation, and rootless disconnection.

Full digitals, partial digitals, those who cannot digitize, users, those who cannot be users and settle for watching, those who click, those who cannot click, etc.—these characterizations demonstrate the fragmented social nature of the era in which we live.

The divisions, ruptures, and fragmentations that emerge among people with digitalization can have thought-provoking consequences when addressed in their spatial and temporal dimensions.

Specifically,

In terms of social cohesion and cultural continuity, the transfer of experience and the sharing of knowledge between generations are important. While each generation creates its own life practices by benefiting from the knowledge and experiences of the generation before it, the development of social and cultural tradition within a continuity also takes place. The character of societies is determined by what they have accumulated throughout history.

However, the very rapid integration of digital technologies into life has created an environment where the distance between generations is gradually increasing. On one side are those born into the digital world, and on the other are those chasing after it. The problem begins right at this point. In the natural flow of social history, the transfer of knowledge and the sharing of experience between generations are important. The continuity of society over time and social history itself are only possible in this way. Each generation's need for and reliance on the experiences and accumulated knowledge of the previous generation makes intergenerational integrity possible, and thus ensures social and cultural continuity.

Those of us born before digitalization used to listen to so many stories and fairy tales from our elders. We would never leave their side, begging our mothers and grandmothers to tell us stories. Who knows how many times each of us listened to our grandfathers' and fathers' military service memories. They would tell them over and over, and we would listen over and over. Neighbors, friends, and relatives were all together and aware of one another. We valued things, we showed respect, and we experienced the joy of loving and being loved. Whatever remained to us from those we lost or from our living family elders, we protected with care simply because it carried traces of their lives.

But what about now? Do you think that for the children of the digital age, the past or what came before them has any value, or at least any meaning?

Creating value is possible through sharing. The transfer of experience, the sharing of knowledge, and consequently, the formation of value. Digital technologies are entering all segments of life and rapidly transforming lifestyles. Meanwhile, children born into the digital world are the lead actors in this new lifestyle shaped by digital technology. Consequently, they have no one before them to use as a reference. On the contrary, they are under the impression that there is much for the generations before them to learn from them. Their proficiency in using technology can lead them to exhibit a more self-confident, and sometimes even arrogant, attitude toward the generations that preceded them.

The fact that digital children do not need the experiences, knowledge, and therefore the accumulation of previous generations, and even gradually distance themselves and disconnect from them, leads to history being ignored in one respect. The disregard, ignoring, and sidelining of what societies have accumulated throughout history means the end of intergenerational relationships and interaction. This appears to be a significant handicap in terms of social and cultural continuity.

It is not easy for a society that is disconnected from its own past and ignores its history to develop sound strategies or create a vision for the future.

On the other hand, the distance between those born into the digital world, those chasing after the digital, and those who remain entirely outside the digital is also increasing. The growing distance between segments living in the same time period and within the same society causes social fragmentation. The transformation of society into a fragmented structure and the erosion of social cohesion can render the system inoperable. It is not easy for a society that simultaneously contains segments with different lifestyles, values, traditions, customs, rituals, forms of interaction and communication, and life practices to possess a holistic social character.

Furthermore, it is quite difficult for a society with a fragmented structure to create a holistic cultural character. It is almost impossible for individuals in a society that does not possess a cohesive culture within itself to achieve unity of values, emotions, and spirit.

The solution is to develop short, medium, and long-term strategies for the harmony of every new element added to society with the existing situation, and to adopt a visionary and foresighted approach.