Face to Facebook

People of my generation, and those who came before us, are not digital natives. My contemporaries and I were lucky enough to grow up with some emerging technologies but with nothing like the access of today's primary and secondary school students. We grew up in the times of Beta and VHS recorders and the accompanying debate that still rages (I guess today's equivalents would be Microsoft v Apple, Facebook v MySpace, XBox v Playstation v Wii, iPod v MP3 etc, but boffins will correct me). I remember being thrilled to get a Pacman game one Christmas, but the joystick broke and I lost interest. Our main commerce was swap cards, and our best pastimes elastics, skipping, kick to kick and turning cartwheels on the oval, until we got a bit older. Space Invaders at the fish and chip shop didn't hold much interest for me, but I know it did for others.

Kids are switched on in this digital age. They were born with technology, and know no different. Many probably had cameras and video equipment thrust in their faces before their bottom was even slapped by the doctor (I really don't think they do that anymore, but I'm showing my age and in-depth knowledge of vintage clichés). Kids all know how to snap a photo on mum's phone and whatever you do, don't stand in the way of a 6-year-old and Angry Birds. Today's kids are known in educational circles as digital natives. They have had it all their lives. But more so than generations before us, it is my generation that is expected to be fully conversant in the use of technology. Technological skills are considered a bonus for our parents, but our age group bears the weight of this expectation. We had to adapt to the technology as it was happening, especially when typing electives at school became "word processing" on Apple Macs with Mrs Tuckett in Year 9. Before that we all got high on the smell of the purple Gestetner ink from teachers ‘running off’ copies of worksheets with a crank handle. When we started using computers, choosing a font was no choice at all and "computer paper" used to have perforated sections and grabby holes on the sides. Phones were not yet mobile so you had to ring people at home and risk talking to their parents, or worse, their siblings who would rib you mercilessly if you were ringing someone of the opposite gender. Today’s teenagers can 'poke' their crush on the net without running the gauntlet of parents and siblings. To trot out another cliché, “in our day” flirting used to occur when you were in the company of the person you wanted to flirt with. And you had to have the guts to bully someone face to face or at least behind their back, not via text. Tough times.

I feel like I’m on Grumpy Old Women. Bear with me.

My generation is now at or about 40, and living in a world ruled by email, SMS, iPhones, iPads, Facebook, MySpace (really? Anyone use it?), Twitter (guilty), RSS Feeds, YouTube (sick leave would be really dull without it), Android, blogs, vlogs, avatars, digital photos, profiles and profile pictures, downloaded movies and high definition TV. And we're doing really well at it. At least we think so.

Then you see a 4 year old on an iPad and you think, how the f@!& did they do that? That's the difference.

In spite of that, we push on with our revolutionised communication modes, and justify keeping our friends and families at arm's length whilst remaining connected. We're basically insecure. And busy. In my opinion.

Despite being an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) advocate and erstwhile leader at my school, I am not an early adopter of new technologies. I like the hype to die down before I get on board, and even then I am critical and analytical in my approach to technology, at the same time as enjoying its benefits on a daily basis. I think this comes from my previous career working for Optus when mobile phones were a burgeoning commodity and the analogue network was still a viable choice. I was there when text messaging started, we could suddenly email each other and the Internet became a real entity. Just a couple of years before, I had written LETTERS home from overseas. By hand! I bought stamps and everything. Everyone did. It was 1993. But technology changed and so did we. But at Optus I was slow to see where it was all going, and surprised to be a part of it.

I have slowly built up my limited expertise in ICT in an almost accidental fashion. I was put in charge of leading the implementation of interactive whiteboards at school when someone else dropped out, and things just exploded from there. Because it's not about the technology, that's just the tool. And it's not about the software or the internet, that's just a means to an end. It's about what you do with it, and that's where the possibilities are limitless.

I avoided the whole “Facebook” aspect of the internet for a long time. I had this feeling it was self-absorbed, self-aggrandising rubbish, and I wasn't wrong, I just enjoy it now. I believed it was a stage allowing people to perform and be exhibitionists, where nothing real or substantial could occur. The thing is, and this is where I repeat myself, it depends on what you do with it.

Connection.

Interaction.

Communication.

Hit the 'Share' button and you do just that: share. Obvious isn't it? But really look at that. That's not nothing.

Since I started using Facebook regularly about 6 months ago, it has allowed me to connect, interact, communicate and share myself and my troubles and triumphs with others. For a naturally reserved person, it has allowed me to do it through my most preferred medium, writing. I have the protection and safety of non-face-to-face interaction, which has allowed me to share more than I would normally - just look at this blog! I never talk about myself this much. But write? No problem. (Because I am also editor-in-chief, I can try to make myself appear better and more intelligent than I am through careful editing. But I do try for honesty... most of the time.)

Facebook has also provided me with much needed feedback and support. Who knew the importance of the 'like' option? Knowing people are out there backing you to succeed is seriously uplifting and encouraging. Facebook can be good for you. But not too much. It doesn't pay to be obsessed: a little goes a long way.

These days, due to my lack of physical mobility and fluctuating ability to drive, I have depended on Facebook to retain a sense of being 'in touch' with people, without seeing them face to face. You see, despite all my self-centred faffing about in this blog, it's not just about me. I love seeing what others are up to, particularly as I don't get out much. I perversely enjoy a regular Collingwood v the world baiting session from certain FB friends (I can’t STAND Collingwood, but I love taking the bait). I enjoy humorous anecdotes and asides and even the cryptic comments that you have to guess at to find out what's happening with people. I love the pictures of family, little sons and daughters growing up, starting school, and going to the beach; the photos of big nights out and music festivals and going to the footy. Facebook is highly recommended for the convalescent, as it gives you a sense of living, not just existing.

And that's really what we're all here for, isn't it? To really live, and not just exist through the daily grind. Whether you use Facebook or not, whether elastics were your go, or your preferred pastime is tatting or planking, there are parts of our lives that show us we're really living and not just existing. Saying it on Facebook, Twitter, in a letter or card, in a phone call, over SMS or through photos or home movies reassures us that it really happened. Because basically we're insecure. And busy. And technologies make it faster and easier to connect, interact, communicate and share. That’s way cool, and the kids know it.