15 to 25 Year-Olds will Change the World!: Just Kidding

In the last month about fifty articles and blogs have come out addressing how kids/teens use various media and social interaction differently than adults. Apparently, the hook is that people in the 15-25 year old demographic will eventually come up and completely change the world and the way of doing things. Things like business and living, making money and paying bills right? Because isn’t that what we really care about? They will turn the social media world on its ear and everything will change to the way they currently do things..right? Isn’t that the fear that a business doesn’t have a leading edge strategy in selling to the next great new wave of consumers?
Many people have spotlighted this article by Matthew Robson, written for Morgan Stanley. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jul/13/teenage-media-habits-morgan-stanley . Basically the kid says teenagers don’t have a lot of money, they upgrade their phones every two years on their birthdays, because they have no money. They play a lot of video games and they watch TV, and they use their cell phones a lot. Does this really impact what a business strategy should be for the future? Will these fifteen-year-olds get older and out in public and have a job and change the way people do things? The answer is no.
Reading between the lines of his article the reason kids make the choices they do is that:
They have no money
They see no reason to act differently
Well that will change my deary, very quickly in fact. If you ask a 20 year old or a 25 year old right now what is their main concern, I will bet you cash it has to do with getting a cool job-score! Or making money in general. Sure they want to get laid (money), have fun and party (money), and have really cool toys (money), could be some want to actually get married and have kids (mucho money), or buy a house (extreme money).
They business world will change them in its’ due course. Like the action of a glacier it will move them. If you have been on Twitter at all, just about everyone on there is trying to network and get information, mostly to further their ideas, advance their pull, and of course make money. Yes I know all these reality shots sounds a little jaded.
Personally, I just graduated from college last year and I also work with many people in the hallowed 15-25 “solid gold” demographic (although not there myself). I remember having a conversation with a young woman working her way through school hooking. Her attitude was this: She wanted a college education to get a good job and make money. She could bust her ass 40 hours a week or hook for maybe 10 hours a week and make the same money and have more time for herself and homework.
As these young people matriculate into the work force they will not all be video game designers. One of the best “Fail” posters is a young boy sitting at a window it says: “Reality the toughest game of all”! Many will have jobs doing pretty much all the same crap we currently do, such is life. Sure, cell phones are king, everybody uses them, many of these younger kids will get Blackberries and I-phones and get on whatever social networks they think they need to, to make money and move up in the company. Some will start their own cool businesses and by far the lion’s share of those will fail.
Many of these kids are on Facebook and guess what? So is my 75 year old mother! Bottom line is this; the social media network that provides value, is easy to use, and helps people make money, will make money itself. MySpace didn’t do this, kids used the hell out of MySpace and for all intents and purposes MySpace is already dead.
My point is this, the kids will adapt to the world, the world of business, not the other way around. They will get haircuts, cover their hideous tattoos as much as possible, or get them re-done, and they will travel to social media conventions for the wishes of their company. They will start to discuss insurance and 401K plans with their friends. They will get Costco cards and yes, they will use Twitter, (or its equivalent), to try and make a buck. Once mommy and daddy quit paying the bills it is a rude awakening out in the real world, wasn’t it that way for you?