Today's generation of youth from diapers to age twenty have their own name,
just as the 50-some baby boomers have: It is the Net-generation or N-geners.
This population, which is 80 million strong, is the first generation to
grow up surrounded by digital media. Computers can be found in homes and
schools. They are uses for education and entertainment, video games and
online instruction. When the baby boomers were growing up, they watched TV
shows such as "Leave It to Beaver" and "Gunsmoke." Now, the N-geners, both
males and females, spend hours every day in front of the TV or computers
playing video and computer games. Is this generation any better or worse
off than the earlier one that saw weekly shows of "I Love Lucy'" Are
electronic games having a negative or positive effect that will be noticed
in the futureâ€"like the baby boomers early hearing problems due to going to
rock concerts without earplugs. It is too early to say. The verdict is
According to the book Growing Up Digital (Tapscott, 1998, 7) nearly
all of these Net-geners have experience with video games. Two-thirds of
them use a personal computer, usually either at home or school.
Entertainment is a big use for these computers. Computer games and video-
game cartridges and systems represent a $10 billion industry, $5.6 billion
in the United States aloneâ€"more than the Hollywood movie industry.
Where parents used to spend time playing board games or watching TV
with their children, they may now spend time with them in front of the
computer or TV playing an electronic game.
Computers are also a communications medium, in addition to providing
information and entertainment. The new video games from Nintendo, Sony and
well as computer-based games are often designed for social or group use for
multiple users. When friends come over, they all grab one of the discs of
Game Cube ...