1. How often do you use the internet?
A. What do you use it for?
B. Tell me about your daily routine with the internet.
2. Do you remember a time without the Internet, not a time where you were not so dependent on it?
A. When was that time?
B. Do you remember the first time you used it or were exposed to it, tell me about that time.
C. What was your initial response?
D. Can you tell me when it become a routine part of you life?
E. How haw your use of the Internet changed from then to now?
3. How do you think your life has changed because of the Internet?
A. Has it made your life more difficult or easier, why?
B. How does it affect your personal relationships?
C. How does it affect your work life?
D. Does the Internet push your work and personal life closer together?
4. What was the last think you used the Internet for today?
5. How do you think your childhood, high school, or college life is different than those who can not remember a time without the Internet?
Procedures
On September 28, 2009 I interviewed Marsha Burney of San Marcos Texas at 9:00p.m. She is a Resident Hall Area Coordinator for Texas State University, where she over sees four resident Halls and a staff or 25. Notes were taken throughout the interview. The interview lasted 67 minutes.
Oral History
When asked about the Internet, Marsha Burney not only discusses what she uses the Internet for and how it has evolved, she discusses a generational gap that has developed between people who can not remember a time without the Internet and the people who can remember a time without the Internet. Burney's profession not only requires her to use Internet most of the day, but it puts her right in the middle of this generation gap. As a Resident Hall Area Coordinator, Burney discusses living and working with Generation Q, the quiet generation or the generation that has been silenced because of the Internet. According to Burney, Generation Q has simply forgotten how to use their voices.
For most people growing up in the early and late 1980s the Internet was something that sounded almost like science fiction. It was not until the early to mid 1990s did people really start to hear about this "thing" that connected the world and acted as a major information highway. However, for Burney, the Internet was something she was exposed to in the early 80s because of her father's military ranking and affiliation with the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Burney grew up with a father who was a high ranking official in the United States Army and worked closely with the CDC to avoid biological warfare. Burney's father taught her about the Internet at an early age, and she said when she told her friends about it, they thought she was lying. She remembers thinking the Internet was a not a big deal because daddy has always had it. But she remembers in middle school when she could finally say "I told you so" to her classmates when her teacher Mrs. Hofferman introduced the concept to the class.
Since middle school, Burney has become an avid user of the Internet. She admits that in her high school and early college years she mainly used the Internet to play Snood, download music, and instant message with friends. The computer was more for fun, not work. But by the end of her college career and into her masters program the Internet slowly became a major part of both her personal and professional life. The Internet was no longer just for snood, it became a tool of survival, both personally and professionally. The Internet became part of her daily routine. She says the first thing she does when she wakes up is turn her computer on and after using the bathroom, she checks her email. But this email she is checking is not just personal, it is work related as well. Burney says she is in a profession where the Internet has made her seem available 24-hours a day to her staff and residents. She says the Internet has forced her professional and personal life into one.
Burney now uses the Internet for everything from communication with residents and staff to filing the latest dorm room prank. During this interview she mentioned her latest prank and the process she uses to find the culprits. The Internet has allowed her to conduct her own photo line-up using Facebook to ask witnesses if this was the man they saw creeping around the women's showers. But the Internet has not only become a tool that makes her job easier, it has created what she calls Generation Q. The college students she works and lives with have never been without the Internet, and she has found that they do not know how to verbally express their feelings and speak normally to peers and subordinates. Burney is shocked at the what is said via email or Facebook and how quiet her residents are when she asks them questions in person. She has noticed when questions are asked using the Internet, not only does she get more detailed responses, she gets more cooperation. Burney argues, that social networking sites and the Internet's ability to provide instant gratification has allowed the current generation of college students to become less interested, develop shorter attention spans, and has created social problems.
Burney believes that Generation Q has also learned many things from the Internet and it is an amazing teaching tool. She thinks her residents know more than ever, but after five years of working in Resident Life she also notices each year her students become less talkative and more "textative."Burney thinks the Internet and its evolution has caused children to not become less social, but less comfortable speaking face-to-face. She says we have been able to "keep more acquaintances, but have less good friends" because the Internet'sin ability to provide nonverbal feedback and emotion. Burney says this is what Generation Q's biggest issues are. She prides herself in making her residents come speak to her rather than message her. Burney hopes to break the silence in her residence halls.
To read more about Generation Q check out this article in the New York Times:
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