Introducing the Next Generation: The "Mobile-Born"

This article introduces a new concept of generation called the “Mobile Born” – a generation of kids that have been raised using their mom’s smartphone. When you go out and it at a restaurant, you can easily see kids, even babies interacting with smart phones and ipads. When this mobile-born generation grows up, they will have a dramatic impact on how companies, consumers and society as a whole manage and view technology. When these generation reach their teenage years, their ability to process information and levels of interactivity will go far beyond what’s possible today. The winner in the future will be the company pioneering through this new direction. The other end of the generation however laments the decline of the interpersonal communication. No one’s writing letters anymore and people aren’t talking face-to-face as frequently. Although this is true, the mobile-born will not even realize what they are missing.

Reading this article, I felt privileged to be born in the middle of the very opposite generation. Growing up, I wasn’t exposed to smartphones and ipads but as an adult, I have the opportunity to have experienced both the hand written letters and the fascinating tech gadgets. When I see babies in the restaurant play with ipads while their parents are eating I secretly think that I don’t want to raise my children like that but on the other hand wonder if it is even possible to raise your children mobile-free these days. I don’t think it is all negative because sometimes I see kids learning the alphabets through the ipad and singing along the songs they have learned. However, I had read an article before that these days, teenagers are used to using smartphones and computers so much that when given a pencil and paper, they do not know how to spell certain words and especially in a country such as China and Japan where they use Chinese characters, it is more serious. Despite all these facts, it will be inevitable to prepare for the mobile-born generation. 

http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/08/the-rise-of-the-mobile-born/