Cultural Touchstones

My daughter Jill is now officially a college freshman, a member of the Class of 2014. As my husband and I drove her to school late last month, we stumbled into one of those nostalgic conversations. When we were in college, we packed notepaper and stamps to stay in touch with friends. I wouldn’t have considered leaving home without my dictionary and thesaurus; my husband would have been lost without his photo bag loaded down with lenses. The Sony Walkman was the must-have – if you were lucky enough to be able to afford it.

As we reminisced, Jill snickered from the back seat. She packed her MacBook, an iPod touch, an iPod, a smart phone and a digital camera. No need for notepaper; her generation uses Facebook. Dictionaries and thesauruses are a click away, and she can snap images of friends using several of her high-tech devices.

Just as we were, the Class of 2014 will be shaped by the times they’ve lived in and experiences they’ve had along the way. Last month, Wisconsin’s Beloit College released its annual Mindset List, a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students. This lists’ authors describe the Class of 2014 as the “post e-mail generation for whom the digital world is routine and technology is just too slow.”

Here are some interesting idiosyncrasies that set this group apart. The Class of 2014 is accustomed to seeing Korean-made cars on the Interstate and they consider 500 hundred cable channels to be the norm. Since digital has always been part of their “cultural DNA” they rarely write in cursive, and with cell phones to tell them the time there is no need for a wrist watch. The release accompanying the report states that the country they inherit “is one of soaring American trade and budget deficits; Russia has presumably never aimed nukes at the United States.” For this crowd Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess - and Nirvana is considered to be classic rock (yikes!).

Thinking in retail terms, the Class of 2014 has never heard of Woolworth’s, Winkleman’s or Merry-Go-Round. For as long as they’ve lived, Walmart has been the No. 1 U.S. retailer, yet Sam Walton passed away before they were born. They’ve never seen Sears’ Big Book and can’t imagine a world without Mall of America. Disney has always had a store at the mall and the first thing that comes to their mind when they hear the word “Amazon” is the e-commerce pioneer. Online shopping has been routine since they were in the sandbox, and they expect every retailer to have a website.

They’re already creating iPhone and Droid apps, and customization and personalization come easily to them. Proficient at all things digital, this is the generation that will reshape the retail world we know today. I say bring it on; it’s going to be a heck of a ride.