With apologies to none at all
By Vikas Mehta
Unsurprisingly, I received some bouquets and brickbats for my last post on Gen Z. Unsurprising also, since most of the parents refuted my views about Gen Z (I can only imagine how they are coping with their children) and some Gen Z actually complimented me on the article.
However, there were some notable exceptions where the parents actually thought that I was onto something and gave me examples of their children. And in one case, a Gen Z actually queried me as to why I think some points about Gen Z were complimentary when he thought they were actually negative.
Let’s dive in.
The point which most parents grudgingly admitted to was the self-confidence and drive of Gen Z to achieve what they wanted. Their comfort with technology, specially. The disdain too, most agreed to but also admitted that they tend to ignore it as they are technologically not even close to the Gen Z.
The interesting thing was that most parents were against the concept of multitasking. How can one study and listen to music and watch sports at the same time? Is the tendency to focus and be the best in one thing not a better approach? Is it multitasking or multi distractions, asked another.
I do admit that traditionally multitasking may not be the best way forward for a youngster. It’s only a few geniuses who can be at the top of each task they are doing simultaneously. But, let’s not forget the times we are living in. We are switched on 24/7. There is information overload. Newer technologies and evolution of gadgets is a realty. And all this leads to peer pressure too. So, in my opinion, multitasking is a basic hygiene need. Unlike earlier times when multitasking was the prerogative of a few, today multitasking is a basic tool of survival.
Just look at today’s education system and the overhaul that’s in the pipeline. Higher education institutes will have no option but to allow interdisciplinary subjects. A humanities student could choose programming as an elective. Or a computer science UG student could opt for economics as an elective. And it’s not just about taking an elective for fun. It is already serious business. I have met students of fine arts who admit that their drawing skills are poor but they use programming to express and illustrate their ideas. Now tell me isn’t this multitasking? Even honours courses today offer double specialisation. Multitasking anyone?
And therefore, if students today are not picking up such options they are losing out on a skill which could soon be a requisite. And peer pressure, of course. “What, you are doing a course on charcoal sketching and you do not know how to use a computer to illustrate your idea?” Today, if youngsters are not multitasking, they are labelled as lazy. Parents, multitasking is a fact and it will soon be a defining feature of what your child is. Ignore it at your own peril.
I was therefore pleasantly surprised when one of my students actually raised the quality issue on multitasking. Does multitasking leads to anything being done, especially when one is unable to compartmentalise, was the question posed to me? The youngster who asked me this was on an intense onsite internship. He was also being supportive of a friend thousands of miles away, who had lost a parent. At the same time, he was reading my blog and appreciating and commenting on its nuances. Hadn’t he had answered himself?
Shorter attention spans and lacking an eye for details was another criticism I came across about Gen Z. Being a part of the generation where we were told that the god is in details, I could not have agreed more. But then let’s not forget that in today’s technology age there are enough tools available that take care of the above deficiencies. A proficiency in spelling or grammar is not a must to write a good research report, a thesis or even a news item. For there are enough software programmes available which will not only correct your language but will take your thoughts and ideas into a great prose.
We fear that ChatGPT will allow machines to take over even the creative domain. My take is that programmes like ChatGPT cannot work unless you give them proper guidelines and directions. So, creativity can still belong to the human domain and finessing it could be the technology domain.
Shorter attention span does have a downside, though. It also leads to short term thinking. Too much of living in the present. Not wanting to think beyond the obvious. We say that the leaders should be visionaries. Unfortunately, short attention span will not allow Gen Z to have a long0term perspective. There is a problem now. Let’s solve it. Long terms implications is either too much of an effort or let it become the prerogative of the machines. That’s where, in my mind, will the machines start taking over.
I know, I am connecting dots and maybe being complicated. That’s long-term thinking. And because long-term thinking is an attribute that may dwindle if attention spans are limited. The more one debates, the more one analyses, the future become clearer. As one parent put it very nicely, my son says that overthinking is a weakness. It’s not. It’s a virtue. Cultivate it. Or the machines will take over that and we all know what Deep blue did to Garry Kasporov more than two decades ago.
I think Gen Z is a quantum leap in generations in the last over a millennium. It’s like moving from LP vinyl records to digital music. Rather than fight this change we must embrace it. Only then can we identify and rectify its flaws too. Together.