“Impatience” seems to be Gen-Y’s Virtue

For those of you who aren’t friends with me on Facebook, who don’t follow me on Twitter, or who don’t know me in real life, one of my best friend got married this past weekend in West Point,  NY.  I’ve been talking about it since she asked me to be in the wedding party over a year ago.  Now that it’s over, I’m wondering what I’m going to do in my spare time, what I’m going to talk about, and what to look forward to next.

West Point, NY. Before digital cameras, I would've waited days before seeing this pretty picture.

The past few days, I literally sit at my computer and wait for a Facebook email saying “___________ tagged you in _____ pictures” because I want to relive the whole experience all over again.  And that’s after seeing the 4-5 people who already uploaded pictures, most on Sunday night when they got home (me? I took a nape when I got home and uploaded on Monday.  Being in the wedding, I didn’t take too many good pictures…).  Nevertheless, I am still anxiously waiting to see more pictures from my friends, especially since one took the only picture of my date and I together.  I’m not the only one who wants to see that picture, either.  My mom, my work “moms”, and (I’m sure) him and his mom are all want to see.  Combine that anticipation with waiting for the photographer’s pictures, and you better believe that I’m ready to explode.

You want to know the crazy thing about all of this?  Before the Internet, before digital cameras, before EVERYTHING we have now, a newly wed couple would have to wait weeks, if not months, to see proofs of their wedding photos.  The guests would have to wait days (GASP) to have their film developed.

I wrote a guest post for Lauren Fernandez (@CubanaLAF) earlier this month about Gen-Y and our excessive amounts of instantaneous communication.  We literally have everything at our fingertips, and when we can’t get what we want instantaneously, we get anxious and wonder why that is.  Some of my friends upload their pictures instantly; my friend with the picture in question is someone who takes more time.  Funny aside- this girl and I were roommates in college and another roommate would actually upload pictures FOR her, because it’s just not a big deal to her.  But it is to many other people.

I’m not trying to find out who’s right or wrong in their picture uploading.  It’s the bigger picture of how we, as a generation, can’t wait for anything now.  However, I found it hysterical that I’m consistently checking Facebook and my email to see if these pictures are online.  Not gonna lie- it’s exhausting…

How did we get so impatient?  How can we slow down and appreciate what we have?  Is there a happy medium between “instant” and “wait”?  How will this instantaneous culture affect future generations?

Picture snapped by me on my friend’s wedding day :)

[Editor's note 2/3/10: I received the picture in question last night. To see that picture, and others from my friend's beautiful wedding, click here]

Blah, blah, blah

I really do have a lot to say. According to my mother, that is. NYTimes was the first app I downloaded to my iPhone a year ago, CNN.com is my homepage. And of course, I scan the local newspaper every morning when I get into work.

Combine that with my increasing obsession and fascination with social media and you’ve got yourself a mouth that won’t stop running.

So here I am, with blog #2 and a whole new perspective…on everything. I recently started working full-time at a non-profit organization in Central New Jersey as the Communications Assistant there, and my boss and I sure have a lot to talk about other than social justice and Quark files. However, when I get home to my family, including an 11 year old boy playing the role of “brother,” the fun stops there. Needing another outlet for my word vomit (thanks, LiLo), I turned back to blogging. Let’s see how successful I am this time around.

Some food for thought: Ruder Finn UK’s Laura Strong wrote a post regarding social networking and partnerships between those sites, most recently LinkedIn and Twitter. More specifically, she mentioned three guidelines which I believe should become the “Golden Rules of Status Updating”:

Don’t be rude or abusive about people, projects or a company.
Don’t post rumours or revelations – Twitter never forgets.
Think before you type – some things are better left private.

How’s that for a little cerebral snack? As a recent college graduate (May 2009 represent!), keeping my social networks as clear and censored as possible was my number 1 goal while job hunting, and still is. The lines between audiences with regards to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are slowly blurring and while others see each audience for each site as the same, I do not. I think it’s only a matter of time before you crash and burn if you do.

Agree, disagree, or feel neutral? Dish it out here and give me something else to talk about.