Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World [Hardcover]

Don Tapscott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0071508635 | ISBN-13: 978-0071508636 | Edition: 1

SELECTED AS A 2008 BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST

The Net Generation Has Arrived.
Are you ready for it?

Chances are you know a person between the ages of 11 and 30. You've seen them doing five things at once: texting friends, downloading music, uploading videos, watching a movie on a two-inch screen, and doing who-knows-what on Facebook or MySpace. They're the first generation to have literally grown up digital--and they're part of a global cultural phenomenon that's here to stay.

The bottom line is this: If you understand the Net Generation, you will understand the future.

If you're a Baby Boomer or Gen-Xer: This is your field guide.

A fascinating inside look at the Net Generation, Grown Up Digital is inspired by a $4 million private research study. New York Times bestselling author Don Tapscott has surveyed more than 11,000 young people. Instead of a bunch of spoiled “screenagers” with short attention spans and zero social skills, he discovered a remarkably bright community which has developed revolutionary new ways of thinking, interacting, working, and socializing.

Grown Up Digital reveals:

• How the brain of the Net Generation processes information
• Seven ways to attract and engage young talent in the workforce
• Seven guidelines for educators to tap the Net Gen potential
• Parenting 2.0: There's no place like the new home
• Citizen Net: How young people and the Internet are transforming democracy

Today's young people are using technology in ways you could never imagine. Instead of passively watching television, the “Net Geners” are actively participating in the distribution of entertainment and information. For the first time in history, youth are the authorities on something really important. And they're changing every aspect of our society-from the workplace to the marketplace, from the classroom to the living room, from the voting booth to the Oval Office.

The Digital Age is here. The Net Generation has arrived. Meet the future.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"A MUST READ...if you understand the Net Generation, you will understand the future."--The New York Times

"A fascinating look at how young people are transforming our culture. The bottom line: An insightful, data-rich analysis with broad implications for managers, marketers, and politicians." -BusinessWeek

"A thoughtful antithesis to entrenched and sometimes alarmist managerial opposition to internet-influenced behaviours."--The Financial Times

"Demonstrates the world-changing power of the Net Generation."--Eric Schmidt Chairman & CEO, Google

"In the past two years, Don Tapscott has overseen a $4.5m study of nearly 8,000 people in 12 countries born between 1978 and 1994. In Grown Up Digital he uses the results to paint a portrait of this generation that is entertaining, optimistic, and convincing."-The Economist

"Grown Up Digital paints a generally encouraging picture . . . an optimistic view of how humans are evolving to engage with technology. Literally evolving: Mr. Tapscott cites scientific research that people who use digital media from a young age have different brain development than those who don't. . . . Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals alike, can draw lessons about the expectations of young people raised on real-time access to deep layers of information." -The Wall Street Journal

MEET THE NET GENERATION.

“No one has been a more informed commentator on the transformative impact of the digital age than Don Tapscott.”
—Brad Anderson, Chairman & CEO, Best Buy

“Don Tapscott provides an exciting roadmap to surviving and thriving in the Connected Era.”
—Michael S. Dell, Chairman & CEO, Dell

“Don Tapscott nails it. A must read.”
—Richard Florida, author, Who’s Your City? and The Rise of the Creative Class

“For anyone leading a talent-based organization, Grown Up Digital is an essential read.”
—William D. Green, Chairman & CEO, Accenture

“The first guide to the land of the Net Generation that should be read both by visitors and residents alike.”
—Nicholas Negroponte, Founder & Chairman, One Laptop Per Child

“In Grown Up Digital, Tapscott uniquely shows how to harvest the big contributions this Net Generation has to offer.”
—Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President & CEO, FedEx

“Don Tapscott is one of the world's leading cyber gurus.”
—Al Gore

About the Author

Don Tapscott is Chairman of the nGenera Innovation Network and an adjunct professor of management at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He is an international bestselling author or coauthor of eleven books, including Wikinomics, Paradigm Shift, and The Digital Economy. Link in with the net generation at grownupdigital.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (October 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071508635
• ISBN-13: 978-0071508636
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Don Tapscott is one of the world's leading authorities on innovation, media, and the economic and social impact of technology and advises business and government leaders around the world.

In 2011, Don was named one of the world's top ten most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50. He has authored or co-authored 15 widely read books including the 1992 best seller Paradigm Shift. His 1995 hit Digital Economy changed thinking around the world about the transformational nature of the Internet and two years later he defined the Net Generation and the "digital divide" in Growing Up Digital.

His 2000 work, Digital Capital introduced seminal ideas like "the business web" and was described by BusinessWeek as "pure enlightenment." Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything was the best selling management book in 2007 and translated into over 25 languages.

The Economist called Macrowikinomics: New Solutions for a Connected Planet "Schumpeterian story of creative destruction" and the Huffington Post said the book is "nothing less than a game plan to fix a broken world."

Over 30 years he has introduced many ground-breaking concepts that are part of contemporary understanding. His work continues as the inaugural fellow at the Martin Prosperity Institute, a member of World Economic Forum and Adjunct Professor of Management at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Long on description short on prescription -- good reference not a must read now December 23, 2008

By Mark P. McDonald TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I had high expectations for this book based on Tapscott's prior work, the fact that this is based on a multi million-dollar study, and that Net Generation is coming into the workforce. I did not think that my expectations were too high, but I may be wrong, as Grown Up Digital did not deliver for me. It is long on description and short on prescription.

It's a good book, but not one that shapes your thinking like Tapscott's Wikinomics book, nor does it break significant new ground relative to all the other books covering this subject. I put this book down several times for weeks, to read other books, so it is more of a reference than a must read.

I would recommend reading Plugged In by Tamara Erickson as I think it's a better business book, one that is more focused and more valuable to readers than Grown Up Digital. I reviewed that book as well and found some issues, but it provides a more succinct, actionable and insightful focus - which were things that I had hoped for here.

Strengths:

The book is comprehensive in its description and treatment of the Net Generation and describing this generation as a group with its own values and behaviors that will have in impact on society.

The book looks at the Net Generation from different perspectives in terms of their impact on the workplace, society, education, etc.

The book provides some brief caricatures of the net generation so they are able to speak in their own words what is going on.

Challenges:

The primary challenge is the books single dimensional view of the net generation in terms of their adoption and use of technology. It does not take into account that this group grew up under a period of relative social, political and economic stability. Nor does it consider the future of being anything but a straight-line progression of the world in 2006. The economic conditions will be definitional to this generation, but unending growth and prosperity was an assumption beneath this book.

The book treats this generation as a single block; they are all well educated, western leaning, capitalism supporting, environmentally conscious individuals. Such stereotyping does not take into account the fact that any generation is made up of diverse people, with different backgrounds, needs and ambitions. I had hoped that the breadth of Tapscotts research would have done more than paint every net generation person the same.

The book repeats itself using the same assertions as answers for the different chapters. The fact that the net generation wants choice, customization, freedom and the like are all true, but Tapscott uses choice as the answer for every problem ranging from the workplace to society. That broad brush is too simplistic.

The book fawns over the net generation believing that they can do no wrong. This is a critical challenge in the book, as Tapscott does not seem able to look at this generation from an unbiased perspective. You see this in Tapscotts' response to people who have been critical of this generation; he basically dismisses these comments or explains them away. He labels people who have a less than rosey view as nGenerationphobic -- this labeling is a bad sign not found in his other work. Tapscott has personalized the 'do no wrong" in this generation throughout the book by referring to his children as the epitome of this generation and all that it can do. That personalization limits his objectivity and colors the value of the insights.

Tapscott frequently refers to his project being `definitive on this generation' however he does not show much if any of the data from this multi-million dollar study. He does quote data from other people's studies to the degree that it supports his argument. It would have been nice to see some of the data that is so definitive.

The whole issue of the Net Generation has been the focus of Don Tapscott's work for most of his career. I was hoping for more in this book, the result of a multi-million dollar study that seeks to be definitional about this generation. I have great hopes for the Net Generation, as do we all. This book is helpful in understanding that generation, but not powerful enough to define a generation that holds the future in their hands.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good information but seriously flawed January 8, 2009

By John C. Stepper

Format:Hardcover

Like "Wikinomics" before it, "Grown Up Digital" is full of interesting and relevant facts, examples and quotes. It also gave me several things to think about or to research (including shelfari.com now owned by Amazon).

For example, I liked the 8 "net generation norms" - freedom, customization, scrutiny, integrity, collaboration, entertainment, speed and innovation - and how they're applied to various topics throughout the book including the workplace and consumerism. These 8 norms provide a useful framework for examining how the net generation may view or seek to change other areas.

However, for all the useful information, I find the style and tone of the book to be that of a self-aggrandizing cheerleader rooting for a cause than that of a serious analyst.

Examples:
- Applying the woefully over-hyped and overused "2.0" label to yet more areas (and even claiming credit for some as original thoughts) - "The 2.0 School", "Consumers 2.0", "Leadership 2.0", "Film 2.0", "Talent 2.0", "Democracy 2.0" and "Marketing 2.0, as I call it."

- Promoting that the book is based on a $4 million research study, then littering the book with 38(!) references from his 2 children as exemplars of the net generation plus more quotes from his wife, daughter's boyfriend, and kids' friends.

- Making broad sweeping statements with little or no backing. There *are* many useful statistics in the book but there are many claims which are backed up only by an anecdote or a quote from his children. In a section on memory and internet use, for instance, it is ridiculous to list "learning a new language of acronyms, like OMG and LOL" as evidence. Or, in telling one of several Best Buy stories in the book he labels all of the employees as being "vibrant and artistic and are into the latest and greatest technology and extremely passionate about storytelling (p. 150)" That's downright silly. (Clearly, the author has never been to Best Buy!) Why not just stick with the useful facts or stories and leave the pseudo-science and hyperbole aside?

- Employing an informal writing style undermines what are, in places, serious hypotheses. Combined with all of the familial references, it makes it unclear what is fact-based analysis and what is just first-person experience. There are far too many grating references to "net geners" and "boomers" as if they're two sports clubs. And, phrases like "this ain't your daddy's Internet" or "these kids are alright" or "Give us a break!" make the book feel more like a tract defending "the kids" than a serious work.

Despite its flaws, the book is still useful, but the hyperbole and cheerleading cause it to be less than it might have been.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Saved November 29, 2008

By T. Johnson

Format:Hardcover

While I fouund Mr. Tapscott"s book interesting I got a little tired of reading how the net generation is the answer to the world's present and future problems. It seemed to me that Mr. Tapscott's purpose for writing this book was to debunk any negative comments or research that he had ever heard or read regarding the net generation. According to Mr. Tapscott, other then their one negative of sharing too much personal information on facebook, the net generation will make all other generations pale in compaison.