During a coffee meeting, our group was discussing the digital transformation. We talked about the trends we were seeing and what we believed would have the most impact on our businesses this year.  Based on my research for a book I’m writing, I anticipate historical changes this year.

We’ll look back at 2016 as the year of change.

While listening to the others talk, I wondered – what if this is more than just a technology upgrade? What if, this period is a revolution and evolutionary shift of humanity? Or will we experience a shift in our social and political views?

For this blog post, my focus is digital technology.  As we adapt to these new technologies, we make changes in our behaviors which impacts our professional and personal relationships.  I believe when social scientists review history 100 years from now, they will be able to chart the changes in humanity starting with the launch of social media and iPhone.

I can see how we’re changing without any proven scientific study.   How we altered our behaviors to adapt to the Internet and social media were subtle and without notice.

Generation Y

Regardless of your position on the matter, Generation Y and all future generations will think, act, and communicate differently. Their brains will be wired differently and what the digital brain believes to be important will be different.

As we continue to outsource basic human functions to our mobile devices and apps, these behavior and biological changes will be evident in how the younger generations learn and work.  I’ve changed how I think and work, writing on paper almost seems foreign as I can gather my thoughts more efficiently on a WordPress template or in Grammarly.

Technology has always impacted humans; at what level digital technology will alter the human brain is difficult to determine at this point. We’re still early in the adoption, and human biology evolves much slower than technology.

The difference is beyond the standard generational differences we’ve seen in the past; this is evolutionary. As our thinking patterns change so do our beliefs and what we believe to be important.

Being connected 24/7/365 and having the world at their fingertips will continue to fuel the transformation.  Many of these changes are invisible which make it more difficult to determine which behaviors or characteristics are different.  If you ask anyone older than 30, they know something has profoundly changed, they just can’t put their finger on it.

For all businesses, regardless of the industry, understanding how the digital workforce thinks and makes decisions is crucial.

For many years, working class families would tell their children that obtaining a college degree was a way out.  Parents told their children, if they worked hard in school, went to college, they would get a good job and have a better life. Corporate jobs had benefits and a retirement pension, something their parents did not have.

There was hope for something bigger than themselves – a better life for their children. The story talked about how parents overcame the struggle of saving for college to ensure their children’s success.

Families repeated this story in households around the world.  Our stories are important, it is how we pass down history, maintain our grounding in society, and express our fears and desires. Many stories we share were created thousands of years ago.  The wisdom contained within these stories continues to have value regardless of the technology tools we use or the advances we’ve made.

However, somewhere along the way, their hero’s story changed, lost its core meaning, and then it disappeared.

Obtaining a college degree became the Holy Grail, a ticket to happiness and success. Unfortunately, this is an illusion and not realistic.

Today, children go to college, take on debt, and then keep their fingers crossed they’ll find employment.

When the degree does not match everyone’s expectations, the family members feel lost and search for a story to rely upon for guidance.

The reason for this shift cannot be assigned or placed on anyone group, government policy, or action; it happened as a result of many, many, factors coming together at once.

The Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell was the world’s most famous mythology expert and wrote about the hero’s journey.  His impact can be seen in George Lucas’s Star Wars trilogy.  Lucas based the first three Star Wars movies on Campbell’s books.  He spent hours with Campbell while writing the script for the first movie.  Campbell wrote in The Power of the Myth, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”

We are living during a time of significant change.  If not the most profound time in human history.  Being part of history makes it difficult for us to see the changes occurring around us.  Disruption sneaks up on us.  We find ourselves in a place, where there is no “Future for Dummies” to guide our way.

Often during periods of change, we alter memories of the past, blocking out the negatives to comfort ourselves as we face the unknown.  We cannot let our fears prevent us from envisioning a better and positive future. In every hero’s journey, a person must walk through the dark forest, like Luke, to find themselves and overcome their fears.

Writing a New Digital Story

We must write the story together with an underlining theme of hope. The digital hero will travel down a new path. He must incorporate the modern world with wisdom gained from the past, as the old predetermine path is gone.  Part of the journey will include advanced technologies, a new way of learning, and a spirit of entrepreneurship.

A powerful story about a young man or woman as they struggle to learn new technology skills using different platforms while tapping into their unique problem-solving skills to develop a story that is larger than themselves.

The goal for this post is to highlight the disappearance of a story central to a large segment of society and bring attention to the importance of writing a new story.  Our narrow focus on college being the Holy Grail of success is incorrect and taking us down a wrong path.  A person’s success is determined by many factors and education is one component.

I believe learning and education are critically important.  Learning should continue throughout a person’s life.  It is a lifelong process.  “Go to College, Life Will Be Good” is an empty statement and provides no foundation for building an authentic story for the future.