Mark Bauerlein, the author of "The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future," has an interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal. It is entitled "Why Gen-Y Johnny Can't Read Nonverbal Cues."
To anyone above the age of 40, the gist of the article won't be surprising but what I find fascinating is the idea that younger people — because they have grown up using smartphones and, increasingly, new social media platforms — don't even recognize how older people might interpret their texting and/or the constant checking of their phones during a conversation or meeting as rude.
I don't believe there is any right or wrong answer to this issue, but to facilitate peace and harmony in the workplace, older workers might want to unlearn their defensive reaction to their younger peers near constant use of electronic media, while younger workers may want to consider how their actions could be interpreted by their older peers as a sign of rudeness or inattentiveness.
To unlearn, one of the best strategies is to simply "drop one's opinions" and seek to understand things from a perspective different than your own. The area of "nonverbal cues" is ripe for such an effort. Social networking is here to stay and older workers must accept this reality and recognize that near-constant communication has real value. At the same time, younger workers should realize that in some situations eye-to-eye contact and attentive listening are common signs of respect — and sometimes the most valuable thing they can do is listen to the person directly in front of them.
