Can they handle the Responsibility?

September 18, 2012 Devonice Gordon

I think that companies should let 23-year-olds run their social media. The younger generation knows the most about it so it would only be right, especially if that person has a college education and experience to accompany it. Even though older generations are starting to be more knowledgeable about social media, the truth is that they will never know as much as our generation does. Yes, some are immature but not all 23-year-olds should be blamed for it. I feel like this is a case where when somebody comes up with an idea and/or perfects it and it blows up; is when people come in and want to control it and take the credit. This semester I’ve noticed that more of my professors are into social media. I don’t think that this is mainly because they want to but because they have to in order to not get left behind. Tweeting and Facebook were not relevant to older generations but when it blew up, they jumped on the bandwagon, so why not put company social media sites in the hands of those who not only want to use it but know how to use it. Another thing is that older generations don’t have a big following unless they are a celebrity of some sort. Younger people can network on social media sites and find their target audience and actually get followed back. It’s sad but true. Companies should want people who are young and hip in order to get their names out there. Yes they may know the technicalities of it but we know the technicalities plus more. Last but not least, about the issue of being able to handle the responsibility, I think most 23-year-old college educated people can. I for didn’t spend the money on my education to flush it down the drain. We know the difference between what is right and what is wrong so should be trusted knowing that we were taught well by older generations. I know this may seem a bit controversial but I only speak on what I see and experience for myself.

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13 thoughts on “Can they handle the Responsibility?”

  1. 1. gemma  |  September 18, 2012 at 11:12 pm

    I agree with you. The younger ‘social media generation’ does get a very bad reputation. Just because we are young does not mean that we should not be taken seriously. If our generation were trusted enough, we could prove employers doubts wrong. What you said is true, we do know a lot about social media and we know the proper way to use it. If companies took the time to trust the younger generation, they would see that we can be professional. When it comes time to work we do just that, especially because we have paid so much for an education. If companies are still weary about letting a twenty-something have control of social media pages they could have a monitoring period. They could use this time to monitor what their new employee was putting out on social media and approve everything. This way, they know what is being said and they can see how professional this new ‘social media generation’ really is.

  2. 2. Emily Fink  |  September 19, 2012 at 5:51 pm

    I agree with your point about why 23-year olds should be trusted with this responsibility. We were raised around social media, especially in the last 5-8 years. We have seen the advancements in social media, and are familiar with the way they work. Personally, I think that the older generation is hesitant due to their own unfamiliarity of social media.

  3. 3. Stephan Reed  |  September 21, 2012 at 10:56 am

    I agree. We grew up as a product of social media. We were the ones who made Twitter as big as it is. We’re the reason Facebook blew up. We’re the generation that spent countless hours coding our Myspace pages and carefully setting up our Top Friends and posting bulletins to get the greatest response. Basic, and even advanced, social media skills have been engrained in us from our teenage years. Combine this with a college degree that emphasizes proper etiquette online and I believe you have a 23-year-old who is ready to handle a big name Twitter account. I’m not knocking any older generations, I’m just saying that our generation should be taken seriously as well.

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