The Online Computer Library Centre (OCLC) Newsletter (No. 267) has a set of stories about computer games and the difference between Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) and Gamers (born after the 1970s). The conver story, The Big Bang! (Tom Storey) notes a shift from boomers who are career-driven, independent and idealistic to gamers who are motivated, resilient, confident and analytical. The story presents gamers as sociable (compared with boomers who are independent), which inverts the usual complaint that gamers are loners.
Thanks to Susan for pointing me to this.
Here is a quote from the introduction:
Prominent sociologists note that a subtle but large-scale shift is quietly taking place in popular culture today. About 77 million Baby Boomers, who have shaped and dominated society since the mid 1960s, are approaching retirement. And their influence on art, music, fashion, business, politics—almost every category imaginable—is waning to a new generation most aptly called Gamers, those born after 1970 and raised on video games.
Gamers are very different from any generation that has come before them. And, with 90 million strong, organizations that don’t understand or acknowledge them run the risk of becoming increasingly isolated and irrelevant. Gamers and Boomers represent the two largest population segments that libraries serve. Designing content, access, collections, services and programs to meet the demands of both is a challenge but a growing necessity.
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