A variety of factors – from a depressed economy to a heightened environmental awareness to increasing urbanized living – means that many young people are rejecting the traditional signifiers of economic success – houses and cars -in favour of alternatives such as smart phones and shared living arrangements.
What this may mean for the economy is unknown but could be a radical shift to how our society operates in the future. Ultimately, excess funds not spent on houses and cars could be redirected to savings, education and other important areas.
Bonus List – Ten Topics of Interest To Me
They often say librarians are the ultimate generalists – knowledgeable in a broad swath of topics but rarely experts in any (er, short of knowing the Dewey Decimal System by heart – which all librarians do, of course!)
Here’s a list of ten topics, big and small, I personally find particularly interesting…
1. Personality & Its Impact on Inter-personal Dynamics
2. Inter-Generational Communications
3. The impact of social media on our lives as well as related topics – mobile, crowdsourcing, etc.
4. Post-apocalyptic scenarios
5. As mentioned in yesterday’s post about “50 Shades of Grey”, What Causes Something to Go Viral/Reach a “Tipping Point”
6. How Society Functions in all its inter-connected glory on the macro level – economics, politics, civil society, etc. and micro level – how products are priced, how food gets to your table.
7. I’m a late-comer to truly appreciating all the various aspects of science, explained in a layman’s way, best exemplified in books like Bill Bryson’s “Short History of (Nearly) Everything” but others like “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
8. Like many Canadians, I’m fascinated by American culture and society – how its so similar and yet so different from what we have here.
9. What Makes Organizations Successful
10. The Impact of Parenting on Who and What Children Become
Hmm, maybe I’m not as much of a generalist as I thought. For a list off the top of my head, nearly half of that list sort of ties in to organizational culture and development.
Maybe I should re-do this list on an annual basis to see how it changes as that would actually probably be more revealing.
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