"Grown Up Digital" Book Review

I read "Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation Is Changing Your World," by Don Tapscott, and here is my Goodreads review of it:

Even though I am part of the Net Generation, I've always been a little cynical when it comes to allow children and youth spend so much time on the internet or playing video games. I've been really fascinated with learning about the benefits that come from doing those things and how people are actually growing when they involve themselves in such activities. 

Grown Up Digital is a very good and informative book, with a clear message that the Net Generation is better than they get credit for. Tapscott incorporates many references to specific videos, articles, and studies that help him address his point. He also provides a lot of statistical data in graphs and study results that really help prove his point, which was great. The only downside to that is that this book came out in 2009 and his large three year research study on the Net Generation began years before that, so it doesn't really show me what is happening right now in the current year. There's no real way to get around that though if you're publishing it into a book. 

I found it very interesting, although difficult to read a lot in one sitting. I needed to break it up. Personally, I felt it was written more for the older generations that look down on the Net Generation, thinking they're lazy or not contributing to society. Personally, I learned a lot of how I am benefitting from the digital age in ways that I didn't realize. 

The beginning few chapters are geared to introduce the reader to the Net Generation and familiarize themselves. It goes through the characteristics, mentality, expectations, and behavior of the Net Gen. Then the following few chapters are spent discussing how and why we should change certain institutions to adapt to the digital age. Personally, this was my favorite section of the whole book. Then the ending chapters focus on how democracy and our government would benefit from the Net Gen, how Net Gen is making the world a better place through volunteering and serving through the internet. The last chapter revisits common questions of concern and stereotype regarding the Net Generation and Tapscott takes time to address each one. 

Tapscott really did his homework when writing this book. He has an answer for every question and provides statistical proof to back up his arguments. I really appreciated this and all of the visual graphs he includes as well that look at the Net Gen globally. 

I recommend this book to anyone. It's a great look into the digital age and how it is affecting youth in ways that will benefit them individually and in turn, benefit society as a whole.