Seeing the World as Generation WWW: Mindset List Zeroes In On What It Means to Be 18
Who needs a time capsule when Beloit College does all the work for you?
The college in Beloit, Wis., doesn’t squirrel away any buried nostalgia, but it will help remind you of the world you came from. Its popular mindset list, which runs down the trends, figures and events that have defined each year’s 18-year-olds, aims to encapsulate the historical perspectives of its annual freshman class.
Think you’ve got a handle on the generation gap? Beloit’s Mindset List, now in its 10th annual version, will help shed some light on how the world has changed for the average freshman.
So to help you unearth the worldview of today’s Class of 2011—most of them born in 1989—here’s a rundown of what we feel are the list’s top 25 standouts.
Beloit College’s Mindset List® for the Class of 2011
1. What Berlin Wall?
2. Humvees, minus the artillery, have always been available to the public.
3. They never “rolled down” a car window.
4. The World Wide Web has been an online tool since they were born.
5. They have grown up with bottled water.
6. Nelson Mandela has always been free and a force in South Africa.
7. Rap music has always been mainstream.
8. “Off the hook” has never had anything to do with a telephone.
9. They were born the year Harvard Law Review Editor Barack Obama announced he might run for office some day.
10. Women’s studies major have always been offered on campus.
11. Classmates could include Michelle Wie, Jordin Sparks and Bart Simpson.
12. Being “lame” has to do with being dumb or inarticulate, not disabled.
13. Al Gore has always been running for president or thinking about it.
14. U2 has always been more than a spy plane
15. Stadiums, rock tours and sporting events have always had corporate names.
16. Being a latchkey kid has never been a big deal.
17. Thanks to MySpace and Facebook, autobiography can happen in real time.
18. They learned about JFK from Oliver Stone and Malcolm X from Spike Lee.
19. Virtual reality has always been available when the real thing failed.
20. Tiananmen Square is a 2008 Olympic venue, not the scene of a massacre.
21. MTV has never featured music videos.
22. They get much more information from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert than from the newspaper.
23. They’re always texting 1 n other.
24. Avatars have nothing to do with Hindu deities.
25. Food packaging has always included nutritional labeling.
Talk to the education finance advisors at NextStudent. They have all the information and advice you need on student loans. Check out www.nextstudent.com.
Student Loan Girl