Babe's Eye View article

Make no mistake about it: the new generation is here. Out of the estimated 99,900,177 population of the Philippines (as supplied by the US Census Bureau), 60.9 percent or about 60.79 million belong to the 15-64 age group. The same profile is also reflected in the US, with Americans aged 15-64 comprising 66.9 percent or 207.62 million of the estimated 310,232,863 total population.

From these figures, it would not be improbable to assume that more than half of them comprise the 18-45 age group, who can be characterized as text and Internet savvy and more willing to try on innovative ideas that the older generation would not be willing to even consider.

There is no question more and more young people are taking on leadership roles and are helping shape the world’s future, particularly in the field of information and communications technology or ICT with its advancements that have changed the world in more ways than one. Take for instance the popular social networking site Facebook which played a major role in the 2008 US presidential elections.

Barack Obama made use of this young web platform—along with YouTube, podcasting, text messaging and other “new media”—to connect with young American voters. Political analysts all agree that the groundswell of support from the “Facebook generation” helped catapult Obama to the presidency. And it’s probably no coincidence that Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes—only 24 at the time—was one of Obama’s campaign strategists and largely instrumental in rocking the youth vote.

Taking a leaf from Obama’s victory, our own candidates in the last presidential elections also launched their own web blitzkrieg, developing websites and opening their own Facebook, Twitter, Friendster etc. accounts to connect with the youth in a more dynamic and interactive manner. After all, over 34 million Filipinos belong to the 18-34 age bracket and they comprise more than 50 percent of the voting population today.

As the president who has made history by winning in the first automated elections in the Philippines, Noynoy Aquino is very familiar with the power of technology—ICT to be exact. Shortly after the elections and even before the official declaration of Noynoy Aquino as winner, a young woman created a Facebook page called “Dear Noynoy Aquino (suggestions to a new president)” inviting people to post suggestions on what PNoy can do to eliminate corruption and make the country progressive, including their sentiments on who should be appointed to the Cabinet and why.

PNoy recently launched his own interactive website not only to gather immediate feedback on various issues but to encourage people to be proactive in helping Cabinet officials become more effective and efficient in delivering public service. Hopefully this will encourage government to spend more money on technology so that Filipinos can be up to speed. Investments on technology will prove to be smarter and more cost-effective in the long run.

The perennial problem of textbooks for public school students that were found to have horrendous factual and grammatical errors can now be solved overnight by technology. Perhaps the education budget can include investments in the iPad or Kindle technology that China can very well produce at a much cheaper cost. This type of technology can store thousands of titles in a handy and compact device unlike the thick and heavy printed book volumes that can make young kids scoliotic.

No one can argue that the amazing developments in ICT have revolutionized the way of life in this planet, and those who are unable to keep up with these innovations will surely be left behind. With the “baby boomer” generation now ready for retirement, the Gen-Xers and the Y Generation are poised to take over as the country’s new leaders—they who are presumably imbued with a fresh perspective and an out-of-the-box way of thinking.

At the age of 50, President Noy stands at the generational cusp between the boomers and the Gen-Xers, and it has become obvious that Noynoy relates more with the younger ones as seen in his choice of Cabinet appointees—mostly young men with progressive ideas in contrast with people who have parochial perspectives and are opposed to anything that resembles change because it could force them to move away from their “comfort zone.”

With a young generation armed with the power of knowledge because of technology, the world is very different today. Hopefully leaders like Obama and Noynoy, who both won on a platform of change, will embrace everything that technology has to offer and make a real difference in the process. One thing is clear: there is no turning back. Change is inevitable.