Sunday Thoughts - 09/13/20
The Role of Millennials in the Crypto Industry
The Role of Millennials in the Crypto Industry
The Millennials. I am part of this generation, which is also frowned upon by some older people as "Generation Instagram". But, is this mockery even true?
It is a fact that no generation before has had such powerful technological possibilities. Whether it's laptops, computers, smartphones or tablets, my generation is capable of connecting to the rest of the world in seconds. Recently, for example, I had a lot of contact with a friend from Zimbabwe. Communicating over such a big distance, just a few years ago, would have taken days or even weeks.
With programming you can change the world forever, especially if you take a closer look at the Crypto space. It all started when Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a few lines of code. We don't know exactly where he/she was sitting when he/she did it, we don't know for sure if he was a man, a woman or a group. Isn't that strange? One of the greatest innovations in history was invented by someone who is completely unknown to us? But if you want to see a living example, go to Ethereum HQ and ask for Vitalik Buterin. A young, inconspicuous man is currently working with a team of many programmers on a world computer, in order to decentralize, today's central financial system. In addition to that, there are countless protocols that are being built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, by entrepreneurs and developers, to provide decentralized financial services. This means, in plain language, that a group of people, distributed all over the globe, work together to take away a large part of the power from the major financial institutions, central banks and governments. And through what? Due to a few lines of code. So, my generation is able to connect with the rest of the world in seconds in order to create world-changing applications at the same time. I'm sure an ordinary computer or laptop with internet connection is the most powerful tool mankind has ever seen.
However, as good as these innovations may seem to us, they also bring dangers. The saying "Mankind is abolishing itself" is heard quite often. What if we use artificial intelligence to make 90% to 98% of all jobs obsolete and replace humans with computers and robots? Because, they only know perfection, and never ever have they heard of something like stress or a "bad day". In addition, and I consider this scenario much more likely, my generation, although they have grown up with all these technical possibilities, usually don't know what to do with them. This may sound strange, because it is the cliché par excellence that the youth is only sitting at their smartphones and only go on Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat or TikTok, which is partly true. Nevertheless, that is exactly the point. This generation knows all the applications from these platforms, but mostly doesn't know how to program them. My generation, at least in the western hemisphere, does not use mobile devices as tools, but is mostly a slave of them. One example: If you analyze the smartphone of an average teenager according to its usage data, you will probably find out that most of the time was spent on Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok. How do I know that? Because I was one of them. When I looked at my usage analysis last year, I realized that I spent 65% of my “smartphone time” on Instagram! Instagram, a data kraken that I fed with data every day without receiving any kind of reward. In order to change that, I deleted Instagram and began to use my smartphone exclusively as a tool, e.g. for recording knowledge, in the form of podcasts, Google, eBooks, etc., for work, but also for Twitter, because this platform is a source of income for me. I use my laptop for work only, and when I want to relax, I read an entertaining book. Maybe this sounds over-enthusiastic or conceited, but I just didn't want the smartphone to have such a power over me without even realizing it.
The sad thing is that this is the reality for 99% of my friends, outside of Crypto. They use mobile devices mainly for irrelevant topics, or use it as an escape from everyday life. But using mobile devices in this way is like buying a hammer in a hardware store and instead of building something with it, hitting it against the skull all day long.
Of course, there are also other appearances of how my generation uses mobile devices. For example, when I was in Nairobi, I saw how children from the slums learned programming, however, this is still a minority. Most of my generation doesn’t care about the developments in the crypto industry, or doesn't even notice them. Nonetheless, the world will change drastically in the next few years, across industries, through blockchain technologies. The job you are now studying for may not even exist in ten years.
In my opinion, to be an integral part of this exciting development, you must master at least one of the following three things, and, if necessary, specialize in it to make yourself irreplaceable:
1) Being able to program;
2) Being creative (a computer is not);
3) Social competence
However, not everyone will be able to do this; most will not be able to do it. But what do we do with all these people who cannot do anything more with mobile devices than using Instagram and watching TikTok videos?
The responsibility lies in the hands of those who can build applications in this sector. Because at the end of the day, we all live on the same planet, and if we want to avoid total chaos and live a peaceful life among ourselves, we have to try to take everyone along with us in this development. The goal must be to create new jobs that we are not even thinking about today, and to guarantee that the general population can have a better life than today. This is exactly what I love about Crypto! If there is a problem developers in this industry are highly motivated to solve it! How do we do this every time? Well, we all have very powerful tools on our desks and know how to use them.
This will be, among some other issues, the task of this new generation, just like it was the task of our parents to prevent an outbreak of a nuclear war, so that we can communicate more or less peacefully all over the world today. The question now is, what role do you want to play in this new world? Do you want to be a beneficiary who depends on the competence of others, or do you want to be a creative mind or a developer who solves problems and will shape the world of tomorrow?
All information presented above is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.