The Bubble Generation

There was an interesting story last week in the Boston Herald about the bubble generation. Back in the 1990s, Faith Popcorn, a pop trend forecaster, gave us the concept of cocooning. Cocooning describes the trend for people to escape from the hubbub of society by retreating (usually evenings/weekends) to their homes (cocoons) and insulating themselves from the distractions of a hectic world. Affluence and technology certainly enabled this trend with things like gourmet kitchens, home gyms, recreational equipment, plasma TVs, DVDs, and the Internet. Many things that you previously needed to leave home to enjoy or do, can now be done at home: shopping, exercising, movies, gourmet meals, exploring, researching, going to the library, working, games, etc.

The Boston Heard article said the bubble generation is all about extending the cocooning concept. It’s about wanting to take your cocoon with you wherever you go. Again, technology has enabled the bubble concept. A Treo or Blackberry keeps you connected via phone, email and the Web. The iPod lets you take your music/photos/videos with you. A laptop lets you take even more of your digital life with you…movies, photos, files, etc. Wi-Fi everywhere will extend the bubble concept even more. With a bubble, you now have a portable cocoon if you want, albeit a more fragile one.

I was on a flight yesterday. The person in the seat next to me exchanged a few pleasantries, put on her Bose noise-canceling headphones, and escaped into her iPod-enabled bubble for the two-hour flight. A man a few seats away, did the same thing with a movie on his Powerbook. You can bet if a controversial ruling goes through allowing people to use cell phones on planes, there will be many travelers looking to create an industrial strength bubble when they fly.

The number of potential distractions has continued to multiply in our society. There are more things vying for our attention every day…email, websites, blogs, more TV options, more radio options, more magazines, instant messaging, cell phones, etc. Cocoons and bubbles are merely self-defense: a place and time where you can control the inputs coming into your life.