Defining this generation has divided researchers, they haven’t been able to provide consensus on what its characteristics exactly are and whether it exists or should exist. The “C” stands for creation, curation, connection, and community; a major point being that they are constantly connected online. In the “psychographic” definition, it’s the shared state of mind by members of the generation.

Generation ‘C’onnected?

It’s not about the age, but the shared interests linking members of this generation.

Members of Generation C share a similar trait of being digitally literate, and instinctively connect to the internet; It’s not bound by age, but how integrated they are with technology. Meaning, a 15-year-old and a 95-year-old can both be part of this generation as people who are exceptionally ‘Tech Savvy’; constantly sharing data and staying connected with everyone and everything. According to studies done by Google/IPSOS/NowWhat and others:

• 90% create content for the net at least monthly
• 83% have posted a picture online
• 76% visit YouTube weekly
• 59% look to the internet as their main source of entertainment
• 56% have followed through after watching ads on YouTube
• 55% are connected to 100 or more people through social media

How has the coronavirus shifted our reliance for online platforms?

As the majority of countries enacted lockdown measures, the internet saw a massive boost as billions of people stuck at home, found ways to work and entertain themselves online. According to US web-infrastructure company Cloudflare, internet usage for the first 3 months of 2020 has seen an increase by 25% in major cities. Additionally, online service sites recorded a spike in demand as many people work, play, and order online much more frequently, as a result of “stay at home” measures. The video conferencing software Zoom saw a boom as more people made use of its service in “the first two months of 2020 than in all of 2019”. Gaming service Steam also recorded an increase of 25% compared to February, logging in more than 24 million players at one point. Moreover, other popular sites like Facebook, Netflix and YouTube have seen an increase of 27%, 16% and 15.3% for website traffic.

Work after COVID-19

The result of being locked at home compelled companies and businesses to adopt the “work from home” culture, in order to keep work flowing without substantial interruption. According to a graph published by J. Clement, the “Interest in remote working related search terms during COVID-19 outbreak March 2020” using google search stats;the number of people expressing interest in working from home or accessories that facilitate remote working, have seen an increase from a score of 50 to 100 from February 23 to March 20 for the search “Remote Working”, and an even more significant increase for “Work from home” from a score of 17 to 89 by the same period of time. Moreover, many companies have expressed interest in keeping part of their workforce completing their jobs at home, indicating a probable shift to more sophisticated “remote working” programs as demand for it increases. In light of these measures, we can theoretically say that the majority of people conforming to the idea of working from home are members of Generation C.

A boon for Generation C

Although the lockdown generally wasn’t received with any enthusiasm, we can only imagine that the Generation C might have been able to adapt faster than others in going online because of how connected and digitally native they already are. They would not have as much problems in making use of the internet and online services to make their lockdown more tolerable, from online shopping to working from home using different software; they can manage themselves better than others in completing tasks, work, buying online and connecting with others related to social life and work . Moreover, the lockdown also compelled people to learn more about different online services and manage some of their responsibilities through using them.

Did the COVID-19 lockdown boost the credential for finally defining Generation C?

Source 1 – 2 – 3 – 4

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5G explained

5G is the 5th generation wireless mobile connection; it is designed to connect everything and everyone via a network of communication, in unprecedented speed and capacity. 5G network will enable development of next-generation mobile services, that deliver and transfer information in higher, more reliable speeds, with lower latency; expanding nearly every sector of an economy and industry to new and interesting realms. One drawback, however, would be the shorter range of 5G; this will require building a completely new infrastructure, and installing hundreds, if not thousands of small cell sites on buildings, walls and poles to keep up a seamless experience, costing billions of dollars worth of investments.

4G vs 5G: How is the new generation of mobile connection better?

Faster speeds & higher capacity

The fifth generation of mobile connection (5G), will increase speeds up to 10 Gbps, hundredfold (100x) more than 4G LTE. Moreover, 5G will be able to handle up to (1000x) more capacity than 4G, lowering the risk of network congestion in crowded areas.

Lower latency

5G will substantially decrease the latency compared to 4G, transmitting data in less than five milliseconds. “Latency measures how long a signal takes to go from its source to its receiver, and then back again.”

Increased bandwidth

Significant increase in speed and capacity will potentially allow the transfer of large data much faster and efficiently. “Bandwidths are a range of frequencies that transmit a signal, usually within a given band.”

Era of automation: The Internet of Things (IoT)

Despite the massive increase in speed, reliability, and capacity for the average consumer, this alone is not a good reason to justify the billions of dollars that would go into building the 5G infrastructure. The “Internet of Things (IoT)” is a networks of interconnected devices that share and transfer data without needing the interference of humans; some of the well-known services include self-driving cars and smart homes, which can be quite data hungry. Implementation of 5G networks will provide the best opportunity for the “Internet of Things (IoT)” to flourish. With the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, coupled with machine learning and 5G network; this will make it possible for automated technologies like self-driving cars, smart homes, digitized health care, and more to seamlessly connect and communicate with each other, to provide far more interconnected, efficient and accurate automated services; thus, lead the world to an (AI) revolution. Possibly bringing to life the tech gadgets and machines that we usually see in sci-fi shows and movies.

Effects on global economy

According to Qualcomm, an American tech company which conducted the “5G Economy” study; it revealed the sheer impact 5G would have on the world economy at an optimal potential, which would likely be achieved around 2035. The numbers are staggering:

• $13.2 Trillion dollars of global economic output
• 22.3 Million new jobs created
• $2.1 Trillion dollars in GDP growth

As a result of massive increase in efficiency and speed of access to information, businesses and the world economy will see substantial growth of economic output, upwards of $13.2 Trillion dollars.

22.3 Million new jobs created

Practical benefits: How will the average person benefit?

The average person with a mobile phone and online services will see a massive boost in internet speeds; downloading Quad HD movies in mere seconds; lag free multiplayer cloud gaming, instant access to cloud-based services, no network congestion in highly crowded areas such as a stadium, seamless streaming and high-resolution video playback, and much more.

5G will benefit many aspects of daily life; it will provide us with new technological innovations and industry, make transportation safer and more comfortable, widen the scope of health services, digital precision, and countless more; affecting the way people live, go to work, play and entertain themselves. Moreover, the development of a more accurate and versatile artificial intelligence and advanced technological innovations seem ever more possible to create, as a result of unprecedented connectivity that we will witness as the fifth generation of network connection begins to expand and roll out around the world.

The average person with a mobile phone and online services will see a massive boost in internet speeds

Source 1 – 2 – 3

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Apple and Google: an unlikely cooperation

Apple and Google are two of the largest tech companies in the world; their operating systems, iOS and Android represent around 98% of the global market share. The rival companies are joining together in an ambitious yet controversial project; to develop a contact tracing system designed to identify and send notices to users who have come into contact with a person diagnosed with Covid-19.

The rival companies are joining together in an ambitious yet controversial project

Automated contact tracing

The system being developed by Apple and Google will register log by your smartphone every time you come into contact with other people. When one of the people you had come into close contact tests positive for Covid-19 and reports it to public health authorities, you would be notified by receiving an alert through your phone. This will all be done automatically and anonymously.

Bluetooth LE – How it works?

The contact tracing system will be using a radio technology called Bluetooth Low Energy (LE). It emits shorter bursts of connectivity instead of constantly transmitting connection as the standard Bluetooth does, thus draining much less battery. Using this technology, your phone will be exchanging incognito keys with nearby devices, maintaining them in a collected list that remains in your phone. When a person you came into close contact with, reports positive for the virus through a contact tracing app, the keys collected by their phone will be uploaded to a server that will notify the owners who recently exchanged keys with the infected person, including you. The alert will keep the infected persons identity anonymous, while sharing information on what do to next to everyone who came near that person.

Privacy and Security

Apple and Google clarified that the contact tracing app will require consent in order to participate, without collecting personal information nor revealing the identity of the infected person. The question of whether both companies will leave the contact tracing system within their operating system began to circulate, as it can be potentially used for government surveillance or for commercial reasons. In response, both companies vowed to turn off this system once the virus threat subsides and the pandemic ends.

The cooperation between competing companies to develop a software in cooperation with public health authorities represent one of the most progressive public-private partnership. On paper, the idea sounds good, but it remains to be seen how effective it would be in practice.

Source 1 – 2 – 3

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