Opportunities and Threats Created by GenY on the Net at Work
Posted by admin in Genera(lisa)tion Y, Technology/IT, tags: educational games, Generation Y, GenY, Instant Messaging, integrated media, IT policy, IT security, mobile working, online learning, social networking, Y'er
Whilst our Generation Y colleagues provide significant commercial opportunity for many businesses such as advertising, shopping, gaming, and e-commerce, and entrepreneurial benefits for others, they are also proving a headache. A headache for those who have yet to redefine their IT strategies in order to accommodate integrated media platforms whilst safeguarding company security and data protection.
In “IT Security’s Next Big Threat: Young People”, in Dark Reading, editor Tim Wilson concludes from three recent studies that our Yers “are engaging in online behaviour that could expose their organizations to data leakage and information theft”. The question being whether it is the behaviours or the company policies and training that are ultimately to blame.
More and more people are using Instant Messaging, social networking, open source technology, and other online applications rather than traditional tools and email, many of which are not supported by their employers. On top of this there appears to be a growing need for online learning suites.
Chris Sparshott provided the keynote at the Digital Technologies Professional Learning Symposium in Auckland, NZ, recently, using a Generation Y persona to illustrate his perspective on the need for training and education to embrace the benefits of the computer/video gaming, virtual worlds and 3D UIs that our Y’ers and Generation Z have grown up with. David Williamson Schaffer long pointed out the benefit of educational games that can bring players together, promote interactive learning and help individuals absorb fairly dry complex topics, for example. Also Daniel Sieberg from CBS News more recently reported on the benefits of the right games in education to help individuals learn, solve problems and overcome obstacles.
Whilst some organisations are looking to revise their platforms to accommodate the new tools and new ways of working, others are tightening their policies whilst many continue to remain exposed in more ways than one.
The three studies mentioned above came from Accenture, Intel and ISACA (a major IT users group):
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