In the Identity Shift, Cerra and James point out that we have entered a new era. The information age has given way to the age of the networked community, a period where “we are joined to one another in a pervasive virtual world that is integrated into our daily lives.”

In fact, almost three in four (74%) of the people in our study said they are constantly connected and that the internet is intertwined in their life. These were not just digital natives -- the trend applies to those who did not grow up with the internet, including 60% of Boomers.

But even more striking to us was the percentage of people saying that a majority of their day-to-day interactions are digital -- half of the people we surveyed, and almost two in three Millennials, said that the majority of their daily interactions occur online or through text messaging.

And given the importance of digital connectedness, it’s only natural that we care deeply about how we’re perceived online; almost three in four (73%) say that having a good reputation online is just as important as having a good reputation in the “real world.”

This emphasis probably doesn’t surprise anyone reading this blog post, but it does mark a striking turning point in how we see ourselves and society.

When given the choice between describing the era we live in as the “information age”, the common refrain that has been used by the media to describe the modern world for over a decade, and the age of the “networked community”, almost half (44%) – and a majority of Millenials – say we are in the age of the networked community.

While it may take awhile for the media and other experts on social change to catch up, the public recognizes that a fundamental shift in how we relate to ourselves and one another is clearly underway.

Written by Derek Richer, Director of Strategic Market Research, Alcatel-Lucent

Thanks, Allison - this is an interesting post!

Can you talk a little more about the research - for example, did you find any differences in the kinds of interactions that different groups (for example, those connecting as students, vs. those connecting as professionals) engage in, or did you dig into whether millenials and boomers have different perceptions of what "a good reputation online" means?

I agree that the "information age" monicker seems better suited to the Web 1.0 approach of posting static content to hyperlinked pages, and that "networked" seems to better describe today's environment. Do you think that other terms - maybe "interactive?" "hybrid"? "interpersonal?" - might have scored as strongly, or more strongly, with any of your respondent segments?

Thanks for your response. These are great questions and there were some very interesting differences in our study.

For example, emerging adults are particularly conscious of how they’re perceived in the networked community – even more so than teens and older adults. Recent college graduates who are just entering the workforce are more likely than older or younger individuals to carefully screen the images they post online, ignore a friend request because they don’t want the person seeing the things they post, and even admit to stretching the truth to improve their online image.

The data suggests that both life stage and generation have a significant impact on the kinds of interactions we have online. Teens and college students are engaged in presenting themselves online at similar levels to the recent graduates, but they’re not quite as vigilant about “managing” their image. We talk about the emerging adult life stage in the book as the “ideal” life stage, where one’s consciousness of image increases as he/she seeks employment or even a significant other. In short, finding their ideal requires being their ideal. It will be interesting to see how this data changes in the future once the recent graduates mature.

To your other question, I think all the words you use do a better job of characterizing the era we live in today than the traditional moniker “information age.” But I think our traditional notions of community are now expanding and changing to adapt to a networked world, which earned the attention of respondents in our study, particularly the most heavily engaged.

For example, we also found that the traditional notions of privacy seem to be changing. When given the choice between describing privacy as the right to be left alone (the traditional definition) or the right to control and manage what information about you is available to others, overwhelmingly people picked the latter choice.

What about you? Do you think your notion of privacy has shifted over the last 5 to 10 years? What about your definition of community?

-Allison Cerra and Derek Richer

Your research on how "emerging adults" manage their online identities is really interesting. I have a tendency to lump this group together with teens, and to assume that they are much more comfortable with having personal details become part of their "public record" than the older adult community to which I belong. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that this group would be attuned to the use of social media by current/potential employers, and sensitive to how they're portrayed - but I am a little, anyway. Thanks for the insight!

One question, though...on the Internet, one's "public record" can also be described as a "permanent record." How do you think today's teens will manage the transition to a more polished young adult online persona? Is this simply a matter of burying the "ideal" images under a flurry of employer-friendly content, or is there some kind of "undo" feature that allows for a more definitive approach?

With respect to the nature of community...I'm kind of sorry that I'm on the road and away from a scanner today. In the Montreal Gazette, there's a Doonesbury in which one character texts "Yo, want to meet up and chill?" to which the second replies, "dude, I'm sitting across the table from you." I know the situation is exaggerated for humour, but I cringe a little every time I see two people out in public, each staring at their own personal communicator. I understand that online community is important (hey, I've got a teenager in the house!) - but I view this "let's hang out and text together" behaviour as reflecting an ignorance about how to connect live at best, and at worst, a form of rudeness that I have difficulty swallowing.

I know - spoken like an old guy!

With respect to your question about privacy - yes, my perception has changed over time. On the one hand, I'm much less suspicious about online commercial exchanges than I once was - these may trigger some creepy side-effects (like Google reading my gmail and offering up targeted ads), but for the most part, I've learned to ignore them. On a personal level, I'm less sanguine. I'm happy that I grew up before the days of ubiquitous camera phones - or I'd probably be at the forefront of people trying to invent the "undo" button I mentioned above! - and I worry about people who are growing up in this kind of "always (potentially) on (camera)" environment. I suppose it's possible that our expectations regarding appropriate behaviour will relax as more behaviour is exposed on the web (after all, it's apparently no longer rude to have a meal with someone, and spend your time conversing electronically with people who aren't at the table), but I think that at least in the present, we're seeing a different reality: people spending more time physically alone, and managing the e-connections that comprise their e-personas. Is this a good thing? I suppose it's obvious from the above that I'm pretty ambivalent about it. But - it's certaintly something that's happening, and that requires more insight. Thanks for the work you've done to shed some light here!