Editing Generation gap (section)

====Technological influences====
Every generation develops new slang, but with the development of technology, understanding gaps have widened between the older and younger generations. "The term 'communication skills,' for example, might mean formal writing and speaking abilities to an older worker. But it might mean e-mail and instant-messenger savvy to a twenty-something."<ref>{{cite news | first = Denise | last = Kersten | title = Today's Generations Face New Communication Gaps | date = 15 November 2002 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/money/jobcenter/workplace/communication/2002-11-15-communication-gap_x.htm | work = USAToday.com | access-date = 23 May 2012}}</ref> People often have private conversations in secret in a crowded room in today's age due to the advances of [[mobile phone]]s and [[text messaging]]. Among "texters" a form of slang or texting lingo has developed, often keeping those not as tech-savvy out of the loop. "Children increasingly rely on personal technological devices like cell phones to define themselves and create social circles apart from their families, changing the way they communicate with their parents. Cell phones, instant messaging, e-mail, and the like have encouraged younger users to create their own inventive, quirky, and very private written language. That has given them the opportunity to essentially hide in plain sight. They are more connected than ever, but also far more independent. Text messaging, in particular, has perhaps become this generation's version of [[Pig Latin]]."<ref>{{cite news | first = Laura M. | last = Holson | title = Text Generation Gap: U R 2 Old (JK) | date = 9 March 2008 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/business/09cell.html | work = The New York Times | access-date = 23 May 2012}}</ref>

Technological innovations that have occurred between generations have made some skills obsolete: for example, [[shorthand]] (e.g. [[Gregg shorthand]]), a system of [[stenography]] often used in the 20th century to take notes and write faster using abbreviated symbols, rather than having to write each word. However, with new technology and the keyboard, newer generations no longer favour these older communication skills. Over 20 years ago, shorthand was taught in many high schools, but now students have rarely seen or even heard of it.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://gregg.angelfishy.net/ | title = Gregg Shorthand | access-date = 7 June 2012 | last = Owen | first = Andrew | archive-date = 16 September 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130916005417/http://gregg.angelfishy.net/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

The transitions from each level of lifespan development have remained the same throughout history. They have all shared the same basic milestones in their travel from childhood, through midlife and into retirement. However, while the pathways remain the same—i.e. attending school, marriage, raising families, retiring—the actual journey varies not only with each individual but with each new generation.<ref name="Settersten, Richard A. 2005">Settersten, Richard A., [[Furstenberg, Frank F.]], and [[Rumbaut, Rubén G.]], eds. On the Frontier of Adulthood: Theory, Research, and Public Policy. Chicago, IL, USA: University of Chicago Press, 2005. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 30 March 2015.</ref>

In 2011, the National Sleep Foundation conducted a poll that focused on sleep and the use of technology; 95% of those polled admitted to using some form of technology within the last hour before going to bed at night. The study compared the difference in sleep patterns in those who watched TV or listened to music before bedtime, compared to those who used cell phones, video games and the Internet.<ref name=":0" /> The study looked at baby boomers, Generation Xers, Generation Yers (millennials), and Generation Zers. The research, as expected, showed generational gaps between the different forms of technology used. The largest gap was shown between texting and talking on the phone; 56% of Gen Zers and 42% of Gen Yers admitted to sending, receiving, and reading text messages every night within one hour before bedtime, compared to only 15% of Gen Xers, and 5% of baby boomers. Baby boomers were more likely to watch TV within the last hour before bedtime, 67%, compared to millennials, who came in at 49%. When asked about computer/internet use within the last hour before bedtime, 70% of those polled admitted to using a computer "a few times a week", and of those, 55% of the Gen Zers said they "surf the web" every night before bed.<ref name=":0">Rosenberg, Russell, et al. National Sleep Foundation 2011 "Sleep in America" Poll. (White Paper.) 2011.[https://sleepfoundation.org/sites/default/files/sleepinamericapoll/SIAP_2011_Summary_of_Findings.pdf]</ref>