Policy & Practice October 2017

t’s been seven years since Apple told us “there’s an app for that,” and the famous phrase could not be truer today. The explosion of mobile devices, social media, and digital platforms has fundamentally changed the way that consumers interact with businesses and each other. These same con- sumers rightly expect to be able to engage with their government agencies how, where, and when they choose. GENERATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY What does this mean for health and human services agencies? For those of us still trying to catch up with the definitions of Generation X, Generation Y (also known as Millennials or Echo Boomers), and Generation Z (also known as Centennials, iGeneration, Post-Millennials, Plurals, or Homeland Generation), there are a lot of implications. Familiarity and comfort with the use of technology, including mobile and social media, increases signifi- cantly from Generations X to Y to Z. These generations also show different tendencies in terms of how they view work–life balance, politics, and other social markers. The reliance on technology alone is quite significant. One could simply view Generation X as the generation that first began adapting to technology, Generation Y as the generation that began relying on technology, and Generation Z as the gen- eration that grew up with and expects technology. This shift from adoption to reliance to expectation has implications for our future workforce as well as for the clients we serve. MOBILE FIRST Thinking Health and Human Services in the Digital Age By Michael Bostian and Doug Howard

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