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Every year the staff at Beloit
College in Wisconsin puts together a list to give the faculty a sense of the
mindset of that year's incoming freshmen.
Here is this year's list:
- The
people who are starting college this fall were born in 1983.
- They
have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and do not know he had
ever been shot.
- They
were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.
- Black
Monday, 1987 is as insignificant to them as the Great Depression.
- There
has only been one Pope and they can really only emember one president before
George W. Bush.
- They
were 9 when the Soviet Union broke apart and they don't remember the Cold
War.
- They
have never feared a nuclear war.
- They
don't remember the space shuttle blowing up.
- Tiananmen
Square means nothing to them.
- Their
lifetime has always included AIDS.
- Bottle
caps have always been screw off and plastic.
- Atari
predates the, as do vinyl albums.
- The
expression "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them
because they've never owned a record player.
- They
have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.
- They
may have never heard of an 8-track. The compact disc was introduced when
they were 1 year old.
- As
far as they know, stamps have always cost about 32 cents.
- They
have always had an answering machine.
- Most
of them have never seen a television set with only 13 channels, nor have
they seen a black and white TV. They have always had cable.
- There
have always been VCR's, but they have no idea what Beta is.
- They
cannot fathom not having a remote control.
- They
were born the year that Walkman was introduced by Sony.
- Roller-skating
has always meant in-line for them.
- Jay
Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
- They
have no idea why Jordache jeans were cool.
- Popcorn
has always been cooked in the microwave.
- They
have never seen Larry Bird play.
- They
never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
- The
Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as World War I, World War II or
even the Civil War.
- They
have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.
- They
can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
- They
don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
- They
never heard "Where's the beef," "I'd walk a mile for a
Camel," or "de plane, de plane!"
- They
do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is.
- The
Titanic was found? They thought we always knew where it was.
- Michael
Jackson has always been white.
- Kansas,
Chicago, Boston, America and Alabama are places, not groups.
- McDonald's
never came in Styrofoam containers.
- There
has always been MTV.
- They
don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.
How will you communicate?
What will be important to these consumers?
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