Back in the 70’s, as a senior in high school in Urbandale, Iowa, my teacher had me read the book Future Shock by Alvin and Heidi Toffler. The authors not only predicted advancements in technology and human achievement, but also warned of a condition in which too much change in too short a period of time would cause disorientation, anxiety, and fear. The Toffler’s called this condition Future Shock. It appears the Toffler’s were ahead of their time, predicting a day when many will experience “too much change in too short a time” (Alvin Toffler).
Today’s advances in technology are accelerating change exponentially. Relationships, commerce, government, religion, medicine, education, and the environment all are transforming and impacting us. In follow up books, The Third Wave (1980), Power Shift (1990) and Revolutionary Wealth ~ How it will be created and how it will change our lives, (2006) Toffler described deep systemic change for mankind.
The Third Wave
In “The Third Wave” Toffler uses the illustration of a wave to represent society. With each incoming wave, the previous society is pushed and brushed aside. In many instances, folks within each wave do not realize change is happening until it has happened. Survival and relevance are based on one’s ability to adapt.
In the book, Toffler identifies the First Wave of societal change as the invention of agriculture. Planting seeds, growing food and domesticating animals, humans moved from wandering, nomadic tribes of hunters to community builders and farmers. With farming, family members worked together, not separated by age or gender. Time was fluid and work was dependent on the season, the climate and the weather.
Toffler outlines the Second Wave as the invention of the steam engine and the beginning of the Industrial Age. Toffler described this wave as: “The era of mass production, mass distribution, mass consumption, mass entertainment, mass consumption, mass media, mass education, and weapons of mass destruction.” Toffler’s words cause us to pause and reflect, especially as we realize these changes were experienced by people who are still alive today. Toffler goes on to explain, “When you combine those things with standardization, centralization, and synchronization and you end up with a style of an organization called bureaucracy.”
Second Wave innovations in transcontinental transportation and increased communication resulted in artificial “Time Zones” being created. Folks carried watches so as not to be late and clothing included design features to accommodate “timepieces.” With technological advances, pocket watches evolved to wristwatches and then into fashion statements. In other words, time on task equaled achievement, created competition, and everything became bottom line-driven. The survival of the fittest became the societal norm. Anyone not embracing these beliefs was labeled a nonconformist, a hippie or a radical.
The Second Wave redefined the First Wave meaning of the word family. While the extended family was important to farming, it was not during the industrial age. On the farm, the more family you had meant the more workers you had. In the industrial age, more family members meant an increased financial burden. The extended family evolved into the nuclear family.
Living now in the Third Wave there is both fear and excitement. Toffler describes the Third Wave as the post-industrial society and a shift to the Information Age. The technology of the Second Wave needed humans to operate, and as a result, created the Middle Class. Technology of the Third Wave is eliminating the need for Middle-Class jobs. Just as the First Wave of Agriculture and the Second Wave Industrial Age reshape society, personal digital devices, the internet, robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and machine thinking is reshaping society once again. This change is resulting in a transfer of power, discourse and the emergence of a new social class.
Growth Rings
Advances in health care have extended life expectancy and the window to work. Retirement in the United States has been pushed from 55 to 65 to 70 years old. Traditionalists and Baby Boomers are struggling to find their way into the Third Wave Information Age. Millenniums are stuck in-between the Second and Third Waves. They have incurred student loan debt that has not translated into a forever job or career. It is not unusual for them to still be living with parents and putting off transitioning into the world. All are going to have to learn and reinvent themselves. Meanwhile, Generation Z is now in school.
Growth Rings
Emerging Growth Ring dispositions for the Third Wave are to have imagination, be able to problem-solve, create and analyze big data. It will be critical to be able to think “outside the proverbial box” and when opportunities arise, reinvent and make the most of the opportunity. Third Wave critical skills include empathy, relationships, communication, and the ability to collaborate. These skills are crucial not only for Traditionalists and Baby Boomers to be relevant but also need to be strategically taught and embedded into K-12 schools for Generation Z.
Third Wave needs are not for humans to conform and be a cog in the machine but to think and utilize technology to be creative and solve the real-world challenges facing mankind today. Recognizing Third Wave conditions, we have before us a once in a lifetime opportunity, to create a new DNA for teaching and learning.
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