An Explanation for the Ages
The title is a bit playful, but to understand our current transition into a new Age, we have to examine the four types of people who are present in every transitional period:
Pioneers
Early adopters
Laggards
Anti-New Ageists [Luddites]
The Pioneers are the ones who are ahead of their time and they notice things earlier than others. Here, they see societal chaos and turmoil and recognize it is as a new Age. They see the need for new skills like empathy and sympathy, perspective taking, acceptance and respect. Pioneers, then, either incorporate those existing skills into their life or they develop them along the way.
Early Adopters recognize new trends before others and want to join in quickly. They aren’t as fast as Pioneers, but they can notice changes early. A good example is how they adopt new technology; they will quickly switch from a Blackberry to an iPhone as soon as it’s available and often get the latest and greatest early on.
Laggards are slow to accept change and prefer things to stay the same. They tend to adopt new trends only after seeing how they perform. Usually older, often from the Boomer and Gen X generations, but anyone can be a Laggard.
Anti-New Ageists resist changes in society, unlike Laggards who eventually adapt. They often miss the past when their privilege gave them an advantage. Instead of moving forward, they cling to nostalgia or react against progress, similar to the Luddites who destroyed machinery.
Recent Ages have been shorter, transitioning quickly into each other. The Agricultural Age lasted about 300 years. In 1800, more than 75% of people worked in farming, while today only 1.3% are farmers or ranchers. Machines automated many farming and crafts jobs, marking the end of the Agricultural Age. However, these machines required operators, leading to the beginning of the Industrial Age.
The Industry Age lasted roughly 100 years and we worked mostly with our hands operating machinery. When data, analytics, and knowledge became more important this ushered in the end of this Age and started the Information Age.
The Information Age is lasting 60 years +/- and the machines we operate are largely computers so we work more with our brains. And now Artificial Intelligence is starting to automate those jobs away, so…
We are in the Age of the Heart where these skills will be more valuable
Empathy and sympathy
Love and compassion
Altruism and deeper respect
Perspective taking