There are moments in life when you don’t yet realise you’re witnessing history — but you feel it in your bones.
It was the early 2000s. My 15-year-old son was up in the attic, deeply focused on his computer. But not in the way most teenagers were back then — he wasn’t gaming or chatting online. He was building WordPress-like websites. At that time, it was rare. Like finding a teenager who voluntarily eats spinach.
Downstairs, I was in my own analogue rhythm, probably reading or ticking off my handwritten to-do list. Then came the yell — urgent, excited, the kind that makes a mother sprint upstairs expecting smoke or broken bones:
“Mummy! Mummy! Somebody created something called Facebook! And it’s sending messages to EVERYONE in the world!”
I stopped. The name sounded strange, but what caught me wasn’t the branding — it was the sense that something huge had just shifted. We had stepped onto a staircase of change, and we couldn’t see where it led.
Two generations in one attic:
- A Millennial with code at his fingertips.
- A Boomer with curiosity in her eyes.
We were witnessing the birth of a new way humans would connect, communicate, and build entire realities.
What I Learned:
Technology doesn’t just bridge generations — sometimes it drags them into the same room, points toward the horizon, and says: Look. The future just sent you a friend request.
Takeaway for Leaders:
Be open to the moments that seem small but carry a bigger shift. The future rarely arrives with fanfare. Often, it arrives in a shout from the attic.
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