What’s wrong with my kids? I spend my days talking to clients and prospects about the virtues of social media marketing. My clients worry social media is all kid stuff—but my kids have no idea what I’m talking about.

Their social lives flow through Facebook. They don’t walk into a restaurant before checking it out on Yelp. They post photos to Picasa. “Social what, Dad?”

They’re on Linkedin to check out career opportunities. One of them is looking to be a mayor on Four Square. Over dinner I learn what’s not to be missed based on their daily (hourly?) Digg perusals. But, do they talk about new apps? Nope, it’s just “now you can do this.”

I try to educate them on the basics of engagement, but do they listen?

A friend of theirs established a Facebook page (Fiesta World) and is tapping into his extended network to validate a marketing idea. But, his eyes glazed over when I tried to talk to him about crowd sourcing.

These kids have no appreciation for the fact that two-way ongoing conversations have replaced one-way message broadcasting. They just don’t get that what they can’t even describe is playing an essential role in extending brands and achieving business goals. That GPS apps are revolutionizing engagement strategies. That whole industries are changing their product development and customer service models thanks to ongoing, instantaneous customer conversations on fan-based or corporate community sites. They just don’t get it.

What’s the matter with kids today?