Dear PEW Research Center for Journalism and Media I owe much of the last four years to you, but fam, I think you’re tripping. You’ve got to re-evaluate some of your stats and maybe some of your phrasing too.
PEW published an article that I and hopefully you the aware reader am not so sure about.
The article is a report on millennial attitudes towards politics in the US. Researchers found that “When asked to choose among a list of nine topics, only a quarter of millennials named government and politics as one of topics they are most interested in. By comparison, politics ranks among the top three interests for roughly a third (34%) of Gen Xers and 45% of Baby Boomers.”
But what am I even talking about? Babyboomers Gen Xers? Political apathy, amongst young people?
Last week we looked at politics and popular culture, establishing that the symbolic relationship between the two is mutualistic. #bioed.
What we didn’t look at and haven’t looked at as yet is who and how are the consumers of this popular culture in relation to the politics. Hence today’s post.
Understanding the millennial in today’s political climate.
1.What is a millennial?
A millennial is technically anyone born 1980-2000.
But a there is a difference within this age group. 1980s millennial are different from 1990s millennial.
90’s millennial are considered to be young millennial and for the purpose of this post and the context of that PEW, were going to look at these youngins.
Also baby boomers are our grandparents. Yeah. Kinda gross.
And Gen Xers are our parents. The internet can make everyone sounder cooler.
2. What do millennials do?
Well the major criticism with millennials is best put forward by Joel Stein in his 2013 Time article Millennials the me me me generation
Stein’s article, published in the dying medium of print. Why writes an article about young people in a medium that they have little access to? Idk.
His article showed the millennial as part of a narcissistic, behind a screen, lazy society that will change the world and make it a better place.
Stein found that within an American context
- 58% increase incidence of narcissistic personality disorder in college students from 1985-2009
- 40% of millenials believe they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance.
- 60% of millennials in any situation is that they’ll just be able to feel what’s right.
- more people ages 18 to 29 live with their parents than with a spouse, according to the 2012 Clark University Poll of Emerging Adults.
- And they are lazy. In 1992, the nonprofit Families and Work Institute reported that 80% of people under 23 wanted to one day have a job with greater responsibility; 10 years later, only 60% did.
But in looking closer at his research he also found that there is tremendous merit in millennial and their interaction through the digital world.
Millennials are of the born in the age of internet. They have grown up with Google. And thus being the “opportunistic generation” they are have made the most of the digital platform. They have changed every industry, not forcing companies to go online but forcing companies to create an online space too.
They rule this space more than any other generation.
3.‘This revolution will be tweeted.’
South African millennial is probably one of the best example and challenges to PEW and its phewy research. They are making the most of the online digital space to put across their views, concerns, demand and solutions towards politics in this country.
#feesmustfall #rhodesmustfall are two movements that encapsulate this. During last year’s week of #nationalshutdown a mind-blowing 300 tweets using #feesmustfall were tweeted every minute. I did the math
In one hour – 18 000, eight thousand tweets went out into the platform. In one day – 422 000 In 5 days of national shut down – 2160 000. I can’t say that number and I’m not making any mentions too. But it’s a lot.
Throwing shade.
The movement was not just all tweets and no action too. Marches and protest were well attended and well supported by all South African universities.
They were also all successful. There was a 0% fees increase, reached. Look, look
The movement continues to grow, and protest is still occurring.
Ask any South African millennial, and they will tell you that their, our, struggle is not over yes report.
Stats SA is still working on it of youth political involvement and awareness, but the shear traction of these campaigns online, its is clear that political apathy among South African millennials is scarce.
Pew can be challenged in its own research.Across the years, there were more people in the 18-24 age group in 2008 who were politically minded than any their year prior.
So PEW, thank you for your research, and South African youth thank you for changing it up.
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