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Millennials...and Others

Jul 24, 2008 Posted by Elysabeth Hahm

         Huffington Post’s writer, Tanene Allison, tackles the ever-growing question: Can today’s Millennial Generation be engaged in communities and the country while spending massive amounts of time being digitally connected? Speaking as a Millennial herself, Allison emphasizes the versatility and unprecedented activism in today’s generation.

          She begins her argument by claiming that the Millennial Generation has “proven to be anything but an either/or generation.” With social networking paired with street protests, gay rights paired with religious activism and individuals made up of mixed ethnicities, “we do not see our identities, our world, or our options for living as a series of dichotomous choices.” With examples of record-breaking voter turnout, the organization of social networks and youth activism centered around modern day civil rights, Allison makes quite the case for Millennials.
    However, one important flaw in her case is the lack of recognition for older generations. At the start, she reassures her readers that she is a Millennial because she uses two computers simultaneously by having her “iPhone stationed nearby, and listening to music.” Although it is a mere tool to let her readers know that she speaks from a personal point of view, the other message conveyed is that older generations do not use technology in this way. A commenter of the article, “Several,” reiterates this fact, saying, “I also write ‘blog posts’…use multiple computers both at work and at home, carry a device with even more features than an iPhone, but I was born in ’67.”
    It is important to note that Allison’s characteristics that distinguish Millennials are not completely different from GenXers or Baby Boomers. In fact, there have been many reports on Baby Boomers who no longer seek retirement, but rather, opportunities to volunteer and serve. Programs like Experience Corps prove that social activism is still a priority among older Americans.
    There is no doubt about it that what Allison says about Millennials is true. This young generation is redefining and readapting today’s civil rights movement. In fact, this election season has highlighted that change as “a young, very involved, more progressive generation that is coming up.” Her points are valid and very powerful. Nevertheless, she fails to credit older generations who have paved this path of change while simultaneously teaming up with Millennials to make today more powerful and provoking than history has ever been.

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Millennials, cont

Hi Elysabeth.  Thanks for your thoughtful response to my Huffington Post piece.  And thanks just for continuing the discussion!  I agree with you that Millennials are not the only generation to use technology and be inspired towards service.  As mentioned in my piece, we all have built our activism abilities upon the successes of prior generations.  And I have no doubt that many of those generations are both online and still in the streets.  Statistics show that the Millennial Generation is doing those two activities in numbers unseen in prior generations, and these statistical findings have led to a few folks writing that our tendency to be technologically connected means that we're lazy about "Real World" activism.  What I hoped to do was highlight that this is not necessary true; neither for Millennials nor anyone else.  But that the recent criticism directed towards Millennials simply wasn't quite true.

Thanks again for your post and the world you do!

user icon tanene | Jul 27, 2008 | rated none by 0 others

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