Generation Why?

54Millennials are stereotyped as the laziest, most entitled, narcissistic and self-absorbed out of all of the generations because of their technology, internet and social media habits—they just can’t be without their devices. Gen Y, or millennials, are also the most controversial of the generations because of their tendency to question authority. Researchers Neil Howe and William Strauss define the millennials as those born in 1982 and approximately the 20 years thereafter. They’re branded as lazy because they think they can get everything at the click of a button, from pizza to relationships, it’s all available online. They’re entitled because they’re seen to jump from job to job, when in reality this is due to the lack of decent jobs available. The age of social media has created interest in sharing

one’s life online, which can be taken as narcissistic and self-absorbed, but it’s just millennials preferred method of communication. Sharing a post with many is easier than calling everyone individually. The millennial generation is the only group of people that went from pre-digital to fully immersed into a digital world therefore getting both ends of the spectrum in their earlier and most permeable years of life.

Yet, something stimulating rises through millennial’s assertive personalities—their tendency to ask why. Why should I work a 9-to-5 job? Why should I have faith in my government? Why should I just believe what I’m told? Maybe this is where the sense of entitlement comes from, but the millennial way of pushing boundaries has led us into a new era of escaping conformity and exposing social issues. Times have changed—markets, economy, globalization—we need to ask these types of questions that will reform current systems in order to keep moving forward.

Millennials are perceived to not be as engaged with political and social issues due to their “entitled” and “self-absorbed” reputation. Yet reports prove this to be false. Their self-awareness has benefitted awareness in society which fed into the necessity to make change. Research statistics were released by the Millennial Impact Report, a yearly report studying engagement with social causes and survey of 3,000 millennials. Seventy-one percent believe that the USA is going in the wrong direction and claim civil rights/racial discrimination, employment, healthcare, climate change, education and environment are their top priorities for reform. Forty-nine percent consider themselves social supporters, who support reformation policy and encourage campaigns and organizations. Twenty-one percent are activists, which includes people leading organizations, campaigns, and pushing to reform policy.

“The millennial generation is lucky to have been growing up in times where the world’s knowledge is accessible on a device that we carry in the palm of our hands.”

Tomislava Tomova, the 21-year-old President of Campus UNICEF at the American University of Paris says, “The millennial generation is lucky to have been growing up in times where the world’s knowledge is accessible on a device that we carry in the palm of our hands. We can just type it in Google and inform ourselves about causes.” Millennial’s crucial years of development were the same time technology was rapidly advancing, giving them knowledge in a world with and without internet and social media.

Where millennials differ from previous generations is their power in their platforms— social media, YouTube, blogging and the internet. Social media has become such an influential place for people of all ages. The use of sharing and virality is so abundant when it comes to raising awarenesson social issues and concerns. Generation Y is extremely connected online, with their circle and with the world. Voicing an opinion on a Twitter thread or commenting on Facebook automatically brings commenters into conversation with thousands of other people. Activism isn’t limited to the traditional form anymore. Rather than solely flocking in front of buildings to protest, we are enhancingactivism involvement through virtual platforms and forming groups online.

Tomova has over 12,000 Instagram followers. She uses not only her connections at UNICEF and local news outlets back home in Bulgaria to spread awareness of the social causes she’s passionate about, but her Instagram and blog as well. Her platforms receive quite a large audience since she has partaken in small roles with Vogue, Sephora, UNICEF and other major companies. With her work in an NGO dealing with migration, she wanted to start a campaign to raise awareness of women from around the world and share their stories. Tomova’s online campaign MeFor- Her celebrates “the extraordinary acts of women and inspires women to stand together for other women, as a united force to advance gender equality.” She says, “My campaign will aim to stand against the constrain of creativity and talent and the suffocation of inclusion and pluralism.”

Tomova says, “Although some might define that as ‘slacktivism’ I think that if you truly care about an issue, you will be involved in more ways than just signing a petition.” Slacktivism can be defined as “the practice of supporting a political or social cause by means such as social media or online petitions, characterized as involving very little effort or commitment.” We give a lot beyond slacktivism such as participating in volunteer programs, petitions, NGOs and donating money, but does this really make a difference?

Ava Andrea, 21, a student and young adult moving into the working world speaks on her opinion of her generation and her own efforts in social change. “I typically donate to certain GoFundMe fundraisers, for example for sick people that need help with medical bills, etc. I signed an online petition to get the Stanford swimmer rapistBrock Turner to get a longer prison sentence.” We face many of these issues on the other side of a computer screen, but none the less, technology has allowed us to reach out to a larger audience.

Using platforms tocirculate information online creates a bigger physical movement. By mass sending information on a platform, organizing a physical march, protest or boycott has been extremely successful—forexample, the women’s march, the Dakota Access Pipeline Protest and reforming NRA gun control. The women’s march attracted more than 4 million people worldwide because of a single Facebook event. The act of sharing the event gave it virality, which spread to the powerful and historic protest that it was. Facebook allowed for people who couldn’t attend the Dakota Access Pipeline protest to check-in at the event and show their support from around the world. Recently,

“The millennial’s advanced knowledge of technology is helping spread awareness for issues. I would say millennials are very devoted to maintaining human rights.”

the shootings around the United States lead to many students using their social media to arrange a date to boycott school and create a movement against the NRA and current lackadaisical gun control. Andrea says, “Teenagers all over the USA are standing up against the NRA in hopes

to change the laws concerning gun control. The millennial’s advanced knowledge of technology is helping spread awareness for issues. I would say millennials are very devoted to maintaining human rights.”

Millennials are not just interested in cleaning up their own backyard, they are interested in global issues, from the environment to human rights and how it's affecting others. Not just for their own country but change for countries around the world through charity programs, volunteering, spreading education, and giving resources. There are numerous companies that advocate this type of work, such as IVHQ. International Volunteer HQ, is one of the largest volunteer programs where you can build, teach and create in countries around the world. Creator Daniel Radcliffe, age 34, just making the cut-off for the millennial generation, created this successful organization in 2007.

Another substantial way millennials are making an impact is through companies that are proven ecological and humane or brands that support social causes. “Quiet activism” is defined by researcher Laura Pottinger as “small, everyday, embodied acts, often of making and creating, that can be either implicitly or explicitly political in nature.” Andrea says, “I’ve bought Toms a few years ago because I liked the idea that a pair of shoes goes to someone in need for every sale. It’s important that our consumerism makes a difference.” Sustainability has become so important that now being vegan/vegetarian is trendy as well as wearing sustainable clothing. Eating sustainable healthy foods and buying products that are sustainable is trendy as well. Millennials are more conscious of their ecological footprint.

Social-awareness entrepreneurship does well with today’s market, not only from a consumer perspective but from a job-seeking perspective as well. Millennials seek integrity and authenticity in future institutions that hold power. A study from Stanford shows that MBA students joining the work force prefer companies with “reputation-related attributes of caring about employees, environmental sustainability, community/stakeholder relations, and ethical products and services.” A great example of this is FEED Projects—created by 33-year-old Lauren Bush in 2007. FEED sells bags and accessories to provide school meals for less fortunate children around the world. It has become an extremely successful company giving more than 10 million meals to date. An interesting aspect of their website is showing how many meals are donated for the item being purchased. Integrity is so important to us, that if we are going to rep it online, then we need to rep it in real life too.

Previous generations weren’t given the technology to expose our human footprint on the planet. Global warming, melting of polar ice caps, fossil fuels, use of natural resources, pollution and more are now blatantly apparent to us. By the time sustaining our planet actually became a legitimate concern, generation X was set in their adult ways, and millennials were being born.

Jon Miller conducted a study in 2011 on generation X and found that 37 percent of generation X are highly unconcerned with climate change and 51 percent don’t even bother to follow it. Instead, many felt strongly about terrorism, more so American generation X people, due to events that happened in the early 2000s, like the attack on the World Trade Center, and economy became very important.

The unawareness and lack of concern from previous generations has left this massive weight on millennials’ shoulders. We’re accused of dropping the ball with our “slacking” and “lazy” attitudes, but I see a very different side of our generation. We are acting out, questioning authority and pushing boundaries. Andrea says, “In reality, the millennial is a very tech savvy group of people that are dealt an unfair hand. The world is very corrupt, and the millennial generation is left to deal with a lot of baggage.” Not only is Gen Y taking initiative through their online presence,

but prove it with their career choices and lifestyle. They have a lot of liveliness, and as time moves forward, more people will realize millennial’s power in their platforms and exercising it to make the world a better place.

BY CHANET SMITH

PHOTOGRAPHED BY SOPHIA FOERSTER