Millennials and Politics
More than any generation in history, Millennials will change the face of politics. As they enter adulthood, they will begin using their sense of justice and values in voting for political party candidates. The current voting trends appear to show Millennials voting more Democrat than Republican. In the Millennial-Generated Change to American Governance, 44% of Millennials felt the government is not very successful at properly serving the public interest (Gagnier 32). Important issues include the internet and the congressional laws regulating the world wide web. Global Warming and clean energy are also important political issues for the growing population of Millennials.
Figure 1.
The graph in figure 1 has the population growth of Millennials, Generation x, and the Boomer generation from the year 2015 to the year 2050 along the horizontal axis while the population growth in the millions is shown along the vertical axis. The graph shows a millennial population growth of eighty million by the year 2050. Whereas, the population of generation x is projected to be fifty million, and the boomer population is projected to be just under 20 million. One can realistically see the populations of the
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“The Millennial Generation is generally known for its liberal attitudes… more accepting of gay marriage... supports to a higher degree the promotion of minorities (Pew, 2010; Lerman, 2012)” (qtd. in Ross 1364). Millennials have the potential to build a democracy that an entire generation will want to inherit not just a select few (Gagnier 36). The fact that millennials will change politics is a certainty. The direction of that change will be in the interests of the millennials, and the key issues that are important to millennials. Though some Millennials are conservative, most millennials are liberal, which means the interests of Millennials are
Many political analysts argue that engagement is an important characteristic of democracy, yet the younger generation is indifferent towards politics. They’re more interested in the latest iPhone technology than in campaigning or voting. In The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation Is Reshaping American Politics, author Russell J. Dalton counters this with the idea that Gen X’ers are still engaged, just in a different way.
Voting rates were much lower for Gen Xers then their baby boomer parents. For example, in the 1994 midterm elections, “ fewer than on in five eligible Xers showed up at the polls.”(Halstead). In 1996, only 32% of Gen Xers voted in on the presidential election. There is an explanation for the rapid decline of voters. Politics doesn’t really resonate with young adults. Young people hear all the arguments and counter arguments that politicians have to say and they get mixed together and eventually are blurred into irrelevance. Gen Xers realize that the two main parties, Republicans and Democrats, are corrupt and more interested in fighting than actually getting any kind of work done. Gen Xers tend to stray away from the two party system, and typically favor candidates that establish themselves as independents. Unsurprisingly, young adults gave the strongest support for independent candidate Ross Perot in 1992 and Jesse Ventura in 1998. Many theories about the political apathy of Generation X have been introduced. One theory is that television is to blame for the lack of civic education that the youth of Generation X received. Another theory is the growing up during the Reagan and Bush presidencies, which saw many horrific events occur is another reason why Gen Xers have a negative view point of politics. The third theory is the breakdown of the so called “traditional family.” Children typically learn their political
The myth of the millennial nation is one that describes the vision and perception held by the American people that suggests that the United States is the Nation responsible for heralding in the second coming of Jesus Christ. Hughes ties this vision to the American idea of manifest destiny which held much responsibility for our nation's growth and overpowering force, not merely in our hemisphere but in all of the world.
The competition in today’s job market makes it seemingly impossible to be considered a competitive candidate without having some sort of college degree. This very fact has pushed researchers to analyze and report on the performance of students with various educational backgrounds along with the factors that affect their ability to obtain a college degree. One particular subset of students who show interesting graduation patterns are first generation students, whose parents have do not have a college degree. First generation students frequently encounter difficulty in school and must jump over many hurdles in order to graduate and receive a college degree. These hurdles include language barriers, intergenerational gaps and social class achievement
D’Souza’s opinions are heavily featured throughout the essay as he makes broad assumptions to convince his audience that America is humanity’s only hope. He has a tendency to group people into categories and then assign them all one common opinion. For example, D’Souza claims that Americans believe that “their country has been blessed by God, the American system is unique, and that Americans are not like people everywhere else.” America is populated by 323 million people; not all of them are going to feel that way. Philip Bump, a correspondent to the Washington Post, is an example of another writer using generalizations to make an argument. In “Why do millennials hate America?” Bump analyzes data from a 2016 Gallup poll. The poll asked Americans
Nearly 3.7 million American babies born in 1982 were the first members of the new Generation Y, or more affectionately known as millenials (Thompson, par. 1). Many things play into whether a generation is considered to be faring ‘better’ than another one; job opportunities, the state of the environment, whether the U.S. is at peace or at war, income vs. living expenses, the general happiness of the people, and the list goes on. Millenials are part of a special generation because for decades, “The American Dream” has included the belief that the future generation will fare better than the present one; however, millenials are not projected to fare better than the present generation X for many reasons.
on how their votes can count, many Millennials do have a different perspective of how politics
The Millennial generation is the newest generation that is becoming adults. Born between 1980 and 2000, this generation is approximately 80 million strong. They are a tech-savvy group, with short attention spans and open minds to race, sexuality, and religion. When it comes to politics, however, there are many speculations about the scale in which they will be involved, if at all. Although many people believe that the millennial generation is too lazy and self-centered to cast their votes, this claim is not valid because they already have had a major impact on past elections.
As a millennial, we have adapted to the fact that older generations expect us to fail. We as a whole are looked down upon because of our age, as well as the reputation we have been labeled with. People born in the 90s are some of the most hard-working people you will encounter. Though some may say that we have it easy, we are continuously being tested by our skills and our patience in our everyday lives. Living up to the expectations of our elders is something that people think we are supposed to do. Though this is thought to be true by some, millennials were born to stand out, and have developed a way of thinking that is unlike the other generations. Millennials are the only generation that has gone with and without advanced technology. This
In recent years, the splitting of the population into generational groups has become more relevant in politics than ever. In this paper I will use information collected from various studies and statistics to discuss the preferred political parties of different generations, as well as explain the differences between modern social movements and ones from the past. Evidence shows that different generations prefer different social and political views. An example of this is the pattern seen in how while older generations tend to be Republican and conservative, younger generations have become increasingly left winged and liberal. However, despite these preferences, the overall Democratic to Republican ratio is more equal than some may think. Furthermore,
This growing sense of political cynicism rooted in the millennial generation can help to explain a shift in the norms of citizenship. Dalton points out in his work, The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation Is Reshaping American Politics, that the Millennial generation is expounding the trend away from a more traditional definition of citizenship. What he refers to as a duty-based citizen primarily focuses on voting, serving in the military, obeying all laws and supporting the government. This is in contrast to the engaged citizen, who does not voter regularly, but is more inclined to participate in protests. (Dalton). A greater level of cynicism in Millennials would easily explain the negative effects, that being subpar voting numbers, as well as the positive effects, the greater likelihood of questioning the established process, both electorally and as it pertains to the news media.
Adulthood has often been associated with independence. It serves as a turning point in life where one has to take responsibility for oneself and no longer being dependent on his or her family. Early adulthood, usually begins from late teens or early twenties and will last until the thirties (Santrock, 2013). Early adulthood revolves around changes and exploration while middle and late adulthood are more of stability. The transition from adolescence and adulthood differs among every individual. The onset of the transition is determined by many factors such as culture, family background, and the personality of the individual. Emerging adulthood (as cited in Santrock, 2014) is the term to describe the transition period from adolescence to adulthood.
The generation that I was born into can sometimes be easily misunderstood by those in earlier generations. The individuals in my generation get thrown many different labels such as those that Rosie Evans (n.d.) listed in her article, “Millennials, Generation Y, the Lost Generation, boomerang kids, the Peter Pan generation…” and more. This can impact us as a whole because some will begin to live by the labels, in some cases that can be negative but in others it may be beneficial. Many people in this generation believe that they can’t reach their full potential due to labels and prejudgment, while there are others believe nothing can hold them back. When we get labeled all together that is also what may drive some to try to stand out from the
We blame the millennials for their behavior and their different characteristics compared to previous generations; however, what if we stop looking at the millennials and start looking at the reasons that they behave sensitively? Each generation contains their differences, including the way they educate the next generation. We continuously judge the millennials behavior, but we rarely judge the people who influenced this behavior. Education has changed throughout the ages, not to mention the parenting skills that vary from generation to generation, which has affected the millennials way of interacting in the world. Millennials grow up believing that they are imperative, that they are secure, that the world will conform to their generation, and that the world is a “nice” place. This teaching, causes millennials to be sensitive babies early on in life. True, millennials have the freedom to act the way they want; nevertheless, like other generations, millennials will act the way that parents and other influences taught them to behave. The millennial generation should not be liable for their
As the largest generation on the planet (Jenkins), the Millennials (otherwise known as generation Y) have faced plenty of scrutiny from the previous generations. A Millennial is the demographic group made up of anyone who was born between the years 1980 and 2000. This group of young people has proved to be a great contribution to society and also to the advancement of technology. They do things in their own ways and on their own terms, always approaching a problem in the most efficient way possible for everyone. Millennials have settled numerous issues in our society and they are expected to change our world exponentially. Millennials adapt to new technologies very quickly, however, while Millennials see themselves in generally positive terms such as ‘tech-savvy’ and ‘up to date’, many people from the older generations see them as ‘spoiled’ and ‘lazy’. The new technologies do make living everyday life easier and more functional, however, Millennials are not at all ‘lazy’ for taking advantage of them. Millennials use these new tools in incredibly innovative ways and they see the world in a completely different light.