The Top 8 Myths About Millennials
When we find ourselves talking to people about the Millennial Generation or reading articles about the youth vote, there are a number of myths that seem to consistently pervade these discussions.
Here are the top 8 myths I have heard about Millennials and the arguments to counter them.
1) Millennials are apathetic.
This is the mother of all young voter myths. Young people just don't care about politics and voting. This myth has gained strength over the years because traditional political campaigns fell for the self-fulfilling prophecy. They thought it would be a waste of money to contact young people who wouldn't vote, which led to young people not voting because they were never contacted by campaigns. Young voters were not apathetic, they just weren't being engaged. The development of peer-to-peer programs by youth political organizations and the creation of youth outreach components of campaigns have resulted in dramatic increases in youth turnout over the last few elections.
2) Millennials are uninformed.
I recently had to deal with this myth in the comments on a recent Rock the Vote blog post. Some older people have the belief that youth are ignorant and lack the reasoning ability to think critically about issues. One of the reasons that this myth has prevailed is that there is a difference in the issues that are important to the AARP and those that are important to young voters. How informed do you think the average AARP member is on the issues of college affordability, net neutrality, or digital rights management?
As a matter of fact, Millennials are very informed about the issues that are important to them and are following the 2008 election closely.
3) 2008 is an anomaly for youth involvement.
This is a favorite for those pundits that have only paid attention to the youth vote this year. Since 2000 youth turnout has been steadily increasing, and the record youth turnout in the 2008 primaries did not come to be in isolation, but is just continuing the trend. The trending indicates that the youth vote will continue to be strong in the 2008 general election and beyond.
4) Millennials are selfish.
This myth is the exact opposite of the truth. Millennials are more engaged in community service than older generations (CIRCLE). It is also important to recognize that Millennials are the majority of those currently fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Millennial generation is a civic-minded generation.
5) Millennials are lazy.
The claim that Millennials are lazy is the bookend myth of "Millennials are selfish." Critics of the generation point their fingers at statistics showing that Millennials are more likely to move back in with their parents after graduating from college in order to save money, or the record-high sales of video games to create an image of lazy kids sitting around playing video games all day.
Conveniently the counter to this myth is similar to the answer to the selfish myth. In addition, Millennials actually tend to pack more activities in their day than other generations, especially high school and college students.
Here is where the cynical members of prior generations attack the optimism and hope of Millennials. Young people are not naive, they are still realistic, but they have not given up on the possibilities of the world and believe in their ability to make those changes.
7) Millennials will become conservative when they get older.
This is a very popular myth and is currently the defense mechanism used by the Republican Party to help cope with the looming electoral realignment. Research has shown that this myth is not true, and that in fact a young person that votes for the same political party in three consecutive elections is likely to identify with that party for the rest of their life.
8) Millennials have a feeling of entitlement.
This myth results from the inability of older generations to understand the concept of actually trying to find a job that you would love and not settling for a job that you will hate for 40 years. There is a big difference between having a feeling of entitlement and choosing to not be relegated to something that may make you miserable for years. In my opinion, the Millennials have chosen a much healthier philosophy.
Breaking News
Marc Ambinder:
McCain And WomenUndecided women and disaffected Clinton supporters will... ( polls)Marc Ambinder:
Dems: McCain's Age Is "Fair Game"I get the sense that John McCain' age is now fair game for Democrats. Democrats feel that McCain's Palin pick has given them the green light to use phrases like "a heartbeat away" in their ...Think Progress:
McCain’s choice of Palin follows Bill Kristol’s lead.Earlier today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) surprised many people by selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. But not everyone may have been surprised. In June, Fox News ran a segment ...TPM Election Central:
38 MillionThat's the estimate of how many people watched Obama's acceptance speech last night, according to Nielsen -- and that doesn't include people who watched on PBS or C-Span. That's more Americans than ...Marc Ambinder:
What The Campaign Giveth With One Hand, The Candidates Take AwayTake two: a much more respectful, classy statement from Chicago, this time in the names of Barack Obama and Joe Biden."We send our congratulations to Governor Sarah Palin and her family on ...
Recent Blog Posts
-
I'm headed to the airport. Will try to upload video before and a recap before my flight takes off. Here are pictures from Wednesday and Thursday at the DNC. Oh, and what do folks think about Palin ...by: Michael Connery | 0 comments
-
I have three awesome videos of about youth participation at the convention from Howard Dean, Alexandra Acker of YDA, and another women whose name I missed talking about the delegate count. ...by: Michael Connery | 0 comments
-
What's more fun than watching an inspirational speaker deliver soaring oratory as he historically accepts his party's nomination? Doing so with drink in hand, of course. So sip if he says "hope" -- ...by: Justin Krebs | 0 comments
-
If you ever wanted to know what we all looked like here we are. Michael Connery, Sarah Burris, and Kevin Bondelli Bookmark/Search this post with:by: Sarah Burris | 2 comments
-
A new group Eklectyk Creative Media with Napalm Clique has produced an Obama hiphop video/mashup posted on youtube this week. The video begins with an excerpt from Obama's "A More Perfect Union" ...by: Sarah Burris | 0 comments
Featured Video
Progressive Training Calendar
Blogroll
- Ablogistan
- Apophenia
- Bad Subjects
- Burnt Orange Report
- Campus Progress
- College Democrats
- Culture Blog
- The Daily Background
- The Daily Taylor
- Ezra Klein
- Everyday Citizen
- Generation Next
- Got Democracy
- It’s Getting Hot in Here
- Kid Oakland
- Kossacks Under 35
- Left in the West
- Liberal College Kid
- The Low Post
- Matt Ortega
- Michigan Liberal
- Michigan Youth Political Alliance
- Open Left
- Penn Progress
- Planting Liberally
- Policy Farm Team
- Political Teen Tidbits
- Prose Before Hos
- Pullman Progressive
- Pushback Network
- The Raw Story
- Rethinking Youth
- Rock the Vote
- Tapped
- Think Youth
- Young Democrats
- Young MO Politico
- Young People For
- Young Philly Politics
- Young-Politics
- YouthinkLeft
- WireTap
- Wonkette
If you have a blog written by or for young progressives, and you would like to be listed, contact Mike.
Young Progressives
- 21st Century Dems
- Black Youth Vote
- The Bus Federation
- Campus Climate Challenge
- Campus Progress
- Campus Wellstone
- Center for Progressive Leadership
- College Democrats
- DNC Youth Council
- DMI Scholars
- Forward Montana
- Future 5000
- Generation Change
- Generational Alliance
- The League
- Kossacks Under 35
- Lose the Label
- Minnesota Youth Caucus
- New Era Colorado
- Oregon Bus Project
- Progressive U
- Roosevelt Institution
- Run For Office
- Students for a New American Politics
- Swing Semester
- USSA
- Washington Bus
- Young Democrats of America
- Young Elected Officials Network
- Young People For
- Young Voter PAC
Cultural Capitalizers
- All Ages Movement Project
- Billionaires for Bush
- Drinking Liberally
- Free Culture
- Head Count
- Hip Hop Summit Action Network
- Ironweed Films
- Justice Through Music
- Laughing Liberally
- Lokahi Outreach
- National Hip Hop Political Convention
- ONE Campaign
- Progressive Book Club
- Rock the Vote
- Screening Liberally
- Vera Project
- Youth Movement Records

























