RELATED PROJECT
RELATED ISSUE
Where do young people come down on questions of faith, values, and public life? How do they relate their values to public policy issues including education, economic inequality, and the environment? These questions, critically important for the 2012 election, are at the center of a campus conversation being organized by the Berkley Center and Georgetown University. This blog features an ongoing conversation about these issues between students selected as Millennial Values Fellows through a national competition. You can read and comment on their blogs here.To learn more about the project, visit the Campus Conversation on Values page.
OTHER POSTS
Millennials on Social Media and Politics
November 15, 2012
Millennials on Social Issues and Diversity
November 12, 2012
Hira Baig (Rice) on Why the Presidential Election Matters to Millennials
November 7, 2012
Millennials on Religion and Interfaith Work
November 7, 2012
Ryan Price (Drake) on E Pluribus Duo
November 6, 2012
Mohammad Usman (DePauw) on Unpredictable Millennials
November 5, 2012
Millennials on Affirmative Action Policy
November 3, 2012
Seth Warner (Vassar) on What Happens as the "God Gap" Widens
November 2, 2012
Josina De Raadt (Dordt) on How Social Media Is Like Wii Bowling
October 31, 2012
Zachary Yentzer (Arizona State) on the Next Greatest Generation
October 29, 2012
Brice Ezell (George Fox) on Post-Racial America? Race, Millennials, and the 2012 Election
October 25, 2012
Tyler Bishop (Vanderbilt) on a Future of Hashtags #whatitmeansforus
October 23, 2012
Brice Ezell (George Fox) on How the People Can Heal a “Divided,” Partisan Nation
October 4, 2012
Hira Baig (Rice) on Religion and American Democracy
October 4, 2012
Tyler Bishop (Vanderbilt) on How It’s All About Relatability: Voter Turnout
October 3, 2012
Josina De Raadt (Dordt) on Mistaking Politics for a Hollywood Blockbuster
October 2, 2012
Mohammad Usman (DePauw) on the Internet Solution
October 1, 2012
>> more
AT THE CENTER
EVENTS (5)
PUBLICATIONS (3)
Diverse, Disillusioned, and Divided: Millennial Values and Voter Engagement in the 2012 Election
October 4, 2012
October 4, 2012
LETTERS (2)
RELATED RESOURCES: MILLENNIAL
R. Skyler Oberst (Eastern Washington University) on the Millennial Generation
March 19, 2012
A few weeks ago, I became enthralled by an article in the Wall Street Journal which highlighted the universality of community and shared meaning-- values that are often fostered by religions. In the article, the author, Alain de Botton, writes about the loneliness of modern society and how "we tend to imagine that there once existed a degree of neighborliness that has been replaced by ruthless anonymity, by the pursuit of contact with one another primarily for individualistic ends: for financial gain, social advancement or romantic love." The article appeared around the same time one of my local newspapers addressed the growing atheist community in the Pacific Northwest and their yearning for a community where they were accepted and loved unconditionally because of who they are-- values that are often not fostered by religions.
The world is becoming increasingly more close-knit, in part due to our economics and technology, and this has affected every part of our modern society, and especially how we view our values and the values of others. For young people like myself, we live on the verge of a paradigm shift, which I believe will shape how we deal with values and how we will come to know ourselves.
This is not a new problem. Every generation has been left to define themselves and their intentions. The millennial generation has grown up with scouring the web for things we don't understand, and we have had to learn to sift through the innumerable opinions purported to be Truth. We are becoming isolated from one another by our individualities just as much as our opinion options. It's not that we have different values from earlier generations, it's that we have so many options at our fingertips. Plato once warned that the written word would bring forth the death of true meaningful dialogue. Judging by the loneliness of modern society, and the part the Internet has played, it is no wonder many millennials are choosing the well-trodden path by seeking the effervescence found in community, whether within the confines of the spiritual or the religious.
The quest for meaning and for spirit-- values universal-- are very much alive and well among the millennials; what makes us different are the methods by which we choose to address them. I don't think that the millennial generation has fundamentally different values from its predecessors. It is evident that we are all yearning for a sense of community and search for meaning of our existence. What makes the millennials different is that our generation will be defined by how we use the tools of our time to cope with our option anxiety. Brought on by our times, we will have to decide whether this will usher us into community of lasting meaningful exchange, or confine us to a solitary existence. The questions every generation before us has had to answer, without the problem/benefit of a Google search.
The world is becoming increasingly more close-knit, in part due to our economics and technology, and this has affected every part of our modern society, and especially how we view our values and the values of others. For young people like myself, we live on the verge of a paradigm shift, which I believe will shape how we deal with values and how we will come to know ourselves.
This is not a new problem. Every generation has been left to define themselves and their intentions. The millennial generation has grown up with scouring the web for things we don't understand, and we have had to learn to sift through the innumerable opinions purported to be Truth. We are becoming isolated from one another by our individualities just as much as our opinion options. It's not that we have different values from earlier generations, it's that we have so many options at our fingertips. Plato once warned that the written word would bring forth the death of true meaningful dialogue. Judging by the loneliness of modern society, and the part the Internet has played, it is no wonder many millennials are choosing the well-trodden path by seeking the effervescence found in community, whether within the confines of the spiritual or the religious.
The quest for meaning and for spirit-- values universal-- are very much alive and well among the millennials; what makes us different are the methods by which we choose to address them. I don't think that the millennial generation has fundamentally different values from its predecessors. It is evident that we are all yearning for a sense of community and search for meaning of our existence. What makes the millennials different is that our generation will be defined by how we use the tools of our time to cope with our option anxiety. Brought on by our times, we will have to decide whether this will usher us into community of lasting meaningful exchange, or confine us to a solitary existence. The questions every generation before us has had to answer, without the problem/benefit of a Google search.
Halla Daoui (Eastern Washington University) comments – March 21, 2012
Great depth of opinion and view. I appreciate your thoughts and that you are sharing this with us. I sure desire that all generations, especially ours and the younger ones, aspire in utilizing the tool we have for the better and to reach a high level of self fulfillment, continuing growth, and peace.