I think there are actually two audiences for this piece. Fine was hired by the Case Foundation to research millennials and write this piece, so it is an immediate audience, along with other non-profit organizations who would like to recruit youth and young adults for their causes.
A secondary audience is millennials, themselves. On the opening page of the paper, Fine says the paper opens upon more questions than it answers, and she asks millennials to offer feedback.
Fine makes many, many assertions about “millennials” in her text. What is one assertion? How does she support it? Is the support effective? In other words, does it build her logos effectively? Explain. Based on your experience as a member of the “millennial” generation, do you agree? Explain.
One assertion is that today’s millennials are global citizens who embrace diversity. She explains this assertion by noting that this generation has moved around a lot; she also notes the paradox that at the same time, this generation is most likely to have lived, attended school, and worked in communities that lack economic diversity. Beyond these explanations that I can only assume are based on her field research, I don’t see a lot of support. Overall, I think her logos in the paper is weak. She uses some outside research, but it seems hardly adequate given the scope of her piece and the magnitude of generalizations she makes about millennials. Too, her field research is based on surveys and interviews with only 30 people.
How does Fine’s piece clarify some of the observations Spanier made in “Is Campus Activism Dead”? How does she account for millennials’ lack of interest in protesting?
Fine explains that while millennials are more trusting of the government, they feel disenfranchised by it; they don’t know how to access it; they feel powerless to evoke policy change. Given these attitudes, it makes sense they’d see little use in protesting. Instead, these students are interested in social change at the local level.
What are some of the dangers/drawbacks of online activism, according to Fine’s text?
One of the obvious dangers is that it breeds homogeneity and a narrowed scope of causes, according to Fine’s research. Millennials on facebook are likely to be friends with those who already share similar interests. Thus they aren’t likely to join causes they aren’t already familiar with. Too, I guess there is a credibility issue concerning the generation gap. There are still old school thinkers out there who are quick to dismiss acts of social citizenry because it is so early in the movement. We haven’t seen anything significant come out of it yet.
Overall, do you think online activism is an effective means to evoke social change? Explain.
I think it has great potential. Online activism is very “grassroots.” Millennials are operating on their own accord without being directed in a top-down, bureaucratic fashion. This makes what they are accomplishing very exciting and somehow more “real.” Most importantly, even though millennials aren’t working toward immediate policy change, they will be our future policy makers. They will come into such responsibility with a socially responsible set of values, which will make policy change well worth the wait.
What cause(s) are you considering for your class project? What makes these causes attractive to you?
One option I’d consider is doing some kind of PSA (maybe a commercial) on using wind energy to supply power to residential homes. I live in a small community that sits atop a hill. It is windy nearly every day (to the point that all my trees and shrubs have become wind burnt). It would be amazing to harness that wind and use it to power our homes, especially since the average electric bills during the winter months is about $350 (our houses range from 2500 to 3500 square feet). Economically, it would make sense in the long term, but the equipment is expensive and hard to come by. Tax breaks might make the technology more affordable sort term. My ad would offer an argument in support of the residential turbines and provide a list of sources for locating equipment and installers.
Another cause I am interested in relates to the lack of access to formal education in Afghanistan. I am a big fan of Khaled Hosseini’s books about his native Afghanistan. Even though his books are fictional, they spawned in me an interest in and concern for the children there who are growing up without ever having owned a book or been read to. I also read Three Cups of Tea over the summer, a book by mountain climber Greg Mortenson about his efforts to build schools in Afghanistan during the 1990s. As I read about his difficulties raising money and his ultimate success in building 78 different schools, I wondered what the state of the schools and education is today. My husband has a business associate in West Virginia who started a foundation called Sultan’s Daughters that raises money to build and furnish schools in Afghanistan. I think I’d include something about her organization in the project as well. As far as a medium, I think I’d use facebook or some kind of blog so that I could inspire young, educated people to become knowledgeable about and donate money to the cause.
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