Millennial Generation defines its future

Some of the results in the survey are self-evident — we text and tweet an average of 79 times a day and some of the companies we most admire are Apple and Google. However, some of the findings about our generation’s politics are directly contrary to the conceptions of our generation perpetuated by the media.

Although as the “me” generation we are often criticized for not paying attention to the world around us, this study showed that we actually acknowledge being part of a global world and do follow current news. Contrary to popular opinion, our main sources of news are, first, the websites of major news organizations, and second, cable news shows. Interestingly, blogs and comedy news shows actually came in last as our source of news, which corrects the false assumption that we take what Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert say as news.

With the growth of technology, our generation lives in a globalized world. Surprisingly, however, our political beliefs don’t reflect this. Contrary to older generations such as Generation X and the Baby Boomers, this study showed that many young Americans increasingly hold isolationist views in regards to U.S. involvement in overseas conflicts. The Millennial Generation thinks America is “too involved” in global affairs and should focus more on domestic issues. Although it is impossible to be sure, the study suggests this belief arises from the fact that for most of our generation, it is hard to remember a time when we weren’t involved in an overseas conflict — first Afghanistan and Iraq, and now Libya.

Although I was grateful that this study corrected some insulting preconceptions about the Millennial Generation, I was also disturbed by its report of the isolationist attitude commonly held by young people. Up to that point, I had known and agreed with the majority of what I had read. I even thought that most of it was reflected in the Princeton student body. But upon reading how our generation wants the United States to be less involved overseas, I immediately thought of how the student body at Princeton seems to hold the exact opposite belief.

I found it hard to believe that there really is an “isolationist” attitude held by our generation. From everything I’ve seen at Princeton, the opposite is true. Students here seem to acknowledge that we are intimately connected with the world outside of the United States and are deeply involved with international politics regardless of whether or not we think we should be. Also, students here are incredibly involved with both international aid and charity efforts and that involvement increases every year.

One of the most attractive qualities that Princeton holds for me is its diverse and globalized student body. Besides having around 10 percent international students, 50 percent of Princeton’s students are minorities who come from a wide variety of backgrounds. I feel this distribution serves to make the University an especially rich place for intellectual debate and a very global campus. Numerous student organizations reflect international influences from all types of countries around the world and there are multiple events each week that have international scopes and ties. Many students participate in projects that involve international aid and charity. The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan prompted a huge outpouring of support on the campus in general, from collection jars to benefit performances.

Although this is only a preliminary picture of the politics of the Millennial Generation, it does a good job in beginning to clear up some of the negative assumptions held about the politics of our generation. However, it also cites a disturbing trend in our beliefs — the fact that we hold “isolationist” attitudes and want the United States to be less involved in global affairs. Hopefully, with time, it will be established that that our generation is a global one that understands the essential role the United States plays in world affairs in our increasingly globalized world.

Kelsey Zimmerman is a sophomore from Glen Allen, Va. She can be reached at kzimmerm@princeton.edu.