Osiris Garcia

Pols 1100
Prof. Sowards
2 November, 2018

Paper 2 : Millennials vs Politics

What type of relationship do millennials and politics have in today’s world? Is it a love-

hate relationship? Does effective communication exist? How do they link? Millennials have been

exposed to various unique historic experiences that have shaped their relationship with politics.

Among these experiences lie the attack of September 11th in 2001, the election of Barak Obama

as the first African American president in 2008 and the Orlando night club mass murder in 2016.

Political attitudes and views are influenced by the experiences lived and witnessed. In today’s

world millennials are known to be one of the most powerful generations that can completely

change the political world as it is today. To further investigate the political awareness and

political stance on the relevant issues of today, a sample of students at SLCC took a survey to

analyze the awareness and views on current issues. The sample analyzed was derived from a

POLS 1100 8:30 a.m. class taught by professor Shari Sowards. All things considered, what is the

real standing point of today’s millennials?

To begin the analyzing, the general sample information must be presented. Within the

POLS 1100 class surveyed, the average age was 18, leading us to believe that they have all

experienced the historical experiences listed above. Next, the sample was composed by a close

50/50 gender representation, the average numbers being : 48% female and 45% male. Lastly,

among the sample 33% stated they considered themselves a liberal and 30% considered
themselves conservative. Now, with the following information in mind, the analysis of the

samples political awareness and the their political attitudes and views can begin.

Firstly, the political awareness of which millennials seems to be something that needs to

be addressed. This topic has opened a great deal of discussion when dealing with numbers and

the generations turnout. According to the Pew Research Center, millennials had their peak

voting power in 2004, since the generations voter turnout population has declined, while at the

same time millennials are turning of voting age. For decades millennials have had the lowest

voter turnout and the results of the survey may have an answer as to why. Within the survey

given to the POLS 1100 class, five questions revolved around their political awareness of today’s

government representatives. When asked for the name of both the president and vice president of

the United States, only 91% could name the president and 52% could name the vice president.

When analyzing these numbers, it becomes quite astonishing as to how little they may know

about those who govern them. However, the results become even more shocking as we continue.

When asked to name one of Utah’s two U.S senators or one of Utah’s four members in the

House of Reps., only 18% could name a senator and 15% could name a representative in the

house. These analysis show that although today’s media is open to almost everyone and the

simple action of pressing a button can unveil who represents this younger generation, most don’t

seem to be very much aware.

Subsequently, the views and perspectives millennials have on politics in the modern

world can change the world as we see it today. A Washington Post article speaks about

millennials and their libertarian senses “Pew’s survey found that: 27% of Millennials approve of

Trump’s job performance, while 65% disapprove. But even taking the greater diversity of

younger generations into account, younger generations – particularly Millennials – express more
liberal views on many issues and have stronger Democratic leanings than do older cohorts.”

Generally speaking, millennials are known for their libertarian views and unconventional

methods of communication, media among other things to express their views and stand points.

When focusing on the survey implemented on the SLCC students, they were asked to answer

simple yes or no questions on relevant issues. For example, when asked about implementing a

more restrictive immigration policy, 33% agreed and 58% disagreed. This may be caused by the

relative diversity that the generation holds. Other questions included were: the relaxation of 1st

amendment rights to combat terrorism in which 64% agreed and the surveillance of citizens

through the NSA to which 73% disagreed with. The common trend among the survey reflected a

majority of liberal responses that again relates to the public majority and to the underlying fact of

diversity and access to education.

All in all, the relationship that millennials have with politics in the modern world today

can be complicated. Being one of the largest generations, they can have the greatest impact

within the political world if they choose to do so. Their political awareness is very weak within

the sample that was taken from our SLCC POLS 1100 class, however, there are millennials who

are entirely aware of their representatives and who represent them. In regards to their political

stance, the general trend of libertarian ideas aligned very well with the sample analyzed. In

conclusion, the millennial generation has a very complex relationship with politics in today’s

world and their views on relevant issues can be tracked by their experiences both lived and

witnessed.
 Works Cited :

- Sowards, Shari. A Survey of Contemporary Political Awareness & Issues (the

summary stats). 2018

- Khalid, Asma. Millennials Now Rival Boomers As A Political Force But Will They

Actually Vote?. NPR. 16 May 2016.

(https://www.npr.org/2016/05/16/478237882/millennials-now-rival-boomers-as-a-

political-force-but-will-they-actually-vote) Accessed 2 November 2018.

- Rubin, Jennifer. Here’s How Millennials Could Change Politics. 2 March. The

Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-

turn/wp/2018/03/02/heres-how-millennials-could-change-

politics/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.00460e298198) Accessed 2 November 2018.