CFP: The Millennial Generation and its Future Prospects

CFP: The Millennial Generation and its Future Prospects

Journal: Communication, Politics and Culture. Editor-in-chief Dr. Chris Hudson

Guest Editors: Drs. Ahmet Atay & Anthony Cristiano

Description:

Millennials have been described in a variety of ways, as the ‘dumbest generation’ (M. Bauerlein, 2009), ‘the want’ generation (E. Fish, 2015), ‘the rising’ generation (N. Howe & W. Strauss, 2000), the ‘most influential consumer’ generation (J. Fromm & C. Garton, 2013), the ‘next political’ generation (A. Novak, 2016), the ‘Muggle generation’ (A. Gierzynski, 2013), part of the ‘faithful generation’ (J. Mabry, 2013), and the ‘digital-only media consumer’ generation (D. Desjardins, 2015), among other qualifications. Members of the millennial generation, or Generation Y, were born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. Most of them are offspring of the baby boomers. Even though Generation X members were known to heavily consume electronic media due to the infancy of the Internet, the millennials were born into a media-saturated and new consumer-driven culture. Moreover, unlike the members of the previous generations, they are surrounded by d!
 igital media technologies since birth. In a way, they live in a digital media ecosystem and in fact are known as “digital natives” (J. Palfrey & U. Gasser, 2013; A. Parment, 2012; F. Tanyel et al., 2013). While there may not be a global culture created by the members of the millennial generation outside of their national borders, what appears to be emerging, however, is a transnational similarity among them due to the shared environments afforded to them by the global nature of new media and Internet technologies. This CFP aims to survey the state of the current studies and findings pertaining to the role played by, and effects of, portable devices (i.e. smartphones, new digital gadgetry, social media networks, and other transnational web-based networks accessed via mobile devices, etc.), as well as propose new understandings, on diverse ethnic groups and demographics (i.e. the impact of millennials in political culture, despite the criticism of being disconnected and d!
 isengaged, is apparent: the role they played in the last presidential e
lections in Canada, their involvement in the U.S. political landscape through their support of Bernie Sanders, and their overwhelming reaction to the Brexit ‘remain campaign’ is worthwhile to note). Have millennials’ prospects and/or competencies improved compared to previous generations? Are they demonstrating the ability to set out a path for themselves and take charge of their own life and future—as per the claims of visionaries like Ray Kurzweil, among others? This special issue is particularly interested in, but not limited by, the following points:

1)    Review of current studies and findings with critical assessment of arguments and propositions, if any.

2)    Advancement of descriptions and classifications of common features and trends among millennials, globally.

3)    New insights into the culture, outlook, aspirations, and vision of millennials, as well as difference from previous generational mindsets.

4)    Prognostic depiction of future states, prospects, and/or outcomes of current trends.

5)    The creation of a ‘global millennials’ culture’; is it possible?

6)    The ways in which members of the millennial generation increasingly become cosmopolitans, and the quality or character of such cosmopolitanism.

7)    New forms of addiction, anxieties, relationships, and/or distractions, millennials are subjected to and affected by.

8)    Disruptive technology and the schooling of millennials, revolutions in higher education: where are they headed?

9)    How is the complex relationship between millennials and new media technologies changing media and cultural landscapes?

Abstracts are due by August 30, 2016, with a word length of up to no more than 500 words, along with pertinent references, and a short biographic blurb of 300 words. Full-length manuscripts are due on December 30, 2016, with a word length of no more than 6,000 words and in MLA style, including references, endnotes, and so forth. Abstracts should be emailed as Word documents to both co-editors Ahmet Atay (aatay@wooster.edu) and Anthony Cristiano (anthony.cristiano@utoronto.ca) for an initial review.

Selected bibliography:

Atay, Ahmet. Globalization’s Impact on Cultural Identity Formation: Queer Diasporic Males in Cyberpace. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2015. Print.
—. “Digital Diasporic Experiences in Digital Queer Spaces.” Click and Kin: Transnational Identity and Quick Media. Eds. May Friedman and Silvia Schuldermandl, Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press. 2016. 139-158. Print.

Bauerlein, Mark. The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30). New York, NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2008. Print.

Bibby, Reginald W, Sarah Russell, and Ronald Rolheiser. The Emerging Millennials: How Canada’s Newest Generation Is Responding to Change & Choice. Lethbridge, AB: Project Canada Books, 2009. Print.

Botterill, Jacqueline, Marian Bredin, Tim Dun. “Millennials’ Use: It is a Matter of Time.” Canadian Journal of Communication 40.3 (2015): 537-551. Print.
Chod, Suzanne M., William J Muck, Stephen M. Caliendo.Technology and Civic Engagement in the College Classroom: Engaging the Unengaged. New York: Palgrave Macmillian, 2015. Print.

Cristiano, Anthony. “Internet Technologies: Digital Paradises or Digital Hells?” in Digital Images of Europe: Past, Present, Future. Ed. Yolanda Espiña. Porto: Universidade Católica Editora, 2014. Internet source.

—. “Digital Media Realities: Propositions from the Arts, Philosophy, and Criticism.” URAM (University of Toronto Press Journal)33.3-4 (2010, Published 2014): 208-221. Print.

Desjardins, Danielle. The Digital-Only Media Consumer: Key Findings from a Conversation with All-Digital Millennials. Toronto: Canada Media Fund, 2015. Internet resource.

Ferreira, Stacey and Jarred Kleinert. 2 Billion Under 20: How Millennials Are Breaking Down Age Barriers and Changing the World. New York: St Martin’s Press, 2015. Print.

Fish, Eric. China’s Millennials: The Want Generation. London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. Print.

Fromm, Jeff, and Christie Garton. Marketing to Millennials: Reach the Largest and Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever. New York: American Management Association, 2013. Print.

Gierzynski, Anthony, and Kathryn Eddy. Harry Potter and the Millennials: Research Methods and the Politics of the Muggle Generation. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2013. Print.

Greenfiled, David. “The Addictive Properties of Internet Usage.”Internet Addiction: A Handbook and Guide to Evaluation and Treatment. Kimberly S. Young and Cristiano Nabuco de Abreu eds. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2011. 135-153. Print.

Griffiths, Mark. “Does Internet and Computer ‘Addiction’ Exist? Some Case Study Evidence.” Cyberpychology & Behavior 3.2 (2000): 211-217. Print.

Guzzo, Tiziana, Fernando Ferri, and Patrizia Grifoni. “Social Network’s Effects on Italian Teenager’s Life.” Journal of Next Generation Information Technology (JNIT) 4.3 (2013): 54–62. Print.

Howe, Neil, and William Strauss. Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation /by Neil Howe and Bill Strauss; Cartoons by R.J. Matson. New York: Vintage Books, 2000. Print.

Kimberly S. Young and Cristiano Nabuco de Abreu eds. Internet Addiction: A Handbook and Guide to Evaluation and Treatment. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2011. Print.

Imperato, Rob. The Digital Age: The Real Challenge and Effect on Children and Parents. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris.com, 2014. Print.

Lancaster, Lynne C. and David Stillman. When Generation Collide: Who They Are, Why They Clash, and How to Solve the Generational Puzzle at Work. New York: Harper Collins, 2002. Print.

Luo, Shanhong. “Effects of texting on satisfaction in romantic relationships: The role of attachment.” Computers in Human Behavior 33 (2014) 145–152. Print.

Luttrell, Regina and Karen McGrath. The Millennial Mindset: Unraveling Fact from Fiction. Lanham, MD. Lexington Books, 2015. Print.

Mabry, John R. Faithful Generations: Effective Ministry Across Generational Lines. New York: Morehouse Publishing, 2013. Print.

McHaney, Roger and John Daniel. The New Digital Shoreline: How Web 2.0 and Millennials Are Revolutionizing Higher Education. Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2011. Print

New Strategist Publications. The Millennials: Americans Born 1977 to 1994. Ithaca, N.Y: New Strategist Publications, 2004. Print.

Novak, Alison. Media, Millennials, and Politics: The Coming of Age of the Next Political Generation. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016. Print.

Palfrey, John and Urs Gasser. “Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives.” The Millennial Generation. Eds. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2013. 35-42. Print.

Parment, Anders. Generation Y in Consumer and Labor Markets. New York: Routledge, 2012. Print.

Poindexter, Paula. M. Millennials, News, and Social Media: Is News Engagement a Thing of the Past? New York: Peter Lang, 2012. Print.

Rankin, David. US Politics and Generation Y: Engaging the Millennials. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2013. Print.

Schwalbe, Carol B. “Leveraging the Digital Media Habits of the Millennials: Strategies for Teaching Journalism Courses.”Southwestern Mass Communication Journal Fall (2009). 53-68. Print.

Serazio, Michael. “Selling (Digital) Millennials.” Television & New Media 16.7 (2015): 599-615. Print.

Serres, Michel. Thumbelina: The Culture and Technology of Millennials. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2015. Print.

Sujansky, Joanne G, and Jan Ferri-Reed. Keeping the Millennials: Why Companies Are Losing Billions in Turnover to This Generation-and What to Do About It. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print.

Tanyel, Faruk, Elnora W. Stuart, and Jan Griffin. “Have ‘Millenials’ Embraced Digital Advertising as They Have Embraced Digital Media?” Journal of Promotion Management 19 (2013). 652-673. Print.

Tapscott, Don. Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. Print

Zhou, Yan et al. “Gray matter abnormalities in Internet addiction: A voxel-based morphometry study.” European Journal of Radiology 79 (2011): 92-95. Print.