An Open Letter to the Slacktivist Generation

Despite its controversial attention, I am a proud member of the generation most known for having notoriously low attention spans, being lazy, entitled, and requiring constant praise. But for those of you from other generations who believe in these stereotypes, consider this: Generation Y is at its core a product of technology, the very source of instant gratification.

We were raised on the emergence of the world wide web’s idea of global interconnectivity, the surge in pop culture and fame-game fascinations, and the rise of the often anti-social social media. And like the past, we seem to have left one thing behind: the instinct to look up. But first and foremost, we were the first generation to be educated on the recognition of global warming, climate change, whatever you want to call it—it's happening and we're already seeing the effects of it. Hotter summers, colder winters, harsher natural disasters, loss of land, loss of life. We could now assess the damage, learn from the data. We should, could, would repair the state of our home planet.

Unfortunately, it seems like half of us millennials are narcissistic, consumerist, needy little wannabees, while the other half are tree-hugging, left-wing, cynical hipsters. One half forever being followers, the other half born to be leaders, if only they believe in themselves. If they don’t, they’re a Slacktivist: someone who has the underlying potential, and access to more than enough resources to change the world, but instead, they’re all talk. And our voices are drowned out by all this white noise, troll chatter, likes, shares, and comments that reinforce our worth. So within our constant search for something to fill the silence is our desperate attempt to reduce the awkwardness of human interaction that in the 21st century occurs when strangers occupy the same breathing space. After all, it’s no secret that us millennials are famous for our inability to appropriately interact in social situations for fear of being seen as awkward. The problem here is that many of us instead dedicate an enormous amount of breath pretending not to care about something we’re actually very familiar with, just to save face.

The Slacktivist is restricted only by a straight-jacket fashioned by his or her own insecurities. Forever hiding behind a fictitious avitarian self, attempting to redeem their generation of the embarrassment that is their peers, wasting all their time dwelling on the atrocities of this world instead of actively participating in analog, grassroots movements that can positively impact the world as we know it. They show their concern for an issue with a trending hashtag or a shared hacktivist or conspiracy theorist post yet they don’t concern themselves with the accumulation of material possessions unless a product is organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, sustainable, recycled, recyclable, and/or compostable, in an effort to gain acceptance in this digital, substanceless world that has influenced us from a very early age. Unless of course they’re an activist and actually care about any one of these pointers.

Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of millennial activists trying their best to make this world a better place for future generations. But if the Slacktivists joined forces to actually get stuff done, setting and achieving concrete social and environmental goals, they wouldn't be perceived as losers with a never-ending supply of teenage angst. I'll be the first to admit that it's not such a bad thing to be ticked off with the world our ancestors left us that makes us fear so much for the well-being of our future children and grandchildren that some of us decide bearing and raising children is not in the cards for us. But to be passionately angry at the world we've been given is not enough. We must make a conscious effort to actively right the wrongs and show the world that we will not stop until this planet has pure air, clean water, and widespread peace.

But with a detrimental mix of coping mechanisms like avoidance, denial and rationalization, half of us sit in our shallow, empty pools of stuff and things, while some of us are raising public awareness of causes dear to our hearts, urging lawmakers to pass bills in the interest of the greater good, creating thought-provoking movements or works of art, or living and leading by example. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Wrong. This excuse is no longer valid. We have access to information unlike any previous generation, we’re just deliberately avoiding the harsh realities of this world by burying our faces in the comfort of our not-so-smartphones.

Love us or hate us, the millennial generation is a microcosm of the state of our world; an in-your-face, sobering reality that change is necessary but not quite enough of a priority yet. We are a mirror, if you will, on the human race. Reflective of the views of humanity collectively, and the reason why our world is in its current state of seeming disrepair. We are necessary and worthy of the world’s attention only if we prove our worth. Only when the Slacktivists become activists and convert the followers of essentially nothing to what truly matters, will we be taken seriously.

As we grew, from chairs and stairs grew trees and mountains, yet we gained the perspective of a digital realm instead, pushing the envelope on what it means to connect and communicate. I’d even go so far as to say our generation has developed a seventh sense from our computer skills and recognition of its own unique language. But this is largely an untapped power and I am not alone in my cautious optimism. In one sense, these tools we’ve been given from birth, these lenses on new perspectives, they give us hope. A promise even, that the key to solving all the world’s problems is already among us, in the mind of the underdog, the unnoticed, in the undiscovered fruits of mother nature. So look up, look through, ask why, ask how, think big, think often, and never forget that which history has proven: it is possible to exceed the limits we once believed to exist. We just need to look up.

#rant #millennials #globalwarming #activism