Tuesday afternoon, students gathered at Annenberg for an interactive discussion and book signing with Morley Winograd, former White House official and leading expert on millennials.

Winograd is the co-author of Millenium Momentum, which discusses the influence of the generation of young people have grown up in the 2000s. He believes that millennials have become “a permanent part of America’s political landscape” and will play a major role in future politics, social media, and public policy. To prove his point, Winograd described the generation’s influence on recent election processes and political campaigns.

Morley Winograd and students/Janet Lee

Winograd stated that government campaigns have purposely focused on appealing to the millennial demographic  because of its vast consumption of media. He backed this statement with a poignant example- President Obama’s success in the 2012 presidential election. With a brief slideshow presentation, Winograd explained that a campaign geared toward winning millennial support was the key to garnering enough votes to secure President Obama’s victory against Romney. 

Winograd described millennials as avid data sharers who take advantage of unlimited access to technology. Students took notes as Winograd elaborated on the millennial generations’ infatuation with all modes of social media- Waze, Jazbone, Yelp, Tumblr, Twitter, among others. “Data sharing”, he claimed, “is the millennial way of life.” Our need to be in constant connection with our community via social networking certainly is reflective of today’s culture.

His claims were clearly applicable to the students in the room, the majority of which had hand-held devices, linked to a plethora of data sharing apps. In addition, Winograd stated that this particular generation is “willing to trade privacy for the benefits of the internet.”

Students participated in the discussion, addressing the dangers of sharing too much personal information online. Several recalled their younger siblings’ infatuation with Twitter and Facebook, drawing looks of concern from around the room. One student mentioned how even “seven-year olds can now Snap-chat with their smart phones”, indicating that the technology craze has become prominent in generations even younger than millenials. Students speculated that such a trend could be a cause for worry. This led to further discussion on the future of technology and social communication as Winograd left the students with a resounding message: that millennials will determine that future. 

“It was a captivating discussion,” said Cameron Quon, a freshman. “It taught me many new insights about my generation.” Moreover, Winograd’s lecture provided students with a new perspective on current modes of communication. “It was enlightening to see a viewpoint outside of my own generation,” said Judy Lee, a freshman, “that observed my behavior objectively.”

Reach Staff Reporter Leslie Lee here.