The Millennial Generation And Their View On Terrorism: A Perspective For Policymakers

The millennial generation, or people born roughly between 1980 and 2000, have surpassed the Baby Boomers as America’s largest living generation. Therefore, a topic worthy of study is how the opinions and actions of millennials are shaping public policy. This thesis explores the views on terrorism of millennials, specifically the college-age cohort (born between 1995 and 1998), as compared with those of other generations. Two datasets (one collected from a survey of the Appalachian State University student cohort and another from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs) were utilized to support the claim that the millennial generation, specifically the college-age cohort, view terrorism less seriously than non-millennials. The hypothesis was based on an examination of the influence of several factors: the generational effect and socialization, education, and mass media. The data also dispelled a commonly held belief that millennials are generally apathetic as they were found to be just as passionate about such other issues as climate change and the protection of U.S. jobs. Interestingly, the research also discovered that the college-age student cohort, specifically, are relatively more interested in combating international terrorism. This apparent contradiction suggests one of many possibilities for future research.