Millennials and Media Ecology

Book excerpt: Millennials and Media Ecology explores issues pertaining to millennials and digital media ecology and studies the cultural, pedagogical, and political environments such heterogeneous generation populates. The book questions whether millennials are properly understood as a heterogeneous group, particularly by the institutions and agencies that target them, and whether they are demonstrating the ability to set out a path for themselves and take charge of their own life and future. A diverse team of expert authors review past and current studies with critical assessment of arguments and propositions, and document actual experiences of members of the millennial generation through detailed studies. Engaging with topical subject matter and current research on millennials, the chapters: Question the misunderstanding that digital tools and Internet technologies are making the younger generation ‘dumber’ and ‘disengaging’ them from the real world Underscore the legal and economic insights into the commodification of the younger generation as consumers rather than learners Examine the historical trajectory of media technology, and whether new practices are having an empowering effect or one of enslavement to an increasingly irreversible technological and socio-political regime Shed light on issues of critical pedagogy emerging from digital environments in relation to one’s mental abilities and degrees of wisdom Discuss the cultural and political implications of millennials’ new media trends, the changing relationship between millennials and legacy media, which rely on the younger generation for survival;Offer new insights into the significance of current media trends in relation to issue of credibility and identity. This is an essential book for scholars in the fields of Media and Communications and Popular Culture, and will be vital reading for postgraduate students and specialists in related fields.