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Gustavo Sanchez
English 115
Professor Lawson
28 November 2016
Project 3 Pop Culture Research Paper: Rough Draft
2025 words
Bernie Sanders Impact on the Millennials Generation with Social Media Outreach
Born between the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s, the Millennial generation is one of the
most diverse and educated generations there has ever been and not to mention the first digital
generation which grew up with the internet as well as experiencing the advancement and
improvement of technology. The Millennial Generation is quite different from all other
generations. As the most racially diverse generation in American history, the ethnic makeup of
the Millennial generation today is one of the key elements in the explanation of the majority of
Millennials expressing liberal/progressive views and values compared to the past generations
who tend to be more conservative (Pew Social Trends). Being labeled as digital natives
(Kelsh), according to Chaz Kelsh a writer for the Journalists Resource which is a project of the
Harvard Kennedy Schools

Shorenstein Center, Millennials are heavily in tune on social media

site platforms such as Facebook and Twitter which can be an outreach for news that happens
worldwide (Kelsh).
Millennials specifically use these social media platform sites the most to be informed of
news, political issues, and political candidates in which social media can be a gateway for the
younger generation to be engaged in politics as concluded in Harvard Kennedy School's

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Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policys March 2015 research study (Kelsh).
The Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is
Harvard Universitys research center on the analysis of public policy and the intersections of
press and has conducted research such as this relating to Millennials and Bernie Sanders since
1980. This years recent United States 2016 presidential elections was one election process in
which we didnt expect to have such an unlikely turnout where the republican candidate Donald
Trump won the presidential nomination over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The only
positive aspect that came from the 2016 presidential elections was the rising popularity of the
United Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders during the Democratic Primaries. During
Sanders presidential run, not only has he had the highest approval rating during the race, but
also is the most popular senator in America with a whopping 80 percent approval rating
concluded by Morning Consult; a nonpartisan digital media and survey research company which
provides research on political issues (Morning Consult). Millennial voters especially have a
strong appeal of Bernie Sanders policies and ideals because he has influenced and got the
majority of the Millennial demographic to be more interested and engaged in American politics
through the general Media and particularly social media in which Millennials use the most to
keep up with news. Before we can delve into what made Sanders the most popular candidate
amongst Millennials, we first have to answer the question: How did the Senator from Vermont
Bernie Sanders become Millennials most popular presidential candidate and how has his
portrayal in social media impacted the Millennial generation on their perspective on American
politics?

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According to the Pew Research Center on Social and Demographic trends, a nonpartisan
and nonprofit research center based in Washington D.C. that is funded by The Pew Federal
Trusts, concludes that Millennials are relatively unattached to organized politics and religion
(Pew Social Trends) compared to the past generations and are most likely to be linked by social
media (Pew Social Trends) as a resource for news and entertainment. Pew Research Center on
Social and Demographic trends further concludes that the Millennial demographic are less likely
to identify with either of the two major political parties, Democratic or Republican, and veer
towards liberalism and that the majority of which self-describe themselves as independents than
the past four generations (Pew Research Center). In relation to this, we can see how Millennials
could have been attracted to Bernie Sanders and his campaign in 2016 because Sanders is a
declared independent who recently has caucused with the Democratic Party and is

anti-establishment based on Americas conventional political principles that havent really seen
any significant change. On Zaid Jilanis article on Bernie Sanders political record on Alternet,
an award winning independent news magazine and online community which focuses on the
advocacy on human rights and civil liberties, the environment, social justice, health care issues,
and more; Jinali discusses that Bernie Sanders has amassed a 50 year history of standing up for
civil and minority rights (Jinali) and listens to the concerns of marginalized groups (Jinali).
The Humanist Report with Mike Figueredo, which is a progressive podcast that analyzes weekly
news and political issues, not to long ago discussed on one of their podcasts the differences
between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton during the Civil Rights movement. In their podcast,
The Humanist Report further added that during the Civil Rights Era, Bernie Sanders when
enrolled at the University of Chicago, led a civil rights sit-in to desegregate the University of

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Chicago whereas his future opponent Hillary Clinton was campaigning for the Republican
candidate Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential elections which Goldwater openly opposed
desegregation in schools and other establishments (The Humanist Report).
Bernie Sanders does not have any endorsements of Super PACs whereas his former
opponent Hillary Clinton has been known for being hit with scandals time and time again where
she still refuses to release the transcripts of paid speeches she gave to investment banks on Wall
Street (Morning Consult). Sophia A. McClennen, Professor of International Affairs and
Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University, concludes that the main reason that
Sanders and his campaign became and still is popular amongst Millennials is because Bernie
Sanders is the only political figure and candidate to put the real issues such as: student loan debt,
high unemployment rates, and climate change that affect the nations youth the most
(McClennen). Another factor that made Bernie Sanders gain more popularity and impact on
Millennials is that the Millennial demographic are facing immensely high student loans when
graduating from college or a university along with the high employment rates in where as of
2016, the total student debt is 1.3 trillion dollars and continues to rise(TICAS). According to the
independent, nonprofit organization that conducts nonpartisan research and analysis on students,
the Institute for College Access and Success recently had a project on student loan debt and
concluded that the average 2015 college graduate owes an average of $30,100, up four percent
from the 2014 average of $28,950 (TICAS). Growing up during the recession, the Millennial
demographic was affected the most and had their adulthood experience delayed which resulted to
their loss of faith in the government and institutions they thought they could depend on
(Wagner). One of latest of series of public pollings conducted by Harvards Institute of Politics,

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which may conclude Sanders success with Millennial voters, was that the polls indicated that for
Millennials to have true trust in government and politics, the future president must have the
ability to address and execute the issues: Grow the economy, reduce terrorism at home and
abroad, unite Americans to address inequality and every front, inspire the post 9/11 unified
Americans many recall, and reduce the role of big money and politics. And by the looks of it
Bernie Sanders and his campaigns policies have addressed these issues where other candidates
havent or have avoided in the past. Another component to analyze on how Bernie Sanders
amassed Millennial voters support was on how he and his campaign used social media platforms
such as Facebook and Twitter to get their message to resonate amongst Millennials. Social
networking site Facebook especially gave Sanders the opportunity to reach out to Millennials
where his numerous facebook posts attracted tens of thousands of likes and shares which for the
majority of whom often engaged in his posts were Millennial voters (Corasaniti).
Most can agree that Sanders in this past year has been seen as an important advocate to
the specific issues that Millennials are facing today. But on the other hand however, opposing
factions might debate and argue otherwise if its so the case. One issue pertaining to Bernie
Sanders and why he lost the Democratic nomination was that Sanders political point of view of
his self-identification as a democratic socialist caused an obstacle amongst the older-aged margin
of voters (Chait). Throughout the early 20th century the average working American has
responded and perceived the term socialism with immense negativity (Chait). Following after
Sanders run in the presidential elections, Jonathan Chaits article from New York Magazine
which is a credible bi-weekly magazine, analyzed on the lurking variables that could have
affected Sanders proposed policies in which they would never be made into legislation. Sanders

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has also during his run as a presidential candidate, has had trouble on occasions when addressing
international affairs such as the November 2015 Paris attacks during the time at one of the
Democratic Debates (Chait). By the mere fact that we have a House of Representatives which is
predominantly Republican, it would marginalize or cease any of Sanders important progressive
legislation (Chait). John Haltiwanger, politics writer at Elite Daily which is an American online
news network providing news specifically for the Millennial demographic, critiques Sanders and
his campaign because although he does have a definitive edge over Hillary Clinton on approval
ratings and proposed internal policies, Clinton does have an edge when it comes to foreign policy
and international affairs (Haltiwanger). In addition, Haltiwanger analyzes that since Bernie
Sanders liberal demeanor does take a critical position on how the U.S. is more focused on
spending military defences, that altogether Sanders taking such a stance can be politically
unpopular against partisan lines (Haltiwanger).
It could be safe to assume that all these positive and negative claims about the Senator
from Vermont Bernie Sanders appears to be in a sense a valid argument, but the actual sound
argument that is towards Bernie Sanders is that Sanders has moved the Millennial generation as a
whole and has changed the direction of where the United States is going is by his stance on:
single-payer universal healthcare system, the raise in federal wage to 15 dollars an hour, and to
move big money out of politics in terms of Super PACs and contributions. Throughout Sanders
political career, he has been an activist for human and civil equality from his time being a student
at the University of Chicago to now as a former presidential candidate and Senator of Vermont.
Sanders track record doesnt lie or when it is politically convenient for him on political
correctness. Bernie Sanders is an overall progressive and that his only intentions, during his time

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as a presidential candidate, was to fix the national problems that this country faces and not the
issues at an international level. Dennis Williams, Senior Editor for Fresh U NYU an online
publication at New York University for students, analyzed the most appealing aspect of Bernie
Sanders is that hes not bought by Wall Street nor does he have a Super PAC (Williams)
meaning that these wealthy donors or companies cant buy into or influence Sanders opinion.
On the other hand however, his former opponent Hillary Clinton made an estimated 11 million
dollars during a extent of two years just from giving a couple of speeches to these big firms and
banks (Williams). With these claims against Bernie Sanders are primarily on his position on
United States foreign affairs and interventions, primarily on the Iraq War, we have to evaluate
and see that the more interventions that we do, we do more damage and get ourselves deeper into
debt along with the issues we face nationally. It was hard to see Senator Sanders not winning the
Democratic nomination, but we were able to see a movement Sanders created and in turn
resonated amongst Millennial voters. Overall, during his time as a presidential candidate,
Sanders strong belief and stance on the main issues that are changing the lives of young
Americans who are unsure of their future and loss of faith in the government, Bernie Sanders has
given Millennials a chance for their voice to be heard in politics and has given an entire
generation the power to make policies possible that veers us closer towards a more progressive
and secular country.

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Work Cited
Chait, Jonathan. "The Case Against Bernie Sanders." Daily Intelligencer. N.p., 18 Jan. 2016.
Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
"Chapter 1: Political Trends." Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project.
N.p., 07 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
Corasaniti, Nick. "Seeking the Presidency, Bernie Sanders Becomes Facebook Royalty Through
Quirky Sharing." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 May 2015. Web. 17
Nov. 2016.
Haltiwanger, John, ed. "A No-Nonsense Guide To The Pros And Cons Of Hillary And Bernie."
Elite Daily. N.p., 17 Feb. 2016. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
Jilani, Zaid. "19 Examples of Bernie Sanders' Powerful Record on Civil and Human Rights Since
the 1950s." Alternet. N.p., 20 July 2015. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Kelsh, Chaz. "How Social Media Influences Millennials' Political Views - Journalist's
Resource." Journalist's Resource. N.p., 17 May 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
McClennen, Sophia A. "Why Millennials Love Bernie Sanders: This Is What Trump, Hillary
and Chris Matthews Dont Understand about How Politics Has Changed." Salon. N.p.,
3 June 2016. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
Morning Consult. "The Most (And Least) Popular Senators In America - Morning Consult."
Morning Consult. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
The Humanist Report. "The Difference Between Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton During the
Civil Rights Era." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Feb. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

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"The Institute For College Access and Success." Home | The Institute For College Access and
Success. N.p., 20 Feb. 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
"The Institute of Politics at Harvard University." Harvard IOP Fall 2016 Poll | The Institute of
Politics at Harvard University. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
Thomas, Derek. "Adulthood, Delayed: What Has the Recession Done to Millennial?" The
Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 14 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Wagner, John, ed. "Why Millennials Love Bernie Sanders, and Why That May Not Be Enough."
Washington Post. The Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
Williams, Dennis. "The Pros and Cons of Each Presidential Candidate | Fresh U." Fresh U. N.p.,
1 Mar. 2016. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.