Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, gave\u00a0the commencement address to graduates of Long Island University. He discussed\u00a0the special traits and unique circumstances of those who are getting their degrees this year.<\/p>\n\n
<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n From\u00a0\u201c25 Random Things About You<\/a>\u201d:<\/em> <\/p>\n\n I thought I would start with reasons you have to hope, especially those of you who might not have completely figured out what the next step in your life will be.<\/p>\n\n You can take heart from my own story. When I got my degree here in 1977, there is no way I could have envisioned a path that 32 years later would have had me running a research organization that looks at how people use the internet and cell phones.<\/p>\n\n The year I got my degree, the Crazy Eddie\u2019s at Roosevelt Field did not stock items called personal computers. They were still being hand-assembled by geeks in California.<\/p>\n\n Neither did Crazy Eddie\u2019s carry any of the new mobile telephones that were just coming into the commercial market in Japan.<\/p>\n\n Then there is the real tomorrow-land that I could not have imagined. In 1977, small computer networks run over phone wires were about 7 years into the future\u2026.<\/p>\n\n A lovely string of computer code called the World Wide Web was still 12 years over the horizon.<\/p>\n\n \u2026 instant messaging was 19 years off<\/p>\n\n \u2026 iPods, 25 years<\/p>\n\n \u2026 MySpace, 26 years<\/p>\n\n \u2026 and \u2026 for the 1977 me \u2026 YouTube was 29 years into the unknown.<\/p>\n\n I point all this out in order to highlight the truth I learned from the great rhythm and blues philosopher, Sam Cooke\u2026 \u201cChange is Gonna Come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n You will see a lot of it, but can\u2019t anticipate much of it. So \u2026 what are you gonna do about that?<\/p>\n\n I thought I would use as the structure for this talk \u2026 an idea that developed online this past winter. It became popular in the notes section of Facebook for users to post \u201c25 Random Things About Me\u201d and share the notes in their newsfeeds, inviting Facebook friends to create their own factoids.<\/p>\n\n So, I want to rip off that idea and tell you \u201c25 Random Things About You\u201d \u2026 and think about how they might help you march into your future.<\/p>\n\n Here we go… Random Thing About YOU: <\/p>\n\n Number 1: <\/strong>Your generation is bigger<\/a> and …\u00a0Number 2<\/strong> …\u00a0more racially and ethnically diverse<\/a> than any generation in American history \u2026 including Baby Boomers. When you add in the likely immigration that is yet to come, your generation could eventually approach 100 million people, compared with the 75 million or so who are Boomers.<\/p>\n\n There are those who worry that a more diverse population poses cultural problems for the country. But thanks to the fact \u2026 Random Thing Number 3<\/strong> \u2026 that you are the most aggressive and eager social networkers<\/a> in history<\/a>, this diversity could work out really well for you.<\/p>\n\n There is abundant medical and sociological research showing that people with big, diverse social networks are healthier, happier, and better off economically than those with small and homogeneous networks.<\/p>\n\n So, you just have to follow your own instincts to reap the advantages of networking … because you \u2026 college-educated Millennials \u2026 are the most racially and socially tolerant cohort in history<\/a>. Those are Random Things 4 and 5<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n So, keep cultivating new friends even as you stay in touch with the buddies you made here. You get EXTRA CREDIT if they have different color skin, speak a different language, were born in a different generation, or come from a different socio-economic class.<\/p>\n\n And I\u2019ll make that extra-credit angle Random Thing No. 6<\/strong> about you. Your generation is more achievement-oriented<\/a>, grade-conscious, and rule-observing than your parents\u2019 or grandparents\u2019 generation. You already get extra credit for having gotten into less trouble with the law than your predecessors and having experienced fewer social and emotional problems … (Those are Random Things 7, 8, and 9<\/strong>).\u00a0 Moreover, there are a lot more of you entering and graduating from college<\/a> than was the case when your elders were your age \u2026 Thing\u00a010<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n Now, let\u2019s circle back to the social networks stuff for a minute. You seem to have struck a really nice balance in your social networks between what sociologists call \u201cstrong ties\u201d (your family and friends who would do anything for you) and your \u201cweak ties\u201d (the people you have a looser connection to).<\/p>\n\n Random Thing 11 <\/strong>is that you are more likely than your elders<\/a> to say your parents, a teacher or a mentor is your role model. Clearly, you honor your \u201cstrong ties\u201d in a lovely, traditional way.<\/p>\n\n At the same time, you serve your \u201cweak ties\u201d by performing volunteer activities at staggering rates<\/a>, which is Random Thing 12<\/strong> \u2026 Perhaps that\u2019s because you were the first generation to have \u201ccommunity service\u201d requirements imposed on you by most of your school districts\u2026. Thing 13<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n Whatever the reason, you have taken the call to civic engagement seriously and last year translated it into record-shattering voting numbers<\/a> in the election \u2026 that\u2019s #14<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n Most surprising to us Baby Boomers is that you showed us what a REAL generation gap looks like. Your disproportionate support for Barack Obama created the largest disparity in voting between young voters and others<\/a> in the history of modern polling. That\u2019s Random Thing 15<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n Numbers 16-23<\/strong> all relate to technology. You and your peers are much more likely than your elders to<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n