Youth activism, young adult social activism, call it what you want; it’s become an increasingly prevalent part of society today.  Social media, blogs and other forms of technology, to name a few, are making it easier than ever before to connect to organizations that promote and support social activism.

Is youth social activism just a fruitless fad or will it actually help the world and force organizations to change the way things are run? According to TBWA/Worldwide and their 2010 research on the subject, there’s a lot more to the future of social activism than we may think. TBWA/Worldwide believes that people should start caring about the robust social activism contributed by young adults for many reasons.

They’ve presented these eye-opening statistics that could change the way organizations and adults think about youth activism and how it impacts society,

• Young adults aged 20-28 are going beyond just being informed and talking to their friends about social issues. They are taking part in social politics/ activism and organization should be aware of this.
• Young adults have been participating in social activism through various activities. For instance, they could be donating money, donating a significant amount of their time, participating in rallies or meetings, fundraising for social benefit, boycotting or supporting businesses based on social reasons, subscribing to news online, leading events, or getting in touch with representatives.
• Young adult social activism had greatly increased in the past years. Between year 2010 and 2011, young adult social activism increased by 35%( jumped from 38% to 73%). Furthermore 70% young adult Americans are “social activists”.
• There are more female young adult activists than there are males (3 in 5).
• Three in five social activists are educated and working individuals.
• Young adults are most interested in eight major social issues: cancer, literacy, energy,conservation, quality education, obesity, access to education, access to health care, and freedom of speech.

These facts don’t just affect individuals though.  Organizations also stand to benefit from this new uptake in social change.

In fact, Almost 80% of young adult social activists would be willing to purchase from an organization that also cares for a social cause they support. Moreover, 75% said that they would “think highly” of an organization that supports a social cause. Also, 3 in 4 claimed that they would also like to work for an organization that somehow contributes to a social cause.

It can’t be denied that these findings are quite revealing and send a strong message to corporations around the globe. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, a survey conducted for the “millennial impact project” revealed 75 percent young people gave donations to charities in the year 2011. They also found that young donors are more likely to develop these relationships with charities online and send gift electronically.

Angela White, the chief executive of the organization that conducted the survey also noted that these young adults are interested in taking on leadership roles, “They want real responsibilities and an opportunity to put their skills and expertise to work,” Ms. White says. “They don’t want to sit at the kiddie table.”

We can’t exactly pinpoint how this revolution was brought about in which young adults, often labeled the “millennials”, started caring a lot more about giving back to the world than their own selfish needs.  Whatever the case, we can’t argue that the statistics show how future organizations should take social activism more seriously—and that this is inarguably a beneficial trend in the long run.

Written By: Liana Daren

An aspiring blogger, Liana Daren loves blogging a lot and in her leisure time she enjoys updating her social media presence with insightful posts on the latest trends in education, marketing and much more. She also blogs for an online coursework writing service. Join  her on G+ to Know more about coursework point

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