Netflix Generation Not Getting the Message

It is no secret that college students lean to the left. Of course professors stoke this passion, but even the most liberal-minded professor can seem slow or stodgy in the eyes of a 19-year-old Bernie Dreamer.

Overwhelmingly, young liberals are politically enlightened, not through MSNBC or NPR, but through shows that are available on the Internet or Comedy Central.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert debuted in 1999 and 2005 respectively. These two men spawned a new generation of liberal comedic shows, which now include those hosted by John Oliver, Trevor Noah, and Larry Wilmore. They focus on topical entertainment and political news, but add a heavy dose of selective fact-finding and use comedy to mask their decidedly liberal viewpoints.

Studies reflect that shows like these are the main reservoirs of news for young people, many of which are likely Bernie Sanders supporters. A survey done in 2012 indicated that 82 percent of people between the ages of 18-29 received their news from either “The Colbert Report” or “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

TYT (The Young Turks) represents an even newer, more potent genre of college-aged political entertainment. TYT is entirely produced for YouTube and has millions of hits for each show. The audience is typically led by one host, or perhaps a panel of guests, that discuss hot-button issues. TYT is especially progressive and prides itself on its lack of balance. In essence, their views are the “truth” and other programs that try to be balanced are making a false equivalency.

TYT is especially notorious for being an echo chamber in which progressive “facts” and truisms reverberate from one host to the other, preaching to the Bernie Sanders socialist choir. “Why represent all views if many viewpoints are wrong?” the line of thinking goes. There are some conservative alternatives to these channels, but there needs to be more time and resources put into these mediums in order for them to be effective.

Yes, all types of media suffer in various degrees of the mentioned symptoms: the echo chamber, cherry-picking facts, and questionable journalistic practices. However, what makes these uber-liberal Internet-based shows especially concerning is how they have cornered the market on college-aged voters. There is much less competition for ideas and less incentive to keep your work honest. They understand our generation’s voracious appetite for on-demand media as well as our general intellectual laziness. With the advent of Netflix, as a modern media consumer, I don’t wait weeks for shows to appear on cable TV. I simply watch entire seasons of shows for hours at a time. College students also want their news in a similar fashion.

[lz_infobox]This piece is part of a CampusZette series exploring the culture, oddities and experiences of students on college campuses through their eyes.[/lz_infobox]

Someone my age might get his information from memes or Open Letters on Facebook. For an issue like funding for Planned Parenthood, I might watch two or three YouTube clips from “The Colbert Report” and John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” and finish with a 30-minute bit from TYT. I was told by multiple “trustworthy” and funny hosts, speaking directly at me, about how I should think and vote regarding the “assault on women.” Without consuming a drop of information from the mainstream media — failing to watching CNN or read one Politico article — I feel like I am completely aware of that issue. Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth!

For conservative principles to reach the thoughts of millennials, conservative advocates must play a larger role in the life of the millennial. The first step is recognizing who and what college students are watching. When it comes to reaching students with a conservative message, the Chris Matthews or the Melissa Harris-Perrys of the world are not the enemy. They are non-players. Students today are looking for new and fresh answers to make sense of the United States’ fallen state both domestically and internationally and these online, funny voices are providing answers instantly in an overwhelmingly progressive way.

Until our own conservative thinkers become proactive and strategize a way to reach the minds and hearts of our youth, liberals will have a monopoly on this media market. While some would say conservative values are holding the right back from reaching a younger demographic, I do not believe that is so. I came to know and love free-market conservatism through Free to Choose videos posted on YouTube. Listening to Milton Friedman, William Buckley, and Thomas Sowell inspired and energized me. It’s not the message that’s the problem; it’s the failure to enter the online media space. We simply need to become more aware and engaged in the fight for the generation of the future.

John Hernandez is a junior at the University of Virginia.