“Are We Dead Yet?”: What The Walking Dead Can Teach Us About War Culture, Social Media Frenzy, And How Millennials Deal With It All

Abstract

The idea of Zombies and the Zombie Apocalypse fascinate the millennial generation, digital natives who process information uniquely because of their immersion in new technologies, especially smart phones and social media networks. Research shows that millennials’ and their ability to digitally multitask influences their cultural perspectives. Now place this generation in a post 9/11 world perennially at war with a nomadic and often unrecognizable enemy bent on destroying them anytime, anyplace, by any means. The millennials fascination with zombies could simply be a feeling of uber-vulnerability, leading them to defeat death by transforming it into another kind of life. Maybe. What if we add to this mix research on texting habits and social media usage, and their impact on how millennials think, learn, communicate? Then what do we discover? This last season of The Walking Dead suggests some answers, answers that provide both hope and warning to all of us who educate, parent, hire, or otherwise befriend the generation that will soon rise to power and be called upon to change the world.