My audience is a demographic of young adults; just starting,
getting a taste of the world and a foot hold into life. As one of only five of
us over the age of 22, I almost feel like an old-timer, and yet I am just
starting out myself.
They’re workers, this group. It seems they’ve all already
started somewhere, be it a crappy burger flipping job, a volunteer position
turned job, or even something so exotic as tobacco cutter/bundler. We are all
now in a position of asking ourselves what’s next.
There seems to be an adventurous vein in this group. When
asked about crazy things we have done, jumping off of various things and
blowing various other things up were oddly common answers. This group also
seems to be very outdoorsy as a rule.
Family is very important to this group, particularly
grandparents and siblings. There were several things that brought me to this
conclusion, but most notable among them was that many stated that they would
spend their last hour with family, which I think is an interesting choice given
the average age of this group, their implied adventurer streak, and the light
nature of this exercise. Clearly, family plays an important role with this
audience.
The group displayed a fairly bold sense of humor with some
of their answers to different questions. I would say that some serious things
are open for satire with them, as long as the writer knows where he can step.
Despite a few jokers and cut-ups, many members of the group
admire some serious historical figures, such as oddly particular presidents and
war heroes.
Another departure from the jokester viewpoint is the group’s
overwhelming sense of human interest. When poled about career interests, most
of the group fell into a broader category of helping others, with choices such
as Nurse, Counselor, Therapist, Psychologist, Teacher, Social Worker, and
Police Officer. Maybe this bend toward altruism has something to do with the
strong family values that my audience seems to have.
Finally, I think it’s worth mentioning that when asked where
they were on September 11th, 2001, most of the group responded that
they were in first or second grade. That surprised me, even though the math was
there just waiting to be done. My immediate thought after this realization was
that these young adults probably find the politics of today confusing and
nonsensical. Maybe I’m wrong, but I remember 9/11 well, and our nation’s
polices still confuse the Hell out of me.
I expected my audience to be young, strong, adventurous, and
cynically witty. I was surprised, however, to find them so family minded, and
so inclined to the idea of dedicating their working lives to helping other
people. Knowing what I know now, I am more comfortable writing with my own
slightly cynical, humorous view of the world. More interestingly, though, is
the fact that I now feel more comfortable exploring the more sentimental side
of the things that we write about, knowing that my audience is not just a group
of vicious, blood thirsty, cynical youth, but are in fact the latest wave of
thinkers and feelers in the ongoing flow of people making their way through
this confusing, mixed up world.
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