Ronan Farrow's new MSNBC show has been trumpeted as cable news' latest attempt to engage Millennials. I fall squarely into that demographic. I'm in my early 20s. I've got a college degree (plus the debt that comes with it). I try to eat salads, but have been known to splurge $7 on an artisanal donut. My job is all about social media. But Farrow's show, with its Playskool blue and yellow color scheme, endless visual aides, and stale news stories that I've heard a thousand times over, left me as cold as his controversial blue eyes.

I'm not alone in my opinion of the show, but as a young person, I wasn't just disappointed in its debut, I felt let down. Millennials like me are looking for 26-year-old Farrow to disprove stereotypes about our generation, but so far the show is making him look like just another pretentious young adult trying to play grown-up.

There's no doubt the show will be undergoing changes in its first few weeks; Farrow is nothing if not hyper-aware of what media – both old and new – have to say about him. He's already made some tweaks to bring on more diverse guests and make the tone more conversational. But if he wants to capture and really connect with a young audience, here's some advice:

1. Allow Farrow's personality – and attitude – to shine through

Farrow already has a very dedicated following on social media. A large part of his appeal stems from his ability to critique the irreverence of his generation while still proving his bona-fides. Observe this impeccable tweet, sent just days before his cable debut:

$5.5bn through 2018 could eradicate polio and save lives. Though it could also buy 393137956 copies of Miley Cyrus's 'Bangerz'. Tough call.

— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) February 18, 2014

As the cliche goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Farrow's wit was nowhere to be found during the first days of his program. He tried too hard to be earnest (he frequently addressed his viewers as "guys"). It's clear his producers wanted him to cut back on the teasing, but by toning down his natural voice, they make it more difficult for Farrow to distinguish himself from MSNBC's lineup of bright young things, or keep his core audience's attention.

2. Bring in more fresh faces

Another misstep: not featuring guests that complement Farrow's personality. Experts with similar sensibilities will help Farrow shine by allowing him to relax enough to be interesting and assertive when the cameras are live. The young host was surprisingly milquetoast along cable news denizens like David Axelrod or Alex Wagner, who seemed there to hold his hand rather than help him cover the stories of the day. Farrow, who has seemed cool, collected, and funny in past cable news appearances, looked intimidated.

I also don't want to see the same faces I've been staring at for years. Farrow's bookers should seek out an eclectic assortment of new and unique voices that, like Farrow, still have something to prove and can therefore bring the requisite energy to the soporific world of daytime cable news.

3. Scale back the social media tie-ins

I know I know, social media is the future (and I'm not just saying that because it's how I pay my rent). But you can't expect people to take your seriously if you're asking your viewers to send you their selfies, especially if you're 26. And asking people to send a selfie with their student loan debt, which is pretty confidential information, just provides fodder for older generations who think we're a bunch of self-involved over-sharers.

But more importantly, the demographic that Farrow is trying to appeal to is notorious for its short attention span, and are not particularly inclined to watch cable news in the first place. Social media tends to be our main source for news. I consider myself to be quite the news junkie, but Ronan Farrow Daily was the first time I'd deliberately turned to cable news in months. And then he went and did segments on Ukraine and legalizing weed, which I'd already read about dozens of times on – you guessed it! – social media. So asking young viewers to tear their eyes away from the screen and hop back on Twitter is not a great idea. It disrupts the flow of the show and gets in the way of Ronan the human, not Ronan the Twitter account, developing a bond with the audience.

4. Wait for the call to action until viewers trust him

Farrow's first show featured two calls to action – the egregious selfie request mentioned above, as well as a promt for a "Twitter battle" about whether Putin or Obama was more serious about Ukraine. I thought it was pretty forward of him to ask me for so much when we'd only just met. He'll get better contributions if he focuses on one callout at a time, instead of asking skittish viewers to multitask.

Farrow, who describes himself as an activist and humanitarian, should also know better than anyone that a tweet cannot do much to solve a problem. On Tuesday's show, Farrow asked viewers to call Arizona governor Jan Brewer to veto the state's controversial SB 1062 law. But elected officials are mainly focused on their constituents, and Jan Brewer could not give less of a damn if some brat from New York City calls and tell her what she should or shouldn't do with a bill concerning the state of Arizona.

Farrow needs to sharpen his callouts, otherwise he's just contributing to the perception that young people aren't interested in committing to actual solutions, only looking to create the image that we care on social media.

Conclusion: Ronan redux

Ronan Farrow Daily has the potential to succeed. He's a figure that his generation (or in cable-news speak, demographic) can identify with, and also look up to. And if he's smart and creative about the way that he approaches his coveted young viewers, they'll not only be looking up to him in the abstract – they'll be looking up at their television sets to catch his show every afternoon (or via the online clips later – did I mention those could be better organized as well?).