A look into Gen z's political views

By—

Temporal Lobe

A look into Gen Z's political views

Misc. Jan 8, 2021 10:40 PST

Photo by Ivanna via GBHSOFT

Gen Z, or Generation Z, is a generation of kids born from 1997 to 2012. Today, many of them are growing up to become teens or young adults, and as they mature, they’re starting to become more and more socially aware and involved with politics. As a member of Gen Z myself, I know we are a big demographic for movements and protests, with the power of change in our hands in a few years from now. As they grow, millions of Gen Z kids are slowly forming opinions about the world around them, and I have to wonder, what is the future of politics? What policies will we govern by years later? What does Gen Z think of common social issues? Will we be able to solve our long-lasting problems of the past? Will we be the first people to unite everyone? As it turns out, Gen Z is more versatile than we think.

I believe that every political view is taught. Nobody is born Republican or Democratic because children simply don’t care. Figures like teachers, parents, friends, social media mutuals, and generally just older or more educated people in our lives can influence our beliefs very much, and because of this, it’s very, very hard to convince others to change their opinions. At least for me, ads or politicians don’t convince me often, because most of the time they’re just twisting the truths to what we want to hear to win us over. It’s different though with the people we see in real life. Those people are close to us and care about us; why would they ever lie? Unfortunately, everyone is biased, and no one can truly always speak complete facts. Gen Z though has an advantage. We have all grown up with the internet at our fingertips, with Google right there every time we have a question, social media there to talk to others at the speed of a second, and other forms of technology to make learning so much easier than before. If it weren’t for platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, I don’t think I would see the world through the same lens that I do now! These days, it’s really easy to go viral, or at least semi-viral; viral enough to educate several people and inform them of things they would’ve never known before. For example, a random stranger who happens to find injustice somewhere has a chance to reach thousands of people, and even create an entire movement!

[ insert edit of tiktoks and instagram posts that helped raise awareness for social issues ]

Though we are still young, and might not have much money or fame yet, many can still join protests and movements online. One of the most used ways to have your voice heard is through signing petitions. It’s super easy and takes about five minutes to complete, yet beneficial. The question for many is do these work? It doesn’t seem like it on the surface. In almost every country, no matter how much you protest, if the government is set on something, you won’t be able to change their minds. Take the Uighur detention camps in China still going on today. For months now people have been protesting against them and spreading the word around, yet there are still the same number of innocent people, if not more, being tormented for no reason there. But research shows that petitions do affect people, just not whom it’s meant to affect. Online petitions are a way to count how many people care about the matter at hand, like a warning saying, “These many people are watching you, don’t do something stupid.” While they don’t have a legal stand, they can still influence many by recruiting and gathering people all around who share the same concern about an issue to hopefully create a bigger movement like in-person protesting. They are also great for spreading the word around and educating. So while you’re at home scrolling through social media, you could be a part of future big movements and change!

Climate change is also a huge topic for discussion when it comes to Gen Z. Unlike the generations before them, they care more knowing that the earth that older people leave behind is the earth we will eventually live the rest of our lives on. One source said that 76% of Gen Z are concerned about climate change and 54% of Gen Z believe the Earth is getting warmer because of us humans. Along with that 82% of Republicans even believe the same thing, compared to 64% and 58% of Gen X and baby-boomer Republicans. That’s a big difference. Considering how Republicans generally believe environmental issues less than Democrats do, this information says something about what young people care about. According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) of Tufts University, the top issues for the youth are Covid-19, the economy, racism, and climate change! The fact that climate change has made it onto that list, along with a global pandemic and the economy, means that we do care and worry about the future of the earth. For one, ever since I was young, I remember reading books about saving electricity, plastic, and water. I’m sure many other people have too and that has been in our mind ever since we were little. Many Gen Z-ers I know participate in environmentally-friendly acts every day like planting trees, actively picking up trash, donating to charities, and using reusable bags and utensils instead of plastic ones. I think many people want to help the environment but feel it’s too hard and inconvenient, but in reality, there are tons of things you could be doing right now to contribute to preserving our earth. A few websites with ways you can help are linked below.

Usually, I see fifteen to eighteen-year-olds on the internet educating others, and I’m amazed. It’s truly great to see people within my age group taking action on serious social issues, and it inspires me to do the same. However, as a seventh-grader, I didn’t see a lot of other thirteen-year-olds doing the same. That was completely fine— who would expect pre-teens to be posting videos preaching social awareness? But in recent months, especially as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement, many of my friends have been actively sharing news online of things such as social injustice. On Instagram stories, it’s guaranteed that while swiping through them, I will find one full of news. We never make fun of people of a different race, gender, sexuality, religion, etc; say offensive things; or refuse to correct ourselves when we are in the wrong. Best of all, we always remember to correct others when they are saying something wrong. It makes me so proud and encourages me to be brave and speak up too. It’s very easy to believe that you can’t change anything if you’re not famous, but look at me; I’m constantly being inspired and led by my peers to do the right thing and spread awareness, even if it’s just within my small community.

With all this knowledge, you’d think that all of Gen Z is left-winged for sure, but after doing some research, I found some surprising results that said otherwise. My past points were all about how I, as a member of Gen Z myself, saw the politics of my generation, but what I didn’t realize before was that these were just how I saw everything. While social media is a great tool for finding information, it’s also extremely easy to get the wrong idea if you don’t actively look for it. Each of our home pages is skewed to our preferences, making it so that we only see the things we want to. This is a disadvantage Gen Z has because we practically live on social media, and when we scroll through the news, we aren’t actively looking for false information, so we tend to believe more often. Some interesting research on why people are so susceptible to false information online can be found here.

According to Business Insider, 36% of people from age 18-29 voted for Trump, which was shocking to hear. How many young Republicans do you usually see? I’ve never even met a single Trump supporter before! Even online, it seems that Gen Z is a progressive group of people who don't like Trump at all. Every day, you see him getting insulted because of his rude behaviour and sometimes offensive words, and it’s common knowledge that he’s made really bad decisions in his life before, so why are there still so many Trump supporters? I think it’s because of Trump’s policies. Among young people, there are significantly less passionate Trump supporters, rather they’re just people who agree with one or two priorities he has. Many of them went through the GFC or Global Financial Crisis with their parents. They had to see their families struggle with money, and how it took a huge toll on their mental health and lives and thus leading to a slight fear that it would happen to them too one day. This is why many people support Trump. He has always put a lot of thought into the economy, and admittedly, has done a lot for it. With other politicians supporting things such as the Green New Deal, and banning fracking, it’s understandable how many would not vote for them, as many Republicans feel that policies like those would cause the economy to crash, both short term and long term. I think this goes to show that one policy can really make a difference. If Trump didn’t care about the economy, I wonder if any of his young supporters would switch to Biden or another candidate instead. To win over Trump’s young voters, I think the Democratic party needs to find a way to explain to them how the economy won’t be ruined because of their ideas, and how the economy can still be safe even without Trump.

In four years, it will be an election year in the U.S again, meaning fourteen-year-olds today will be of age to vote in America then. I’m personally very optimistic and interested in what we will be capable of in the future. We’ve already made a lot of progress with AOC, the youngest House Representative yet, so will Gen Z be able to influence politics as much as I hope? I have a younger sister who was born in 2011, and even though I’m not much older, I still feel like I have a responsibility to educate her as best as I can. Could we all be like that to our future children? Would it make a difference?

Since the future is in our hands, I can’t help but be excited. I hope we all become more responsible and help each other enforce the basic human rights many of us don’t have right now. Most of all, I wish that we can learn to be more mature and educated in politics than some figures today. Observing the entire election process this year has been confusing and chaotic, with debates turning into what many would call arguments, refusal to accept defeat, and voting issues. Maybe one day we can bring everyone together and have a much more controlled and harmonious government.

How you can be more environmentally friendly:

A collection of posts on social media that have informed many Gen Z about important issues

Photo by Lorie Shaull via Flickr

Photo by Matt McClain via Getty Images

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By—

Temporal Lobe

A look into Gen Z's political views