The midterm election is a few days away. Could Generation Z votes tip the Congressional majority in favor of Democrats, even in districts with long Republican traditions? Which issues matter to Generation Z, and are they communicating these by voting?
Two trends characterize young people’s voting behavior. They tend not to vote. When they vote, they tend to lean left. There has been much speculation if Generation Z would become more conservative generation, but there is little evidence to support that idea. Moreover, record turnout could be expected from younger cohorts this year. In Texas and Georgia early and absentee voting by people under 30 has increased by more than 400 percent.
What brings Generation Z to the polls?
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They are deeply worried
Several studies show that Generation Z is far more depressed and anxious than generations before them. Gen Z is almost twice as likely to be depressed than Boomers. The source of their misgivings has been explained away with screen addiction, an issue not typically considered a political one. If banning smartphones were on the political agenda, you’d see Gen Zers show up to the polls in droves!
While there probably is some unidirectional relationship between screentime and general misery, it also serves as a convenient whipping boy. A flickering, bluelighted whipping boy stands in for the societal pathologies that are being communicated to our teenagers via those screens.
If your screen is your window to the world and it tells you the world getting worse, wouldn’t you also feel a bit gloomy? If we look at the plethora of causes of why Gen Z worry, screen addiction diminishes and more politically pointed issues come to the forefront.
Here are just a few of those worries: 1 out of 5 Gen Z students experience constant stress at the thought of getting shot at school. 81% worry about money, and on a global basis, 85% worry about the world running of water or natural resources. Being able to afford healthcare or paying back astronomical student loans to learn a skill that could become automated loom large as well. Obviously, with access to screens comes access to information and an unmoderated representation of reality. This is why to Generation Z, voting for change is at least as attractive as digital detox.
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They will vote based on facts and issues more than rhetoric or personalities
Leave Gen Z fandom to Shane Dawson and other YouTubers of the day. Gen Z doesn’t need career politicians to entertain them. When they seem more enthralled with Jeffree Star’s latest lipliner than political talk show pundits, it’s not because they are apolitical. Quite the opposite. They are so worried about the state of the world that it stresses them out. Hence they don’t entertain themselves the way their grandparents do – by keeping a steady stream of MSNBC or Fox News on the TV set! For Gen Z, politics is deadly serious, and gabfests with talking heads engaging in shouting matches in prime TV time have little appeal. Perhaps this is why the average age of viewers of MSNBC and Fox News is 65.
While Gen Z is also susceptible to biased news, it does seem that they better able than their parents and grandparents to tell fact from opinion. This is why – despite the emphasis on compelling narratives and personal stories – politicians whose claims are dubious or faulty will lose this generation. Don’t think you can trick them.
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Old folks are about personal liberty, young people are all about safety
While older voters want to protect their guns, young voters want to protect themselves from those guns. Gun safety, environmental protection and economic issues relating to minimum wage and student debt are some of the most important issues to Generation Z.
Generation Z is growing up in a time the historians Strauss and Howe called a Fourth Turning, or a crisis era. It’s a time characterized by economic and social imbalance and volatility. Young people seek to recreate a sense of security.
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Authentic messages and demographic plurality
Political messages that feel inauthentic or canned won’t appeal to Gen Z. Growing up with the internet at their fingertips, their B.S. radar is strong. Generation Z also wants to hear from demographic groups that have traditionally been underrepresented. In Georgia, democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams could become the first black female to become governor. While fitting the stereotype of male, white and rich, Beto O’Rourke could nonetheless win Texas with a quite progressive agenda against incumbent U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. Honesty and authenticity are what matters the most for Generation Z. While Gen Z is 65 percent liberal-leaning, all hope is not lost for the right. According to this article in Medium, Republican candidates Will Hurd, of Texas and Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse are both doing well winning the Gen Z vote with their no-B.S. agendas.
Regardless of political ideology, for Gen Z is all about whether the candidates are likely to walk the talk. Their future happiness is at stake, and they can’t afford to get shortchanged for a second or third time.
One thing is for sure. While young voters might have been sitting home in the past, they are now standing in line to vote. That in itself is historical. And if this is what active citizenship is about, we might have won regardless of political color.