Generation Z Remains a Political Mystery

The internet is changing politics forever

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Madison Federalist.

The 2024 election was the first time a majority of Generation Z could vote. Political scientists expected Zoomers to overwhelmingly turn out for Democrats as they did in 2020, but that did not happen.

Sure, Kamala Harris won the 18 to 29 bracket by six points, but exit polls show that Trump earned 56% of the male vote in that category, on top of 40% of the female vote. For Trump, that is two points higher than the average for men of all ages nationally, and just 4 points lower for women.

Although that seems like a significant gender divide, Trump made significant gains among women under 30 this election compared to 2020 when he only got 30% of their vote.

Not only did Gen Z not support Harris as much as they did Biden in 2020, it didn’t turn out nearly as much as the previous election, when over half of young people voted.

What explains this shift? From the way I see it, a deep distrust in our institutions among young voters is the main cause.

Those who got to vote for the first time this year were just entering high school during the pandemic and the summer of 2020. These are some of the most formative years for developing political opinions. During this time, we were stuck in front of screens all day for months while the world around us burned.

Neither low trust in government nor the gender divide are unique to Zoomers, but Gen Z has seen these problems grow much bigger than they were in previous years.

We are just beginning to see what effects the lockdowns will have on the worldviews of these age groups as they mature.

Gen Z’s view of the world has been shaped by its constant use of the internet. For the Zoomers who were teenagers during the lockdown, the internet will likely be associated with the content they consumed the most during that time.

Zoomers are lacking a tremendous amount of trust, and I think that no matter who was running this election, Gen Z would have swung away from the incumbent and toward whoever was more hostile to the establishment.

Gen Z is simultaneously the generation that grew up on social media and the generation that hates social media. Gen Z is a progressive generation that likes government programs but it also distrusts the government. Political campaigns in the future will have to consider these paradoxes.

To win Gen Z votes, candidates will likely have to either play up their personal virtue and trustworthiness (good luck doing that as a politician) or lean into a populist hatred for the establishment.

2024 was the beginning of a new era in politics. What comes next is anyone’s guess.