Gen Z men are the new face of the Make America Healthy Again movement – a shift that’s set to influence not just politics, but culture.
One of the biggest findings from The Up and Up’s ‘Fall Semester Forecast’ Reality Check was that social media has rewired Gen Z’s relationship with health and wellness, even more so than beauty and fashion. For years, critics have focused on how social media affects young women, but now, there’s growing — and well-deserved — attention on young men and the voices shaping their worldview.
We asked members of The Up and Up’s Gen Z community to share a habit they’ve adopted because of something they saw on social media. The results are telling: young men are taking health and wellness advice shared online seriously, and many are changing their daily routines as a result.
There are many reasons for young people to be concerned about their health, and about medical norms in the U.S., where the probability of dying from a chronic disease has increased for younger adults. According to one student quoted in a recent ‘Future View’ piece from The Wall Street Journal, Gen Z is “health-obsessed” in part because they “can’t afford to be unhealthy.”
Health, wellness, and its economic toll affects all Americans. But, today, health and wellness has been entirely politicized, with Republicans crusading against Big Pharma in favor of holistic practices. Online, a cadre of social media personalities — from doctors and nurses to health gurus and every day Gen Z influencers — are doing the MAHA movement’s bidding, intentionally or not.
The stakes: This trend should worry Democrats, who have ceded ground with this core constituency to Republicans. Remember, there was a glaring youth gender gap in the 2024 election, with President Donald Trump winning young men under 30 by a whopping 14 points. And there’s a massive opportunity for Democrats to recapture this cohort’s attention by listening to their priorities and addressing this core issue.
I’ve written ad nauseam about how Republicans politically coded culture in 2024, sharing their message with key demographics, like young men, through cultural touch points. The GOP’s embrace of the Make America Healthy Again movement is one of the strongest examples of this: they took an issue felt by so many Americans, and tapped into a conversation that was already pervasive online about distrust in institutions, autonomy, and self-improvement. This sentiment is especially sharp for young Americans — and young men in particular — amid skepticism, corporate frustration, and an anti-authority posture especially pertinent for Gen Z 2.0, the younger half of Gen Z who came of age during Covid.
Below, paid subscribers can access my analysis of why the MAHA movement is resonating with Gen Z men. In addition, the exclusive report of The Up and Up’s fall semester forecast with the full data lives on upandupstrategies.com for paying members (subscribe now for the password).
🔑 What You’ll Unlock: Highlights from this edition
The reasons why MAHA makes sense for young men
The health and wellness habits Gen Z men are picking up from social media
My analysis on why this matters and the opportunity for brands, orgs, individuals looking to connect with Gen Z men