My Washington Post Op-Ed: How Covid tore Gen Z in two
And how unhappy young people are ruining the U.S. world happiness ranking.
If you’re a long-time reader, you likely know my theory of the two Gen Zs. This month, after we passed the 5-year anniversary of the pandemic, and as new analyses on voting patterns from the 2024 election start to surface, there’s an appetite to better understand how and why young people’s worldview has shifted since Covid ruptured the status quo half a decade ago.
This week, The Washington Post published an op-ed I wrote about how Covid bifurcated Gen Z – and what that means for engaging our generation in productive dialogue moving forward. Here is a gift link so you can read the full piece.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Two new charts to back this all up
Also this week, New York Times’ columnist Ezra Klein sat down with Democratic data guru David Shor for an episode of his podcast titled, ‘Democrats Need to Face Why Trump Won.’ Shor, who’s the head of data science for Blue Rose Research, shared his new analysis of survey data on voters’ behavior in the 2024 election. They covered a ton of ground. I want to highlight these two charts below from Blue Rose Research, which are incredibly telling – and track with what I’ve heard in 1:1 conversations, focus groups, and listening sessions with young people over the past five years. On the whole, Gen Z is shifting right. And young men and women have VERY different politics.
Along those lines… young Americans continue to sink the U.S. world happiness ranking 🫠
It’s that time of year again. The annual World Happiness Report, powered by Gallup, is out and the U.S.’ ranking continues to drop, thanks to young people under 30.
This year, the U.S. ranks 24th for world happiness, lower than last year when it hit a low of 23rd.
Julie Ray, managing editor of world news at Gallup, told Axios that the U.S.’ slipping happiness status is the result of young people, who also drove a decline in the U.S.’ ranking last year. According to Ray, the number of young people who feel “they have the freedom to choose what to do with their lives” dropped 10 points between 2020 and 2024.
Noteworthy reads
Gen Z’s Job Recession Needs Urgent Attention, Conor Sen for Bloomberg Opinion
Why Non-white Voters and Young Men Drifted to Trump, Ed Kilgore for New York Magazine
Is This New Taylor Swift Approved Restaurant the Next Gen-Z Hotspot? Two Vogue Editors Investigate, Florence O’Connor and Irene Kim for Vogue
Why Gen Z won’t call you ‘Boss’ — and why that’s OK, Selena Rezvani for MSNBC