Gen Z’s Dangerous Disillusionment with Democracy
More than 1 in 10 Gen Z Americans view political violence as a viable path to change.
The growing crisis of faith in American democracy is most acute among its youngest citizens. Young Americans’ distrust in institutions, especially government, is well documented. But Gen Z voters are disillusioned, not disaffected. They may be fed up with the status quo, but they’re desperate for change. The question is how far are they willing to go to achieve it?
Apparently, pretty far. More than 1 in 10 Gen Z Americans (11%) are open to political violence as a means for “progress,” according to a new report out last week that examines young Americans feelings about democracy from The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts (CIRCLE) and Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization focused on preserving American democracy.
This comes as stunning images surface from the arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s home after a Passover celebration was held there – one clear cut example of the dangers of political violence.
It also follows troubling data from across the pond showing that more than half of Gen Z adults in the United Kingdom think Britain should be ruled by a dictator. Research from Channel 4 in the UK earlier this year showed that 52% of Gen Zers there think it “would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections.”
On the whole, there’s a glimmer of hope in CIRCLE and Protect Democracy’s data. Their report found an overwhelming belief from Gen Z (81%) in the need for leaders elected through “free and fair elections.” And the vast majority (70%) of Gen Z Americans say “it’s essential to have different views represented in politics.”
Meanwhile, just over ⅓ of youth “agree or strongly agree that U.S. democracy today can address the issues the country is facing,” and only 16% of youth say “democracy is working well for young people.”
According to the report, young Americans’ perspectives on Democracy can be broken into three groups: those who value it in theory but are disengaged in practice, those who are “checked out” of the current system because they feel it doesn’t serve them, and those who are over it altogether and willing to consider political violence in order to achieve change.
The groups are labelled respectively:
“Passive Appreciation” (63%)
“Dismissive Detachment” (31%)
“Hostile Dissatisfaction” (7%)
There was quite a range in respondents’ willingness to condone political violence as a means to improve the status quo. The Passive Appreciation cohort were the least likely to condone political violence, while the Hostile Dissatisfaction group were the most likely to say it is an acceptable means for change.
As for identity and ideology, the passive group was most likely to be conservative and the least likely to be queer. The dismissive group was more likely to be BIPOC and had the lowest educational attainment levels. Further, the dismissive group is more likely to come from lower income backgrounds than those in the passive appreciation category. And the hostile group was the most likely to be liberal; they were also more likely to be queer.
The reality, however, is that the profiles weren’t so easy to break down by identity. According to CIRCLE’s Ruby Belle Booth, one of the report’s authors, “Especially in the context of the 2024 election where the gender gap is still dominating headlines, we were surprised to find that there were few trends by race, gender, and geography that defined these profiles.”
“That doesn't mean inequities in access, opportunity, or outcomes don't exist along these lines, but it does call upon us to think more holistically about young people's relationship to democracy, focusing on the intersections of these identities with other important factors like education, income, and community connections," Belle Booth explained.
I have to say, I wasn’t shocked by CIRCLE and Protect Democracy’s findings – and if you’re a regular reader of The Up and Up, you may not be either. Pervasive skepticism and distrust in the system is precisely what I have heard in my listening sessions with young people for years. And these themes track with the thoughts I shared in my Washington Post op-ed last month.
Much of this boils down to feelings of cynicism and despair, given a volatile political climate that has dominated for young people’s entire upbringing. In the lead up to both the 2024 election, there were plenty of young people who told me it felt like they were forced to pick who they felt was the better of two sub-par options.
As a respondent for the hostile group in the CIRCLE and Protect Democracy research shared: “I think a lot of young people are not very trusting of the government and police. I think young people are realizing that, when voting, we have always been just picking the lesser of two evils, not a candidate most people actually like or believe in.”
These findings should serve as a wake-up call. As young Americans increasingly view our democratic institutions as broken or even irrelevant, the path towards rejecting democratic norms altogether becomes viable. While there are plenty of young people picking up the mantle and running for office themselves, political leaders need to prove to this generation that democracy itself is still worth believing in.
American Fever Dream Cameo
I joined Betches’ on her ‘American Fever Dream’ podcast, which examines the political roller coaster of the current news cycle. We discussed young people’s political views writ large, how their politics intersect with culture, Gen Z’s swing toward Trump in the 2024 election, and how young people are consuming news and information. Sami asked me what’s been most surprising in my recent conversations with young people. You can listen to my answer below and find the full episode here. Thank you, Sami, for having me!
Noteworthy reads
Are You the Only One Who’s Broke? Or Is It ‘Money Dysmorphia’?, Emma Goldberg for The New York Times
Gen Z Is More Like Boomers Than We Think: Study, Suzanne Blake for Newsweek
Young voters' indignation at older leaders spurs Democratic primary challenges, Faith Wardwell and Elias Miller for NBC News
Elon Musk, DOGE, and the Federal Hiring Freeze Have Upended the Careers of Young People, by Franzi Wild for Teen Vogue