Reality Check: Gen Zers are not as woke — or as far right — as you think they are
Part two from last week’s feedback. And another Gen Z candidate for Congress.
Last week I started a new Reality Check series to probe young Americans’ feelings across politics, culture, and media. I paired the inaugural edition with a virtual listening session with young voters, focused on this moment in U.S. politics. Respondents ranged in age from 17 to 31 and came from 15 states and Washington, D.C. Their views span the political spectrum.
In part one, I covered Gen Zers’ scathing review of the Democratic Party, their overall shift to the right, and what one young man described as “a moment of quiet unraveling” of American institutions and society as we know it. That same Gen Zer also described this era as “a moment full of possibility, if you were willing to tune out the noise and do the work to build something better.”
We spoke about party politics, who they trust for news and information, and what they would tell future voters about this moment in history. I also asked for their POV on:
The most underrated and overrated political issues
What they feel is the biggest political stereotype about their generation
What the American Dream means to them
And what they wished older generations better understood about Gen Z
For months (if not years) I’ve noticed that while on the whole, Gen Z is shifting right, it doesn’t mean they’re all Republicans. They’re also growing increasingly skeptical of adults’ capability to lead. Last week’s Reality Check made that even more clear.
Asked broadly about her thoughts on this moment in U.S. politics, 20-year-old Nivriti told me: “I can’t help but feel like we can do better.”
The self-described independent voted for President Donald Trump in 2024 – but wasn’t always conservative.
“The adults don’t have it all together, and they don’t have my back,” Nivriti said.
According to Nivriti, the most underrated political issue is free speech. It’s part of why she voted for Trump, and yet she doesn’t feel the president is following through on his promises. “It’s been the biggest disappointment,” she said, “that this administration has not been friendly to free speech. And I kind of feel like people, when it comes to free speech, are getting tired because neither side is embracing a principled position on it.”
As for an overrated political issue, Nivriti, who is pro-choice, said abortion. She wasn’t alone.
Gen Z has a nuanced understanding of the politics of abortion, and many pro-choice GenZers voted for Trump because they believe access to reproductive healthcare is no longer up to the president, after the fall of Roe v. Wade. Part of their logic: reproductive healthcare access now falls to the states, proven in part by the fact that the Biden Harris administration could do little to protect it in the post-Roe era. But the jury is still out on this issue, as plenty of women, of all ages, struggle to access care under this administration.
As for the American Dream, there’s optimism that it could and still does exist, but it’s evolving – especially given the steep cost of rent and housing, which most view as a key component of what traditionally means to achieve success. Many of the young people I’ve heard from say the system feels stacked against them, making it harder than it was for earlier generations to fulfill the American Dream.
According to 29-year-old Jesse, who’s from Kansas City, Missouri, and works in construction as a driller, the American Dream “exists,” but “it’s just a lot harder now than it was 40 years ago to achieve.” He described his current vision of the American Dream as “financial freedom.”
“For me, that's what it would be. Financial freedom, owning a house, and being able to provide for your family without really having to worry that much, or not worrying where your next paycheck is from, or if you're gonna make it through this year financially. Just being able to live fairly comfortably and then provide some fun experiences for your family. I don't need to be super rich and go on vacation 12 times a year and all that kind of stuff, but just being able to have a solid family, live in a solid community, and be financially stable,” said Jesse.
There was a lot to unpack in the respondents feedback, with themes that surface most of my conversations with young Americans. Here’s some more of what I heard:
Most underrated political issue?
Education affordability & climate change
Housing
Maritime trade. We don't really discuss how important maritime trade relationships and legislation like the Jones Act can impact how we interact with other nation-states
Campaign finance laws or tax loopholes
Free Palestine
Energy/agriculture
Democracy
Women’s health
Performative religiosity
Lack of political accountability
Nutrition
Car dependent infrastructure
Family building/planning - Young people dating and marrying. How marriage is becoming more and more unlikely, and how finding a partner is getting harder for upwardly mobile women
The deficit
Collapse of our shared sense of truth
“The most underrated political issue is the collapse of our shared sense of truth—and I don’t see that as a partisan problem. When we stop agreeing on basic facts, we lose the ability to govern, to compromise, even to care for each other as citizens. It’s not about left or right. It’s about whether we can still have a common conversation as a democracy. And I worry we’re losing that,” said 22-year-old Luc, who’s from Norfolk, Virginia.
Most overrated political issue?
Immigration
Culture war issues
Cutting government spending - it’s not being done right and it’s being so politicized for no reason
Identity politics
Abortion
Trans
Crime/public safety
US involvement in overseas wars
Gas prices
Banning TikTok
Multiple people said immigration and LGBTQ issues, as well as abortion.
Takeaway: What may be one young person’s most overrated issue is another’s most underrated issue. Gen Z is not monolithic, but across the board they’re thinking outside the box about politics and political issues in a way that members of older generations may not expect. Their views are quite nuanced, actually.
What’s the biggest political stereotype about your generation?
That we’re all hella liberal
Apathy
That we haven’t lived long enough to understand politics
That we’d rather be on social media than organizing. Many are organizing ON social media
Everyone is ‘woke’
They’re lazy and cut corners. We just don’t agree with being abused at work when it isn’t benefiting us as it did in different decades
We’re all super woke and politically correct
That all young men are voting for Republicans
‘Liberal’ being associated with Gen Z typically means a one-dimensional bandwagon. I lean Democrat in my own, personal, and thoughtful ways
That we are entitled. Our generation grew up during a recession, global pandemic, have witnessed multiple genocides. We can’t afford groceries or rent. We’ve worked hard and are politically involved, we’re just asking for better living standards.
The idea that we are single-issue or uncritical thinkers. We actually aren't. We galvanize around causes we care about but I think we are and can be super intellectually nimble
Noah, a 26-year-old from Richardson, Texas, said he believes the biggest political stereotype about Gen Z is “that we’re either naïve blue haired hippies or Andrew Tate ‘sigma males.’”
Takeaway: Gen Z is not as liberal as they may have seemed after the 2020 election, but that doesn’t mean everyone is right-leaning either. Young voters aren’t so different from older voters – and their political views range, just like voters of all ages.
What does the American Dream mean to you?
Success, prosperity
Unreachable, as it has been for decades
Owning a home where you choose
Freedom of opportunity
Livable wages, homeownership, freedom, education
Being able to retire before my body crumbles under the crushing weight of capitalism. Being able to afford at least a studio apartment until I die
To not get crushed under debt, to have enough money not to work until age 75, and social safety nets that means anyone can ‘make it’
I think the American Dream hasn’t existed for a long time and for non whites I’m not sure it ever existed. It was an idea that was sold about working an honest job and being able to afford a good life for you and your family.
A right to clean air and water. A right to a livable wage. A right to housing. A right to education. (This is not currently aligned with American policies unfortunately)
To me the American Dream would be to live a comfortable life involved in my community, not a 9-5 job
Takeaway: At a time when prices are surging and the economy feels fragile, young people’s vision of the American Dream is less about financial success and more about the freedom to make choices with regard to one does for work, where they live, and how they spend their free time (which is something they value).
If you could tell them one thing, what do you wish older generations better understood about your generation?
How radically our world’s changing (implication: stop clinging to old ways/norms/approaches)
Electing young people is good, actually
Going to school in a time where school shootings are happening too often is legitimately scary.
That it is okay to change your political affiliation and not having to feel ashamed about it
Nothing is black and white
Takeaway: This generation feels the political system is broken. Resisting change and innovation, without opening doors for young people to ideate on solutions, will further radicalize voters and lead to deeper polarization.
🙋🏼♀️ Have an idea for or want to be a part of bringing a future Reality Check to life? I’m open to exploring all topics, so let me know if something piques your interest.
Another Gen Z candidate for Congress, my latest for Vanity Fair
This week, Deja Foxx became the latest Gen Zer to throw her hat in the ring for Congress in Arizona, joining Kat Abughazaleh in Illinois and Isaiah Martin in Texas.
All three candidates have large profiles across social media and represent the rise of a new type of politician: the influencer politician.
To learn more about her campaign, I spoke with Deja for Vanity Fair.
We discussed the gumption of Gen Z candidates, how she pushes back against what she called the ‘billionaire boy club’ supporting Trump on their very own social media platforms, her first political memory (it’s powerful), and how her digital skillset will power her next-generation campaign.
You can read the full piece here: ‘She Was a Gen Z Influencer for Kamala Harris. Now She’s Running for Congress’
Noteworthy reads
Fed Up With Situationships, Gen Z Is Ready to Commit, Natasha Dangoor for The Wall Street Journal
This Financial Firm Can Give Investment Advice in Gen Z Slang, No Cap, Hannah Erin Lang for The Wall Street Journal
'Huge implications': More young men turn to religion, conservative politics, Morgan Radford for MSNBC
How a Black Progressive Transformed Into a Conservative Star, Kellen Browning for The New York Times
Republican and Democratic Students Go Head-to-Head at Debate Night, Sophia Y King and Anneliese S. Mattox for The Harvard Crimson