Latest / The Infographics Show Podcast / GEN Z vs the US Government

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GEN Z vs the US Government · The Infographics Show Podcast

0:10
Speaker 1: Welcome to Beyond Infographics, the show where we really try
0:14
Speaker 1: to peel back the layers of information to see what's
0:17
Speaker 1: actually going on underneath.
0:18
Speaker 2: Get past the headlines exactly.
0:21
Speaker 1: And today we're embarking on a pretty deep dive into
0:24
Speaker 1: a generation that gets talked about constantly often you know, stereotype,
0:28
Speaker 1: but maybe not truly understood gen Z. We want to
0:32
Speaker 1: move beyond those easy labels, yeah, like oh, they're just
0:35
Speaker 1: the Avocado To's crowd or the TikTok generation, because what
0:38
Speaker 1: we found digging into their experience is it just goes
0:42
Speaker 1: way way deeper.
0:43
Speaker 3: It really does.
0:43
Speaker 1: So our mission today is to try and cut through
0:45
Speaker 1: some of that noise and uncover the maybe surprising and
0:49
Speaker 1: complex realities that are shaping this well pivotal generation.
0:54
Speaker 2: Can you know, understanding gen z isn't just about tracking
0:56
Speaker 2: youth trends or marketing fads. It's actually crucial if you
0:59
Speaker 2: want to grasp the bigger societal shifts that are well
1:03
Speaker 2: already happening. They're going to fundamentally define our collective future.
1:07
Speaker 2: We've gathered quite a diverse range of insights, stark economic data,
1:12
Speaker 2: some really nuanced patterns in how they engage or don't
1:15
Speaker 2: engage politically evolving gender dynamics and these really distinct world
1:20
Speaker 2: views that they hold.
1:21
Speaker 1: So think of this deep dive as like your personal
1:24
Speaker 1: guide to what's really motivating them, what burdens they're carrying,
1:28
Speaker 1: and maybe most importantly, what their unique perspectives can tell
1:32
Speaker 1: us about where society is actually heading.
1:34
Speaker 3: Let's start there then.
1:35
Speaker 1: Okay, So let's start by unpacking something that seemed like
1:38
Speaker 1: a huge force shaping gen Z, the just sheer economic
1:43
Speaker 1: pressure they're under. It's not just a number on a page.
1:46
Speaker 1: It's a lived reality that fundamentally reshapes their whole outlook
1:49
Speaker 1: on life in ways maybe previous generations would find hard
1:53
Speaker 1: to even imagine.
1:54
Speaker 2: That's such a crucial starting point. The student loan crisis especially,
1:58
Speaker 2: is just this monumental burden, and it really defines their
2:01
Speaker 2: financial landscape.
2:02
Speaker 1: You see the numbers at their kind of mind boggling
2:05
Speaker 1: they are.
2:06
Speaker 3: When you look at it.
2:06
Speaker 2: The average monthly student loan payment for a gen Z borrower,
2:10
Speaker 2: it's over five hundred dollars.
2:11
Speaker 1: Wow, over five hundred bucks a month.
2:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, Now put that in perspective. For millennials, the average
2:15
Speaker 2: is around two hundred and fifteen dollars the overall average
2:18
Speaker 2: across everyone is two hundred and eighty four dollars. So
2:21
Speaker 2: that gen Z number, it's just strikingly high. It represents
2:25
Speaker 2: a real daily struggle for so many.
2:27
Speaker 1: And it's not a small group facing that.
2:29
Speaker 3: No, not at all.
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Speaker 2: Nearly one in six borrowers that's about fifteen percent of
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Speaker 2: the total, are paying five hundred dollars or more every
2:36
Speaker 2: single month. And if you zoom out the collective student
2:39
Speaker 2: debt in the US, it's now over a staggering one
2:41
Speaker 2: point seven trillion.
2:43
Speaker 1: Dollars one point seven trillion.
2:45
Speaker 2: Trillion, And that figure alone, it's up six fold since
2:48
Speaker 2: just two thousand.
2:48
Speaker 1: And three, a sixfold increase in just over twenty years.
2:52
Speaker 1: I mean, that's not just a statistic. It feels like
2:54
Speaker 1: a fundamental rewriting of the deal for an entire generation.
2:57
Speaker 3: It is.
2:58
Speaker 1: Imagine starting your adult life with that financial weight. It
3:01
Speaker 1: basically reshapes almost every big decision you make, right where
3:04
Speaker 1: you live, if you get married, when, whether you can
3:07
Speaker 1: even think about owning a home.
3:08
Speaker 2: Exactly right, This debt isn't just about you know, paying
3:11
Speaker 2: a bill each month. It actively limits their ability to
3:14
Speaker 2: build any kind of secure financial future, to pursue what
3:17
Speaker 2: used to be seen as well fundamental markers.
3:19
Speaker 1: Of adulthood, like buying a house.
3:21
Speaker 2: Saving Yeah, precisely, more than half of all borrowers fifty
3:25
Speaker 2: six percent explicitly say these loan payments limit their ability
3:29
Speaker 2: to save or invest money. And the impact goes further.
3:32
Speaker 2: Almost half twenty five percent have directly delayed major life
3:35
Speaker 2: milestones because of this debt.
3:37
Speaker 1: Well front a milestone.
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Speaker 2: We're talking foundational life choices, buying a home, getting married,
3:42
Speaker 2: even meaningfully planning for retirement. For gen Z, this isn't
3:45
Speaker 2: some abstract economic theory playing out. It's their day to
3:48
Speaker 2: day reality, constantly influencing their choices, their opportunities or lack thereof.
3:53
Speaker 1: And the personal cost, Yeah, it must be huge, not
3:55
Speaker 1: just financial, but the stress, the anxiety.
3:57
Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely, the emotional impact is profoundly significant. Nearly three
4:03
Speaker 2: out of five borrowers fifty nine percent openly say they
4:06
Speaker 2: experienced stress or anxiety directly because of their student loan.
4:09
Speaker 1: That's a majority, it is, and for.
4:11
Speaker 2: Gen Z specifically, that numbers even higher sixty one percent.
4:14
Speaker 2: It's just this constant mental weight, and maybe even more telling,
4:17
Speaker 2: a staggering fifty seven percent of borrowers overall admit that
4:21
Speaker 2: looking back, they regret taking on so much debt in
4:24
Speaker 2: the first place.
4:24
Speaker 1: Wow, regret.
4:27
Speaker 2: That's powerful, it is, and this regret often forces them
4:30
Speaker 2: into really difficult daily trade offs. More than half fifty
4:35
Speaker 2: four percent actually prioritize paying other debts like credit cards
4:39
Speaker 2: or car loans over their student loan payments. That tells
4:42
Speaker 2: you something about the immediate pressures they're under.
4:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, they're juggling.
4:45
Speaker 2: They're juggling, and a substantial two to five have had
4:49
Speaker 2: to cut back on either essential spending or you know,
4:52
Speaker 2: discretionary things just to manage these payments.
4:55
Speaker 3: You hear stories, right.
4:56
Speaker 2: Gen Z is running multiple side gigs just to make rent,
4:59
Speaker 2: let alone, say for a down payment. It really makes
5:02
Speaker 2: that whole American dream feel well, like a bit of
5:05
Speaker 2: a mirage for them.
5:06
Speaker 1: It's such a huge shift from say their parents' generation,
5:09
Speaker 1: where those milestones moving out, getting married, buying a place
5:13
Speaker 1: felt more like you know, achievable steps. Yeah. So what
5:16
Speaker 1: does this deep economic reality, this pressure mean for their
5:19
Speaker 1: basic sense of control over their own wives, Because it
5:22
Speaker 1: sounds like it's eroding it pretty significantly.
5:24
Speaker 2: It absolutely is. This economic situation contributes directly to this
5:28
Speaker 2: pervasive feeling of unfairness and a profound lack of control
5:31
Speaker 2: over their own destinies.
5:33
Speaker 1: You see that in the data.
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Speaker 2: Clearly, only sixty percent of thirteen to twenty seven year
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Speaker 2: old say they feel in control of the major aspects
5:39
Speaker 2: of their lives. And maybe even more starkly, fifty five
5:43
Speaker 2: percent of this generation believes that the wealth you're born
5:46
Speaker 2: with matters more for success than hard work or skills
5:50
Speaker 2: or talent.
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Speaker 1: Wow, fifty five percent, how does that compare.
5:54
Speaker 2: It's a huge contrast to older generations where only forty
5:57
Speaker 2: one percent hold that same view. Just this deep seated
6:01
Speaker 2: belief that the system is kind of rigged against them,
6:04
Speaker 2: that their effort won't necessarily pay off in the way
6:06
Speaker 2: it might have for their parents or grandparents.
6:09
Speaker 1: So that delay and traditional adulthood, markers, moving out, marriage,
6:13
Speaker 1: home ownership. It's not just a choice for many.
6:15
Speaker 2: For many, no, it's a forced adaptation to these economic constraints,
6:19
Speaker 2: and that just fuels that feeling of lost control, maybe
6:22
Speaker 2: even resentment towards systems they see us fundamentally unfair.
6:25
Speaker 1: It really paints a picture. And hey, if you listening
6:28
Speaker 1: or finding these insights is compelling as we are, maybe
6:30
Speaker 1: take quick seconds to rate us five stars. Wherever you
6:32
Speaker 1: get your deep dives, it genuinely helps us bring these
6:35
Speaker 1: important conversations to more people.
6:36
Speaker 3: Yeah, that'd be great.
6:37
Speaker 1: Okay, So we've got this picture of a generation feeling
6:39
Speaker 1: economically burdened, feeling a real loss of control, kind of
6:43
Speaker 1: pigs a question. How does that sense of unfairness, that
6:47
Speaker 1: pressure translate into their political engagement. You might acpect them
6:51
Speaker 1: to be, I don't know, storming the ballot box given
6:53
Speaker 1: these unique pressures, but the reality seems well a lot
6:57
Speaker 1: more nuanced.
6:59
Speaker 2: That's a really crucial distinction to make. Despite this huge
7:02
Speaker 2: nationwide focus on getting young people out to vote in
7:05
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four, the early estimates suggest only about forty
7:08
Speaker 2: two percent of them actually turned.
7:10
Speaker 1: Out, only forty two percent. That's down, isn't it.
7:12
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a noticeable drop from fifty three percent back
7:14
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty. So the question isn't just why the
7:17
Speaker 2: lower turnout, it's why lower turnout, especially when they're so
7:20
Speaker 2: often described as this really politically conscious.
7:23
Speaker 1: Generation, right, what's going on there?
7:24
Speaker 2: Well, what our insights suggests is that many young voters
7:27
Speaker 2: are just profoundly disappointed with the current political candidates on offer.
7:31
Speaker 2: They feel like their values, their concerns aren't really being
7:34
Speaker 2: reflected by either of the major parties, and that leads
7:37
Speaker 2: more to disillusionment than outright apathy.
7:40
Speaker 1: So it's not that they don't care. Maybe it's more
7:44
Speaker 1: like a rejection of the choices they're given, kind of
7:47
Speaker 1: none of the above feeling that leaves them feeling, I guess,
7:50
Speaker 1: politically homeless.
7:51
Speaker 3: That's a good way to put it.
7:52
Speaker 1: What does that mean for the future of our two
7:54
Speaker 1: party system though? Are we seeing a fundamental shift in
7:58
Speaker 1: how future generations will even think about political participation?
8:01
Speaker 3: That's a critical question.
8:03
Speaker 2: And this sense of political homelessness, it's starkly reflected in
8:06
Speaker 2: their party identification, or maybe more accurately, their lack of it.
8:11
Speaker 2: So a huge sixty one percent of young adults do
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Speaker 2: not identify with either major political party.
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Speaker 1: Sixty one percent. That's massive.
8:19
Speaker 2: It is only twenty two percent identify as Democrat and
8:21
Speaker 2: just seventeen percent as Republican. And what's really fascinating here
8:25
Speaker 2: is that this makes them inherently less susceptible to that
8:28
Speaker 2: kind of rigid, ideological partisan polarization that grips so many
8:32
Speaker 2: older groups. They're just not lining up neatly in the
8:35
Speaker 2: traditional political boxes. It suggests a more independent, maybe issue
8:38
Speaker 2: driven approach.
8:39
Speaker 1: A shift like that could have really profound implications down
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Speaker 1: the line. But if they're not aligning with parties and
8:45
Speaker 1: their turnout is lower, what about their actual understanding of
8:49
Speaker 1: the political system itself? Is there maybe a civic knowledge
8:52
Speaker 1: gap playing into this pattern?
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Speaker 2: Unfortunately, yes, it looks like a knowledge gap does play role.
8:57
Speaker 2: Around forty percent of young adults can only answer one
9:01
Speaker 2: out of four basic civics questions correctly, only one out
9:04
Speaker 2: of four yeah, And compounding that, a significant thirty five
9:08
Speaker 2: percent explicitly say they just don't feel informed enough to
9:11
Speaker 2: participate politically. So that gap can definitely contribute to disengagement
9:15
Speaker 2: from the formal processes. It makes the whole system feel
9:18
Speaker 2: maybe overwhelming or irrelevant.
9:20
Speaker 1: And how do they feel about the system overall?
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Speaker 2: There's deep widespread dissatisfaction. A majority fifty seven percent are
9:27
Speaker 2: dissatisfied with how the political system functions in the US,
9:30
Speaker 2: and a concerning forty percent are pessimistic about the future
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Speaker 2: of American democracy itself. Over half fifty two percent report
9:37
Speaker 2: having little or no trust in government institutions.
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Speaker 1: Okay, so here's the paradox. Then they're dissatisfied, they don't
9:43
Speaker 1: trust institutions, maybe don't feel informed. Yet sixty eight percent
9:47
Speaker 1: still say they're vote matters and seventy percent are proud
9:50
Speaker 1: to be American, but they're not playing by the old
9:53
Speaker 1: rules of party loyalty or consistent voting. What gives if
9:57
Speaker 1: they think their vote matters but aren't voting can consistently,
10:00
Speaker 1: what's missing?
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Speaker 2: It raises a really important, maybe even urgent question for politicians,
10:06
Speaker 2: for civic leaders, for everyone. Really, how do you genuinely
10:09
Speaker 2: motivate a generation that believes in the power of their vote,
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Speaker 2: feels pride in their country, but profoundly distrusts its institutions
10:15
Speaker 2: and feels the options are just insufficient. Yeah, it suggests
10:19
Speaker 2: a critical need for new ways to engage them, maybe
10:22
Speaker 2: outside the traditional party structures, Ways that actually address their
10:25
Speaker 2: specific concerns, reflect their values, and offer tangible solutions that
10:29
Speaker 2: resonate with their lived experience, rather than just asking for
10:32
Speaker 2: their vote every few years.
10:33
Speaker 3: It's about building trust really from the ground up.
10:36
Speaker 1: And speaking of those core concerns driving them. One of
10:38
Speaker 1: the most surprising shifts we've seen recently is in what
10:42
Speaker 1: gen z actually prioritizes when it comes to elections. We
10:45
Speaker 1: often hear about social issues being key for younger.
10:48
Speaker 2: Voters, right, that's the common narrative.
10:50
Speaker 1: But our insights show a really clear, dramatic pivot. For
10:54
Speaker 1: Gen Z voters in the twenty twenty four elections, the
10:57
Speaker 1: economy was by and large them most important issue.
11:01
Speaker 2: That's a huge development, especially when you think back to
11:03
Speaker 2: the twenty twenty two midterms, issues like abortion were widely
11:06
Speaker 2: seen as a massive motivator for younger voters.
11:09
Speaker 1: Then exactly so has that shifted as dramatically as this
11:13
Speaker 1: economic focus suggest.
11:14
Speaker 2: It really has quite remarkably. This is where we see
11:17
Speaker 2: what one expert called a big cratering in terms of
11:20
Speaker 2: how important different issues feel. Abortion, which was the top
11:23
Speaker 2: priority for forty four percent of young voters in twenty
11:26
Speaker 2: twenty two.
11:27
Speaker 1: Forty four percent. That's huge, it.
11:29
Speaker 2: Was, but it dropped significantly down to only thirteen percent
11:32
Speaker 2: in the twenty twenty four exit polling.
11:33
Speaker 1: Wow, from forty four to thirteen.
11:35
Speaker 2: Now, it's really crucial to be clear here. This doesn't
11:39
Speaker 2: mean young people, especially young women, stopped supporting abortion legality.
11:43
Speaker 2: In fact, support is still very strong. About seven to
11:47
Speaker 2: ten young women believe it should be legal in all
11:49
Speaker 2: or most cases. The change is in the salience of
11:53
Speaker 2: the issue, how much it drives their vote. It's been
11:56
Speaker 2: decisively overtaken by economic anxiety.
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Speaker 1: Okay, so it's not a shift in their fundamental beliefs
12:02
Speaker 1: on say, reproductive rights, but more that the immediate severe
12:07
Speaker 1: economic pressures have just become much, much more pressing for
12:10
Speaker 1: them day to day.
12:11
Speaker 2: Precisely, young people are disproportionately feeling the pinch of higher prices.
12:16
Speaker 2: They're the ones trying to move out of their parents' homes,
12:18
Speaker 2: struggling to afford rent and crazy housing markets, wondering if
12:21
Speaker 2: home ownership is even a possibility anymore, dealing with that constant.
12:24
Speaker 3: Weight of student debt.
12:25
Speaker 1: It's hitting an artist.
12:27
Speaker 2: They feel that the traditional American dream, maybe as their
12:29
Speaker 2: parents understood it, isn't really available to them. So even
12:33
Speaker 2: if the big picture economic numbers might look okay, low unemployment,
12:37
Speaker 2: maybe inflation easing a bit, those broad stats don't matter
12:42
Speaker 2: nearly as much as their immediate lived experience of high
12:45
Speaker 2: prices and the crushing cost of living.
12:47
Speaker 1: So they're voting based on their wallet, just like older
12:50
Speaker 1: generations often do.
12:52
Speaker 2: In a way, Yes, this current economic stress aligns them
12:55
Speaker 2: with older Americans who also tend to vote their pocketbook issues.
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Speaker 3: They feel this general on.
12:59
Speaker 2: How happiness with the political status quo, even if some
13:02
Speaker 2: macro indicators look positive.
13:05
Speaker 1: What's the takeaway for political campaigns?
13:06
Speaker 2: Then the implication seems clear. While broadly supporting abortion legality
13:11
Speaker 2: is still important to this group, campaigns focusing only on
13:14
Speaker 2: that might have missed the deeper, more pervasive economic anxieties
13:19
Speaker 2: that are now really driving young voters or maybe keeping
13:22
Speaker 2: them home if they don't feel hurt.
13:24
Speaker 1: On those issues. Okay, let's shift gears slightly and delve
13:27
Speaker 1: into the information landscape. I mean, in an age of
13:31
Speaker 1: just constant information overload, where do you even turn for truth?
13:36
Speaker 1: Who do you trust? For gen Z, it seems that
13:38
Speaker 1: answer is profoundly different than for older generations, and that
13:42
Speaker 1: has huge implications.
13:43
Speaker 3: It really does.
13:44
Speaker 2: Gen Z grew up completely immersed in personalized news streams
13:48
Speaker 2: right where algorithms are constantly pushing novelty, often without much
13:52
Speaker 2: context or nuance or even caring about accuracy.
13:55
Speaker 1: Right, the feed dictates reality.
13:56
Speaker 2: And this has led them to adopt what we've called
13:59
Speaker 2: a mag pie approach to truth. They just sort of
14:02
Speaker 2: pick up shiny bits from all over. They're far more
14:04
Speaker 2: likely to trust content they see on social media from friends, sure,
14:08
Speaker 2: but also from brands, from ads, and crucially from influencers, and.
14:11
Speaker 1: They trust that as much as traditional news.
14:13
Speaker 2: That's the striking part. They often hold this social media
14:16
Speaker 2: content in similar regard to, or sometimes even above, mainstream
14:19
Speaker 2: media outlets.
14:20
Speaker 1: So it's not just about preferring different platforms like TikTok
14:23
Speaker 1: over TV news. It's a fundamental flattening of that whole
14:27
Speaker 1: hierarchy of trust we used to take for granted, like
14:30
Speaker 1: all sources are kind of.
14:31
Speaker 3: Equal, exactly.
14:32
Speaker 2: It's a stark contrast. Older generations tend to have much
14:36
Speaker 2: clearer preferences. They generally favor established news outlets, traditional broadcasters,
14:41
Speaker 2: professional journalism. For gen Z, this flattening means that say,
14:46
Speaker 2: an influencer they follow for fashion tips or video game
14:49
Speaker 2: streams might be seen as just as convincing, just as
14:52
Speaker 2: truthful when talking about geopolitics as a professional journalist or
14:55
Speaker 2: a major.
14:56
Speaker 1: News organization that sounds confusing.
14:58
Speaker 2: It contributes to what we've identified as a confused generation.
15:01
Speaker 2: Their views can be really fluid, changing frequently on big
15:05
Speaker 2: life questions and even everyday issues just because they're navigating
15:08
Speaker 2: this fractured information environment.
15:10
Speaker 1: That confusion almost sounds philosophical, Like you mentioned earlier, if
15:14
Speaker 1: everyone has a bias, if everything is subjective, can anyone
15:17
Speaker 1: really know anything for sure? That seems like a profound
15:20
Speaker 1: challenge to just having a shared reality.
15:22
Speaker 2: That really is the core of it. They often mention
15:25
Speaker 2: bias and agendas in the news, which isn't unique to
15:28
Speaker 2: them obviously, but their confusion runs deeper. It's like, if
15:31
Speaker 2: everyone has an angle, then where does objective truth even live?
15:35
Speaker 1: So what do they do?
15:36
Speaker 2: They're essentially forced to curate their own very eclectic playlists
15:40
Speaker 2: of truth, pulling tracks from all sorts of diverse, often
15:45
Speaker 2: contradictory sources. It means it's not unusual for them to hold, say,
15:50
Speaker 2: broadly left leaning values on some things, but still agree
15:53
Speaker 2: with some more right leaning ideas on others, simply because
15:56
Speaker 2: they're piecing together their understanding from this fragmented landscape of
16:00
Speaker 2: different voices they encounter online.
16:02
Speaker 1: What's the consequence of that, that flattening of trust?
16:04
Speaker 3: It's profound.
16:05
Speaker 2: If influencers can be just as convincing as professional journalists,
16:08
Speaker 2: it poses a significant challenge to democracy itself because democracy
16:13
Speaker 2: at its very foundation, relies on some kind of shared
16:16
Speaker 2: understanding of facts, a common public space for discussion.
16:19
Speaker 1: It's like they're building these personal playlists of truth, pulling
16:23
Speaker 1: tracks from everywhere, maybe without a clear DJ curating it.
16:27
Speaker 1: What does that mean for our ability to find common
16:29
Speaker 1: ground or even just have a shared public conversation. If
16:33
Speaker 1: everyone's reality is so personalized and fragmented, it feels like
16:37
Speaker 1: it could really deepen societal divides.
16:39
Speaker 2: It creates a serious challenge for societal cohesion. You're absolutely right.
16:43
Speaker 2: When there's no longer a common pool of trusted information sources,
16:47
Speaker 2: just agreeing on basic facts or a baseline reality becomes incredibly.
16:51
Speaker 1: Difficult and people just tune out.
16:53
Speaker 2: That's the risk, a pervasive risk of disengagement from what
16:56
Speaker 2: we might call ambient news, that constant flow of information
17:00
Speaker 2: that without context, without clear authority, without reliable curation, just
17:04
Speaker 2: becomes background noise or worse, a source of deep confusion and.
17:08
Speaker 3: Maybe even apathy.
17:09
Speaker 1: So it's the answer.
17:10
Speaker 2: There's an urgent need for credible, balanced, contextual information delivered
17:14
Speaker 2: authentically in the places gen Z actually are, on the
17:18
Speaker 2: platforms they use. It means meeting them where they are,
17:20
Speaker 2: not just expecting them to come back to the traditional sources.
17:23
Speaker 2: It's about bridging those divides and trying to foster a
17:26
Speaker 2: more unified understanding.
17:28
Speaker 1: Okay, this actually leads us to another really fascinating and
17:31
Speaker 1: sometimes frankly concerning divergence we're seeing, and that's along gender
17:35
Speaker 1: lines within gen Z itself. It's not just about who
17:37
Speaker 1: they vote for. It seems to be impacting everything from
17:40
Speaker 1: economic success to how young men and women even see
17:44
Speaker 1: their roles in society.
17:45
Speaker 2: The data here is really striking. Take the twenty twenty
17:48
Speaker 2: four election results for voters aged eighteen twenty nine. While
17:51
Speaker 2: Kamala Harris won that group overall by six points, Donald
17:55
Speaker 2: Trump opened up a significant sixteen point gender gap within
17:58
Speaker 2: that same age group.
17:59
Speaker 1: Sixty points. How did that break down?
18:01
Speaker 2: It means a substantial fifty six percent of young men
18:04
Speaker 2: voted for Trump, while only forty percent of young women did.
18:07
Speaker 2: What's even more surprising, maybe, is that Trump actually improved
18:11
Speaker 2: his performance among young women compared to twenty twenty. He
18:15
Speaker 2: went from thirty three percent to forty percent, even with
18:17
Speaker 2: that widening overall gap between young men and women.
18:20
Speaker 1: So this isn't entirely new, This gender split in voting No.
18:23
Speaker 2: It mirrors a larger historical trend, women generally leaning more Democratic,
18:28
Speaker 2: men more Republican. But it's clearly intensified within gen Z.
18:31
Speaker 2: It's reached a point of real ideological divergence.
18:35
Speaker 1: Okay, so why why this particular intensification now, young women
18:40
Speaker 1: leaning left, young men turning right? What's behind that split?
18:44
Speaker 2: Well, for many young women, their political coming of age
18:47
Speaker 2: really happened during the Trump presidency and the whole hashtag
18:49
Speaker 2: me too movement that period seemed to foster a strong
18:52
Speaker 2: gender consciousness for them, really highlighting issues of rights, equality,
18:56
Speaker 2: systemic fairness. They strongly support abortion legality for his gasample,
19:00
Speaker 2: and many feel that their rights are actually diminishing. That
19:02
Speaker 2: makes them much less likely to embrace.
19:04
Speaker 1: The Republican Party.
19:05
Speaker 2: And for young men, on the other hand, for many
19:07
Speaker 2: young men, the Democratic Party often seems to lack a
19:11
Speaker 2: convincing economic or even social message that speaks directly to
19:15
Speaker 2: their specific concerns or experiences. Donald Trump, however, actively engaged
19:20
Speaker 2: young men. He notably appeared on platforms like Joe Rogan's
19:23
Speaker 2: podcast others popular with younger male audiences, sending a signal exactly,
19:28
Speaker 2: sending a powerful message that he cared about their votes,
19:31
Speaker 2: that he was willing to meet them where they were,
19:33
Speaker 2: maybe speak to their perceived grievances or anxieties. When you
19:36
Speaker 2: don't feel like a party is fighting for you or
19:38
Speaker 2: even really acknowledging your struggles, you become a lot less
19:41
Speaker 2: interested in voting for them.
19:43
Speaker 1: And beyond the politics, are there underlying economic or educational
19:47
Speaker 1: gaps that might be feeding into this gender divergence, creating
19:50
Speaker 1: a sense for some young men maybe of being left behind.
19:54
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and this is a really critical piece of the puzzle.
19:56
Speaker 2: We're seeing what some experts are calling an attainment crisis
20:00
Speaker 2: merging among young men. By age nineteen, for instance, fifty
20:04
Speaker 2: four percent of young women are enrolled in higher education
20:07
Speaker 2: compared to only forty percent of men.
20:09
Speaker 1: That's a big gap.
20:11
Speaker 2: It is, and that trend continues into the workforce.
20:14
Speaker 3: Young womenag.
20:15
Speaker 2: Twenty twenty four now actually have higher employment rates, there's
20:18
Speaker 2: a three percentage point gap, and remarkably they even out
20:22
Speaker 2: earn young men on average in that age group.
20:24
Speaker 1: Wow. So that economic struggle, the educational gap, it could
20:29
Speaker 1: feed feelings of being marginalized.
20:31
Speaker 2: It certainly can contribute significantly to feelings of marginalization. Maybe
20:34
Speaker 2: resentment or just feeling left behind, especially if those traditional
20:38
Speaker 2: markers of male success seem less attainable than they used
20:41
Speaker 2: to be.
20:42
Speaker 1: That's a profound shift in traditional roles societal expectations. Yeah,
20:45
Speaker 1: how does that then translate into how they see things
20:48
Speaker 1: like feminism or even masculinity itself. It sounds like it's
20:51
Speaker 1: creating a real cultural rift.
20:52
Speaker 2: It undeniably creates a very complex, often conflicted picture. Our
20:57
Speaker 2: insights show that only thirty six percent of sixteen to
20:59
Speaker 2: two twenty nine year old men agree with the statement
21:01
Speaker 2: feminism has done more good than harm.
21:03
Speaker 1: Only thirty six percent. That's low.
21:05
Speaker 2: It's a critical indicator of a generational divide on this. Furthermore,
21:09
Speaker 2: nearly half forty five percent believe that efforts to promote
21:12
Speaker 2: women's equality have actually gone so far that men are
21:15
Speaker 2: now being discriminated against.
21:16
Speaker 1: Forty five percent believe men are discriminated.
21:19
Speaker 2: Against, and almost the same number forty seven percent of
21:22
Speaker 2: gen Z men agree that masculinity is under attack.
21:27
Speaker 1: So what does that make them receptive to?
21:29
Speaker 2: Well, it makes them particularly receptive to certain narratives often
21:32
Speaker 2: amplified by controversial online figures, people like Andrew Tait, perhaps
21:37
Speaker 2: others who articulate and validate that sense of marginalization or
21:40
Speaker 2: confusion or even anger about modern masculinity. Young men, it seems,
21:45
Speaker 2: are actively looking for motivational figures for guidance on how
21:48
Speaker 2: to navigate these rapidly shifting gender roles, and that makes
21:52
Speaker 2: them open to rhetoric that might not align with broader
21:55
Speaker 2: progressive narratives and can sometimes feel quite isolating to young women.
21:58
Speaker 1: It's a really complex thingme and hey, just a quick
22:01
Speaker 1: reminder again, if you're finding this deep dive into gen
22:03
Speaker 1: Z insightful, please do rate beyond infographics five stars. It
22:07
Speaker 1: genuinely helps us keep producing this kind of analysis.
22:10
Speaker 2: So when we talk about gen Z, it's just so
22:12
Speaker 2: crucial to hammer this home. They are not one single,
22:15
Speaker 2: monolithic group. Our insights revealed that this generation is actually
22:18
Speaker 2: made up of distinct world views. These aren't like rigid boxes,
22:23
Speaker 2: but more like nuanced perspectives that are really shaped by
22:25
Speaker 2: their unique experiences, their beliefs, the societal pressures they're under.
22:30
Speaker 2: We've identified six key world views that help us sort
22:33
Speaker 2: of decode this internal complexity and get beyond those simple stereotypes.
22:37
Speaker 1: It's six distinct world views, Okay, that immediately tells you
22:41
Speaker 1: you can't just slap one label in this whole generation
22:44
Speaker 1: and think you understand them. Let's break these down because
22:46
Speaker 1: this feels really vital to grasping who they are and
22:48
Speaker 1: just do it.
22:49
Speaker 3: Okay, First, we have boys can't be boys.
22:51
Speaker 2: These are essentially the traditional masculinity supporters. This group makes
22:55
Speaker 2: up about fourteen percent of gen Z roughly two point
22:58
Speaker 2: seven million people, and it's overwhelmingly male about eighty two percent.
23:02
Speaker 1: What defines them They.
23:03
Speaker 2: Feel genuinely trapped by the rapidly changing expectations around masculinity.
23:08
Speaker 2: They perceive themselves as being actively under attack in modern society,
23:12
Speaker 2: and they often express this profound lack of positive, relatable
23:16
Speaker 2: role models, which unfortunately can make them quite vulnerable to
23:20
Speaker 2: negative influences online or elsewhere. So they might connect with
23:23
Speaker 2: figures like They might strongly resonate with figures like Andrew
23:26
Speaker 2: Taate or Jordan Peterson, people who seem to validate their
23:30
Speaker 2: sense of being marginalized, offering a narrative that simplifies complex
23:34
Speaker 2: gender issues and maybe offers clear, although often controversial paths
23:38
Speaker 2: for identity.
23:39
Speaker 1: Okay, world view one, what's next?
23:41
Speaker 3: Next?
23:41
Speaker 2: Up, we have the fight for rights individuals This is
23:44
Speaker 2: your activist, socially conscious segment. They make up about twelve
23:47
Speaker 2: percent of gen Z, so around two point one million people,
23:50
Speaker 2: and they skew slightly female, about sixty percent. And their
23:54
Speaker 2: focus is these are the ones truly dedicated to equality, fairness,
23:58
Speaker 2: social justice. They're passionately engaged, often channeling their energy into
24:03
Speaker 2: advocating for progressive causes. What's interesting is despite believing that
24:08
Speaker 2: society is deeply unfair and faces huge challenges, they remain
24:12
Speaker 2: remarkably optimistic about their collective ability to actually create meaningful
24:16
Speaker 2: change through advocacy, through direct action. They're often the vocal
24:21
Speaker 2: champions for marginalized groups, leading the charge on social reform.
24:24
Speaker 1: So on one hand, you've got a group feeling attacked
24:27
Speaker 1: and misunderstood, on the other, a group fired up and
24:29
Speaker 1: ready to fight for a more just world. Two very different,
24:33
Speaker 1: almost opposing reactions to the current climate. What about other
24:36
Speaker 1: key segments, especially thinking about young women.
24:39
Speaker 2: Well, the third significant worldview we identified as girl power.
24:42
Speaker 2: This represents empowered, optimistic young women and it's a substantial
24:46
Speaker 2: group twenty one percent of gen Z another two point
24:48
Speaker 2: seven million people, and it's almost exclusively female or non binary, around.
24:52
Speaker 3: Ninety nine percent.
24:53
Speaker 1: And what's their approach?
24:54
Speaker 2: These individuals are profoundly self reliant. They're determined to shape
24:58
Speaker 2: their own futures much on their own terms. They often
25:01
Speaker 2: lead more by example than through overt activism, focusing intently
25:06
Speaker 2: on personal goals, education, career advancement. They tend to thrive
25:09
Speaker 2: in social and cultural spaces, actively reject traditional gender stereotypes,
25:15
Speaker 2: and really embrace their independence and ambition. They represent a
25:19
Speaker 2: significant force of sort of self determination within the generation.
25:23
Speaker 1: Okay, that's three. What else?
25:24
Speaker 3: Then?
25:25
Speaker 2: We encounter the zero sum thinkers. This is a particularly
25:30
Speaker 2: a potentially radical worldview. It represents eighteen percent of gen Z,
25:34
Speaker 2: about two point two million people, and is notably gender balanced.
25:38
Speaker 1: Zero sum. What does that mean in practice?
25:40
Speaker 2: Their foundational belief is basically that life is a finite pie.
25:44
Speaker 2: One group's success inherently means another group must lose out.
25:47
Speaker 2: If someone gets a bigger slice, someone else has to
25:49
Speaker 2: get a smaller one. This isn't just politics. It fundamentally
25:51
Speaker 2: shapes how they see daily life, how they react to news.
25:54
Speaker 2: Can you give an example, sure, Imagine news about say,
25:58
Speaker 2: diversity initiatives or even economic growth benefiting one sector more
26:02
Speaker 2: than another. Their immediate reaction is often to look for
26:05
Speaker 2: who's losing out, who's being disadvantaged by this. It often
26:09
Speaker 2: leads to a leaning towards more authoritarian views, maybe a
26:12
Speaker 2: deep suspicion about their own freedoms being eroded. And they're
26:15
Speaker 2: often very receptive to online narratives, perhaps from features echoing
26:20
Speaker 2: their sense that traditional structures, or even masculinity itself is
26:24
Speaker 2: under attack.
26:25
Speaker 1: How does that play out with things like social programs?
26:27
Speaker 2: Well, for them, something like a welfare system might feel
26:30
Speaker 2: like an unfair handout, because their worldview dictates that personal
26:34
Speaker 2: success comes only from individual hard work. Any deviation from
26:38
Speaker 2: that path feels like a threat to their own and
26:40
Speaker 2: maybe hard won gains. They're often skeptical of collective action,
26:44
Speaker 2: seeing everything through a lens of individual competition.
26:47
Speaker 1: That's zero sum thinking. It seems particularly potent in a
26:50
Speaker 1: generation facing such tough economic realities where resources already feel scarce.
26:56
Speaker 1: What about those who feel blocked by the system but
26:58
Speaker 1: don't necessarily kind of radical worldview.
27:02
Speaker 2: That leads us straight to the diser loaded group. These
27:05
Speaker 2: individuals are deeply concerned with socioeconomic barriers. This segment is
27:10
Speaker 2: about fifteen percent of gen Z maybe one point nine
27:13
Speaker 2: million people and it's predominantly female around sixty eight percent.
27:17
Speaker 1: What's their perspective?
27:18
Speaker 2: They share that feeling that society the economy is rigged
27:21
Speaker 2: against them. This leads to a pervasive sense of unhappiness,
27:25
Speaker 2: a significant lack of control over their future, especially finances, housing,
27:30
Speaker 2: mental health. But while they're profoundly frustrated by these systemic obstacles,
27:35
Speaker 2: they're typically not radical in their proposed solutions. They tend
27:39
Speaker 2: to reject the notion that men are being unfairly treated,
27:41
Speaker 2: for instance, and seek more equitable systems rather than wanting
27:44
Speaker 2: to tear everything down. They often have this kind of
27:47
Speaker 2: weary pragmatism, navigating a world they see as unfair, but
27:50
Speaker 2: not necessarily seeking revolution.
27:52
Speaker 1: Okay, one more world view left.
27:53
Speaker 2: Yes, finally we have the blank slates. These are largely neutral,
27:57
Speaker 2: often kind of disinterested young men, and it's a significant
27:59
Speaker 2: GRIP group twenty percent of gen Z about two point
28:02
Speaker 2: five million individuals, and it's entirely male, one hundred percent.
28:06
Speaker 1: Blank slates.
28:07
Speaker 2: They prioritize personal stuff, hobbies, friendships, everyday life over getting
28:12
Speaker 2: involved in broader social or political issues. They aren't necessarily unambitious,
28:16
Speaker 2: it's more than their focus is intensely on near term
28:19
Speaker 2: personal achievements, getting good grades, landing a stable job, maybe
28:24
Speaker 2: buying a house, eventually starting a family. They often just
28:27
Speaker 2: disengage from the bigger cultural debates, preferring to focus on
28:30
Speaker 2: building a stable, comfortable life for themselves. It's like a
28:33
Speaker 2: preference for personal peace over societal engagement.
28:36
Speaker 1: Wow, it's just abundantly clear, isn't it. Generalizing about gen
28:41
Speaker 1: Z misses so much of the internal complexity. They're absolutely
28:44
Speaker 1: not just one thing. They're this mosaic of distinct perspectives,
28:48
Speaker 1: sometimes clashing, all shaped by their unique place in time.
28:52
Speaker 1: It really shows the incredible diversity within a generation. We
28:54
Speaker 1: often talk about as if they're all the same. Okay,
28:56
Speaker 1: so we have this complex mosaic of internal shit, these
29:00
Speaker 1: evolving worldviews. What does that mean for how gen Z
29:04
Speaker 1: might face major external pressures. Let's think about something potentially
29:09
Speaker 1: really disruptive, like the possibility of a military draft returning.
29:13
Speaker 1: It feels almost like ancient history to many people, but
29:16
Speaker 1: just talking about it highlights some big shifts both in
29:19
Speaker 1: society and in this generation's outlook.
29:21
Speaker 2: It's a fascinating, almost hypothetical thought experiment for many isn't it,
29:25
Speaker 2: especially given gen zs often express anti war feelings and
29:29
Speaker 2: their general skepticism towards institutions.
29:32
Speaker 1: Right, we haven't had a draft in ages exactly.
29:35
Speaker 2: Historically, the US only used a draft in times of
29:37
Speaker 2: truly massive conflict. I think the Civil War, where the
29:40
Speaker 2: wealthy could famously pay someone to take their place.
29:43
Speaker 1: Right the commutation fee.
29:44
Speaker 3: Yeah.
29:44
Speaker 2: Then World War One and two, where millions were drafted
29:47
Speaker 2: for what were clearly seen as existential fights for the nation.
29:51
Speaker 2: We even had that peacetime draft during the Cold War.
29:53
Speaker 2: Elvis Presley famously.
29:54
Speaker 3: Got drafted then and later.
29:56
Speaker 2: Of course, widespread conscription for Korea in Vietnam.
29:59
Speaker 1: And Vietnam really change things. It did.
30:01
Speaker 2: That war saw two point two million men drafted, and
30:05
Speaker 2: its profound divisiveness, the sheer human carnage ultimately led to
30:09
Speaker 2: the end of the draft in America.
30:11
Speaker 1: And for over fifty years now, nobody's been drafted. But
30:15
Speaker 1: the system selective service, it still exists. Right, It's not
30:18
Speaker 1: completely gone, even if it feels like a relic from
30:21
Speaker 1: another era.
30:22
Speaker 3: That's correct.
30:23
Speaker 2: While nobody's been drafted for five decades, all men aged
30:26
Speaker 2: eighteen to twenty five are still legally required to register
30:29
Speaker 2: with selective service. It's largely just a formality now technically
30:33
Speaker 2: not complying as a felony. But it's important to note
30:36
Speaker 2: no one's been prosecuted for it since nineteen eighty six.
30:39
Speaker 1: But the system itself has issues.
30:40
Speaker 2: Right It faces ongoing criticisms. For one, women aren't required
30:44
Speaker 2: to register. That gender disparity would undoubtedly face intense legal
30:48
Speaker 2: challenges if a draft ever came back today, and there
30:50
Speaker 2: are fundamental questions about whether a random lottery draw is
30:52
Speaker 2: even the best way to conscript people for modern warfare.
30:55
Speaker 1: Has anyone actually talked about bringing it back?
30:58
Speaker 2: Interestingly, yes, Some on the political right have occasionally suggested
31:02
Speaker 2: it could quote whip gen Z into shape and still
31:05
Speaker 2: patriotism civic duty. And conversely, some on the left, like
31:10
Speaker 2: the late Congressman Charles Rangel, argued that an all volunteer
31:14
Speaker 2: military unfairly puts the burden of war on just a
31:17
Speaker 2: small segment of society, disconnecting most people from the reality
31:21
Speaker 2: of conflict but its critical distress. Neither argument has gained
31:26
Speaker 2: any real widespread public support in decades.
31:28
Speaker 1: Okay, so if a draft were to return, it would
31:31
Speaker 1: have to be for a conflict of immense scale and
31:33
Speaker 1: a very specific kind, wouldn't it, especially since many of
31:36
Speaker 1: those old ways people used to avoid the draft are
31:38
Speaker 1: gone now.
31:39
Speaker 2: Indeed, historically people found ways paying that fee, marry and
31:43
Speaker 2: early having kids, getting college deferments, which mostly helped the
31:46
Speaker 2: wealthy and were scrapped by the early seventies. Claiming to
31:49
Speaker 2: be gay was a tactic until the two thousands. Fleeing
31:52
Speaker 2: to Canada or Mexico was common during Vietnam, but that's
31:55
Speaker 2: much harder now with modern borders and tracking Conscientious objector
31:59
Speaker 2: status based on deep moral or religious beliefs like Desmond
32:03
Speaker 2: Das was an option, but tough to get. Most were
32:06
Speaker 2: rejected during Vietnam, often facing prison like Muhammad Ali famously did, and.
32:11
Speaker 1: The military itself doesn't want it back. No.
32:13
Speaker 2: Today, the US military leadership is actually quite vocally opposed
32:17
Speaker 2: to a draft. Our modern military is built on highly
32:20
Speaker 2: trained professionals, often experts in advanced tech. A draft, they argue,
32:24
Speaker 2: would cause massive upheaval. It would bring in unprepared, possibly unmotivated,
32:29
Speaker 2: maybe even outright angry troops, which would be terrible for
32:32
Speaker 2: military cohesion and effectiveness.
32:34
Speaker 1: That makes total sense. The whole structure is designed for volunteers. Now,
32:37
Speaker 1: So what kind of conflict could possibly be so severe,
32:40
Speaker 1: so demanding of just raw man power that it would
32:43
Speaker 1: overlye the military's objections, override public opinion, and basically force
32:47
Speaker 1: a draft back onto the table.
32:49
Speaker 2: It wouldn't necessarily be the biggest war in terms of
32:52
Speaker 2: global impact, but one that demands a specific kind of
32:55
Speaker 2: scale and manpower. For instance, wars with Canada or Mexico
32:59
Speaker 2: highly unlikely to need a draft, a war with Iran,
33:02
Speaker 2: probably led by air and naval power, not huge ground forces.
33:07
Speaker 2: Conflicts with the EU militarily improbable due to NATO. A
33:11
Speaker 2: war with Russia likely high tech missile based, again emphasizing
33:15
Speaker 2: technology over mass infantry.
33:17
Speaker 1: So what's the scenario? People point to.
33:19
Speaker 2: The most plausible scenario, though still unlikely, that could demand
33:23
Speaker 2: that level of manpower, potentially triggering draft discussions would be
33:26
Speaker 2: a large scale, drawn out conflict with China, probably over
33:29
Speaker 2: Taiwan in the Pacific or Asia. While it would start
33:32
Speaker 2: heavily reliant on superior navy and air force tech, such
33:35
Speaker 2: a complex war in a vast area could potentially require
33:39
Speaker 2: far more personnel than the all volunteer force could sustain.
33:41
Speaker 2: Long term. That might eventually require more boots on the
33:43
Speaker 2: ground or maybe on ships and islands.
33:45
Speaker 3: Pushing the draft question.
33:46
Speaker 1: Okay, so hypothetically if that happened, how would gen Z react?
33:50
Speaker 1: Given everything we've said, they're politically iconoclastic and anti war leanings,
33:55
Speaker 1: their deep dissatisfaction with institutions, how would they respond to
34:00
Speaker 1: the very idea of a draft coming back?
34:02
Speaker 2: The strong expectation among analysts is that if a draft
34:05
Speaker 2: were reinstated, it would spark a protest movement at least
34:08
Speaker 2: as energetic as Vietnam.
34:10
Speaker 3: Possibly more so.
34:11
Speaker 1: Really, that's strong.
34:13
Speaker 3: Given this generation's core values.
34:14
Speaker 2: They're focus on issues like climate change, their general anti
34:17
Speaker 2: war stance, that deep seated distrust of government and traditional authority.
34:22
Speaker 2: It strongly suggests they would resist conscription vehemently. You could
34:25
Speaker 2: anticipate widespread protests, legal challenges, massive civil disobedience, potentially amplified
34:31
Speaker 2: far beyond anything seen before because of social media's power
34:34
Speaker 2: for organizing and communication, and warfare itself is changing too, right, Yeah, absolutely,
34:39
Speaker 2: that's another layer. Modern conflicts are increasingly high tech, cyber warfare,
34:43
Speaker 2: drone operations, advanced data analysis. The military might actually find
34:48
Speaker 2: it needs a few good gamers with incredible hand eye coordination,
34:52
Speaker 2: quick reaction times, tech savvy, more than just sheer numbers
34:57
Speaker 2: of traditional soldiers.
34:58
Speaker 1: It's a really complex pick, then, where the old ideas
35:02
Speaker 1: of war of service might just not align at all
35:05
Speaker 1: with this generation's experiences, their preferences, or even what modern
35:09
Speaker 1: conflict actually demands. It raises a huge question if the
35:13
Speaker 1: nature of civic duty of conflict is changing so dramatically,
35:16
Speaker 1: how do we even prepare a generation whose civic engagement
35:19
Speaker 1: already looks so different.
35:20
Speaker 2: And despite that general political disengagement, that institutional distrust we've
35:24
Speaker 2: talked so much about, gen Z and millennials really do
35:27
Speaker 2: stand out for their activism and engagement on specific issues.
35:30
Speaker 2: Climate change is probably the clearest example. It acts as
35:33
Speaker 2: as powerful lens for understanding their broader civic impulses, their
35:37
Speaker 2: commitment to collective action when something truly matters to them.
35:40
Speaker 1: Okay, so it's not that they don't care about the world,
35:43
Speaker 1: it's what they care about and how they choose to
35:45
Speaker 1: engage that's fundamentally different. It's almost like a redefinition of
35:49
Speaker 1: what political action even looks like.
35:51
Speaker 2: Precisely, younger Americans, especially gen Z and millennials, are highly
35:56
Speaker 2: almost viscerally engaged with climate change. They talk about it
36:00
Speaker 2: more often, they actively seek out and see more content
36:03
Speaker 2: about it online, and they are significantly more involved in
36:06
Speaker 2: tangible actions volunteering for environmental groups, attending rallies, participating in protests.
36:12
Speaker 1: To see that in the number here clearly.
36:13
Speaker 2: For instance, a substantial thirty two percent of gen Zer's
36:17
Speaker 2: report having taken some kind of action to address climate
36:19
Speaker 2: change in the last year. That contrasts pretty significantly with
36:23
Speaker 2: just twenty one percent of baby boomers. So for them,
36:26
Speaker 2: this isn't just some casual interest. It's a deep, often
36:28
Speaker 2: existential concern that really permeates their worldview.
36:32
Speaker 1: And the emotional toll sounds intense too. It's not just
36:35
Speaker 1: an intellectual thing for.
36:36
Speaker 3: Them, absolutely not.
36:37
Speaker 2: Among those who use social media, nearly seven to ten
36:40
Speaker 2: gen Zers, sixty nine percent report feeling anxious about the
36:44
Speaker 2: future the last time they saw content about climate change.
36:46
Speaker 1: Wow, almost seventy percent.
36:48
Speaker 2: That level of emotional impact just underscores how deeply intertwined
36:52
Speaker 2: this issue is with their personal well being, their sense
36:55
Speaker 2: of the future.
36:55
Speaker 3: Their whole outlook.
36:56
Speaker 2: And what's really fascinating is how this engagement, this concern
37:00
Speaker 2: actually cuts across traditional political divides.
37:03
Speaker 1: How so, even among conservatives, yes.
37:06
Speaker 2: Even among Republicans gen Z at forty nine percent and
37:09
Speaker 2: millennial forty eight percent. Republicans are far more likely than
37:13
Speaker 2: older Republicans like gen X thirty seven percent or boomers
37:16
Speaker 2: twenty six percent to say that immediate action to reduce
37:19
Speaker 2: the effects of climate change needs to be prioritized today.
37:22
Speaker 2: It indicates this powerful generational consensus on the issue slicing
37:26
Speaker 2: right across party lines.
37:28
Speaker 1: That's a really significant generational divide within the parties, not
37:31
Speaker 1: just between them. It means the issue just resonates incredibly
37:34
Speaker 1: deeply across the whole political spectrum. For younger people, it
37:37
Speaker 1: signals a fundamental shift and how important this has become exactly.
37:41
Speaker 2: And while the public overall generally supports a range of
37:43
Speaker 2: policies prioritizing renewables, seventy one percent favor that stricter emissions rules,
37:48
Speaker 2: there are important nuances. For example, nearly two thirds of
37:51
Speaker 2: Americans sixty four percent, still say the US should use
37:54
Speaker 2: a mix of energy sources, including fossil fuels, and people
37:58
Speaker 2: are closely divided on phasing out gasped cars entirely by
38:01
Speaker 2: twenty thirty five.
38:02
Speaker 1: But gen Z and millennials are different there.
38:04
Speaker 3: That's precisely where they stand out.
38:06
Speaker 1: Again.
38:06
Speaker 2: Clear majorities of Gen Z fifty six percent and millennials
38:09
Speaker 2: fifty seven percent do favor phasing out new gasoline cars
38:12
Speaker 2: and trucks by twenty thirty five. That's a sharp contrast
38:15
Speaker 2: with older generations. It shows a stronger willingness among the
38:18
Speaker 2: younger groups to embrace more radical, more rapid shifts and
38:21
Speaker 2: energy policy, reflecting that deep sense of urgency they feel
38:24
Speaker 2: about the climate crisis. Their activism isn't just about awareness,
38:28
Speaker 2: it's about driving real systemic change.
38:31
Speaker 1: So Okay, While their engagement with traditional politics might be shifting,
38:35
Speaker 1: maybe even declining by some measures, the passion the activism
38:39
Speaker 1: for issues like climate change is undeniably strong. It really
38:43
Speaker 1: does feel like they're reframing what political action means, moving
38:47
Speaker 1: beyond just the ballot box to social movements, direct advocacy,
38:50
Speaker 1: cultural shifts, focusing on issues they feel directly and profoundly
38:55
Speaker 1: impact their future. Their civic engagement isn't necessarily less, it's
38:59
Speaker 1: just different.
39:00
Speaker 3: It's a really good way to put it.
39:01
Speaker 1: Okay, So as we bring this deep dive towards a close,
39:03
Speaker 1: let's try and synthesize what we've really learned about gen Z.
39:07
Speaker 1: What are those big overarching themes, maybe even contradictions that
39:11
Speaker 1: define this incredibly complex generation.
39:13
Speaker 2: Well, we've definitely uncovered a generation that is, without doubt
39:16
Speaker 2: economically burdened, facing unprecedented student debt, delayed life milestones that
39:22
Speaker 2: fuels this pervasive sense of unfairness, a profound lack of
39:25
Speaker 2: control over their own futures. Politically, they're paradoxically less partisan
39:30
Speaker 2: than older generations, yet deeply dissatisfied with the system as
39:34
Speaker 2: it exists. That often translates into lower turnout and traditional elections,
39:38
Speaker 2: but also significant passionate engagement on issues that really hit
39:42
Speaker 2: home for them, like climate change, Like climate change. Yes,
39:45
Speaker 2: they're navigating these complex, sometimes widening gender dynamics, particularly with
39:50
Speaker 2: that emerging attainment crisis among young men and those sharply
39:54
Speaker 2: differing views on masculinity and feminism, And maybe most fundamentally,
39:59
Speaker 2: they're actively curating their own version of truth in this fragmented,
40:03
Speaker 2: algorithm driven media world, pulling from diverse, often contradictory sources,
40:09
Speaker 2: which profoundly flattens that traditional hierarchy of trust and information.
40:13
Speaker 1: And it's just so vital to Remember, as we saw
40:15
Speaker 1: with those distinct world views, that this generation is absolutely not.
40:18
Speaker 3: Monolithic, absolutely not.
40:20
Speaker 2: Our exploration of their worldviews, you know, from the boys
40:23
Speaker 2: can't be boys feeling under attack, to the empowered girl
40:25
Speaker 2: power group, the competitive zero sum thinkers. That offers a
40:28
Speaker 2: far more accurate, more nuanced lens than any simple stereotype
40:31
Speaker 2: ever could.
40:32
Speaker 1: So what's the overall picture.
40:33
Speaker 2: While there's definitely a strong thread of individualism and real
40:37
Speaker 2: concerns about declining happiness and that tendency towards zero sum thinking,
40:42
Speaker 2: there's also clear powerful potential for robust civic action on
40:46
Speaker 2: issues they care about deeply, and a fundamental rejection of
40:50
Speaker 2: political violence, which is important. They're complex, they're contradictory, constantly evolving,
40:55
Speaker 2: and deeply responsive to the world they've inherited.
40:58
Speaker 1: So what is this whole mosaic of trades mean for society?
41:01
Speaker 1: For all of us, the stakes feel pretty high. If
41:04
Speaker 1: truth keeps fragmenting, if trust in basic institutions continues to erode,
41:09
Speaker 1: what does that mean for our shared society, for our
41:12
Speaker 1: ability to find common ground the future of democracy itself?
41:16
Speaker 3: Democracy really at its heart relies.
41:18
Speaker 2: On some shared foundation effects right on a collective understanding
41:21
Speaker 2: of reality that allows for constructive debate, for collective decision making.
41:25
Speaker 2: But as we've seen, gen Z's flattened hierarchy of trust,
41:28
Speaker 2: where an influencer might hold as much sway as a
41:31
Speaker 2: professional journalist, poses a profound challenge to civil discourse, to
41:35
Speaker 2: the very idea of a common public.
41:36
Speaker 1: Sphere, and the risk of tuning out.
41:38
Speaker 2: The risk of disengagement from ambient news, where that constant
41:42
Speaker 2: flood of uncontextualized information just leads to confusion or maybe apathy,
41:46
Speaker 2: is very real and very concerning for the future of
41:49
Speaker 2: having an informed citizenry. But there's also a significant opportunity here. Also,
41:54
Speaker 2: there's an urgent need and maybe an opening to meet
41:57
Speaker 2: gen Z where they actually are, on the platforms they use,
42:00
Speaker 2: with credible, balanced, contextual information delivered authentically. It means actively
42:05
Speaker 2: working to try and bridge these emerging divides, to maybe
42:08
Speaker 2: rebuild trust and shared facts and institutions, recognizing that the
42:11
Speaker 2: old ways of engaging just might not work anymore.
42:14
Speaker 1: We've really dug into the forces shaping gen Z today,
42:18
Speaker 1: from those crushing economic pressures to their shifting political priorities,
42:22
Speaker 1: those unique and sometimes conflicting worldviews. But as this generation
42:26
Speaker 1: increasingly steps up to define our future. We're kind of
42:29
Speaker 1: left with a big, profound question for you, the listener,
42:32
Speaker 1: to consider. If happiness seems to be declining, if trust
42:36
Speaker 1: is fragmented, if those traditional milestones are being redefined, how
42:40
Speaker 1: will society adapt to a generation that increasingly see success
42:44
Speaker 1: as a zero sum game and finds its own version
42:47
Speaker 1: of truth? And maybe more importantly, what can we collectively
42:50
Speaker 1: do to bridge these emerging divides and try to build
42:53
Speaker 1: a more cohesive, maybe more flourishing future together.
42:57
Speaker 2: A lot to think about there, definitely, we really.
42:59
Speaker 1: Hope this deep die has given you plenty to think
43:01
Speaker 1: about it, and if it has, please do leave us
43:02
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43:05
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