It’s clear that the youngest generation of voters isn’t the same as the ones that came before. So, what’s up with the kids?
Gen Z researcher Rachel Janfaza joins Vox’s Astead Herndon to discuss how young voters are prioritizing economic survival, confronting their anxieties related to AI-job displacement, and searching for pragmatic, transparent leaders who address their everyday challenges.
00:00 Astead’s love-hate relationship with Gen Z
05:04 The theory of two Gen Z’s
06:19 How the pandemic broke Gen Z
09:48 Growing up with a phone in one hand
16:15 Rejection of the algorithm
17:56 The drivers of economic anxiety
22:08 AI and the future of work
25:25 The gender divide, explained
31:43 Hope for a post-Trump politics
32:51 Takeaways
Sources and further reading:
The Up and Up: www.theupandup.us/
We could shape one party to who we vote for, but bullshit both-sides-ism isn’t going to remove the cancerous fascism and the pedophiles in the white house
It seems like progressives are finally making headway within the Democratic party. This has needed to happen for a decade. The Democrats have been working really hard to prevent it from happening, but I guess they can’t completely shut it down. The next decade will tell whether or not the Democrats can be a real conduit for progressivism, but if they can’t be, then both-sides-ism will be the least of your problems.
I’m so proud of this gen🥲
Yeah, then they either don’t vote or vote for jill stein
me when I make shit up to cyclically hate the new generation
Americans under the age of 30 voted for Harris by 4 points (50 percent Harris – 46 percent Trump), though young men and women diverged dramatically, with men under 30 voting for Trump by 16 points (41 percent Harris – 57 percent Trump), and women under 30 voting for Harris by 24 points (59 percent Harris – 35 percent Trump).
The youth turnout rate of 47% in 2024 was slightly lower than the historic 50% in 2020, but it remains a marked improvement from the 39% rate in 2016. To put it in historical context: young voter turnout in the United States had hovered between 35–40% for most elections since the 1970s. The 2020 and 2024 cycles represent a genuine structural shift.
