this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2024
570 points (99.3% liked)

News

23644 readers
2834 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Summary

Gen Z posted greater voter turnout in 2022 compared to previous generations in midterm elections. As the 2024 election approaches, campaigning continues to be directed at this generation — including outreach led by Gen Z voters themselves.

Gen Z voters are more motivated to participate in elections due to specific policy issues, particularly reproductive rights. Political groups and candidates are implementing new strategies to engage this generation, including peer-to-peer organizing and authentic messaging.

Vice President Harris has been praised for her relatable social media presence, while former President Trump has appeared on popular male-dominated podcasts.

top 44 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 89 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

Unlike previous generations who were able to conveniently ignore politics because most of it didn't directly impact them, more young people than ever are LGBT+ and/or disabled.

When I was growing up in the 90's, white Christian America still dominated, and so fewer young people were getting directly involved simply because there were fewer people upset at the state of things and more people who believed the propaganda that everything was fine.

Millennials and to a further extent Gen Z have lived in a world that just keeps fucking them over at every turn so they don't have a choice but to become involved. Millennials got involved in their adulthood, and Gen Z is growing up around and being influenced by those adults who are now politically involved.

It makes complete sense why they are more involved than past youth generations because in the past the youth had a lot less to lose.

Also, getting pregnant in your thirties is risky business so abortion is by and large a youth issue, because it impacts young women more then older women.

Currently the youth have a lot to lose so they are understandably getting involved.

[–] [email protected] 71 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Small clarification: more young people than ever are openly LGBT. They were always there, they just had to hide it.

[–] sloppy_diffuser 30 points 1 month ago (2 children)

1000% this. I'm now rediscovering my rather fluid gender identity and attraction to both genders that started in my late 30s. Looking back, all the signs were there, I just kept things private as it wasn't socially acceptable. Had some outlet with the teen goth scene, which was nonexistent in college. Grew up in a heavily catholic influenced region.

Have an awesome wife who is supportive and revealed she is (now was) also closet bi from the same generation.

We moved away from there, but when I visit family all the churches are run down and closed. I smile every time knowing their grip is loosening. All the LGBT hate today just tastes like desperation.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

I'm glad for you but please remember that progress is not inevitable it is fought for to attain and needs to be fought for it to be kept.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Every time a church closes, freedom and decency improve.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago

And as a consequence more young people know someone who is.

It’s a lot harder to hate a group of people you personally know members of.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 month ago

Also, getting pregnant in your thirties is risky business so abortion is by and large a youth issue, because it impacts young women more then older women.

I'd argue differently. Free access to abortion affects all women. Obviously young women in their prime child-bearing years are affected, but older women are more likely to have complications which make access to medical abortion a life-or-death issue. And the oldest remember what life was like before the Roe decision. So it is not surprising that women of all ages are viewing this election as if their lives depended on it.

[–] [email protected] 79 points 1 month ago (2 children)

This is great news. However, consider it fake news and vote early if you haven't aready.

This election can not be close. Trump will destory families, your elder family members health care, and younger generations hopes and dreams for a good life. Same sex marriage, the palestinian people, muslims/arabs, an brown people, black people, and the poor will all have their destroyed.

Vote early! Educate others if possible and help them reach the poles. Also, LOCAL ELECTIONS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Hear a lot of Gen Z men vote Trump so still vote like your life depends on it. Because it does.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I think going from the relatively peaceful period of the 90s in the west to living through the Bush administration, 9/11, racist fear mongering and alarmism over terrorism, mass erosion of rights and privacy, jingoism and wars in the Middle East under false pretenses, the Bush adminstration's connections with the military-industrial complex getting exposed, seeing stuff like Fox News, Glenn Beck, and Bill O'Reilly start to mindrot the boomer generation into unrecognizable husks of their former selves, the 2008 market crash due the effects of all the failed conservative economic policies and deregulation that occured the past few decades — coloured Gen Xers' and Millennials' perspectives in a way that I imagine would be difficult for Gen Z to grasp.

They have no point of reference to see how badly things changed under the Republican party because they already grew up in the shit, and due to Republican obstructionism they may think that it's Democrats faults because Obama and Biden were in the White House, but much of the fixing actually needs to happen in the house. But even that may not be enough because of the partisan Supreme Court.

And honestly, in a case of a lot of cis Gen Z boys who've been sucked into some shoddy conservative ideas, I feel like we failed them if guys like Andrew Tate, Trump, and other such garbage heaps of human beings were the ones getting through to them.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Honestly I think a lot more than that is at stake if Trump dissolves NATO and destroys democracy, both of which he has already attempted to do before.

[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I’ll believe it when I see it. Voter turnout amongst young people is traditionally abysmal. That more are voting this time is great, but it’s still going to below 50%. Well, except for conservatives. They show up.

Please, people, voting takes less effort than a pub crawl. Just vote.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Pub crawls are too much effort, especially when you can just drink from the safety of your own home.

That said, I still voted. Dropping off my ballot was easier than getting up to use the bathroom when you're hungover.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

I’ll drink to that!

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 month ago (1 children)

YoUnG pEoPlE dOn'T vOtE! - people who don't want to address young people's concerns.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)
  • Congress person addresses young people's concern 😁
  • Young people don't vote anyway 🥱
  • Congress person gets replaced by gerontological conservative 😔
  • Young people [surprised Pikachu face]
  • Boomers continue to bankrupt social security 🤑
[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 month ago

Like so. Just preemptively announce that young people aren't gonna vote so you can continue to ignore their concerns.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 month ago

Coming soon in the news: Trump blames Gen Z for being communists for losing the election

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Cool, but I am not convinced that CIS Gen-Z men aren't mobilized to vote for Trump.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Neither am I, but I am convinced cis-Gen-Z-men aren't actually going to show up to fucking stand in line to vote after their 12 hour overnight shift at a steel mill.

These young guys are not a reliable voting bloc.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Do housing next. That's an area where everyone is equally fucked on the political spectrum aside from the rich.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Corporations should not own housing, unless its a non-profit working to serve the underprivileged.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

More than past generations at their age. 18-29 year olds still vote less than any other age group. About 25% of Gen Z voted in 2022. While they're slightly more likely to vote than other age cohorts at the same age, youth voting is still dismal in the United States.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I sure as hell hope so. My generation, myself included, seems a bit lazy in comparison. I suppose the oldest of us millennials got hit hard by 2008, but I personally didn't, I was a teenager. So really, we've grown accustomed to living in good times and that makes people lazy. I reckon Gen Z and soon Alpha are going to pick up where we've failed and I'm ready to grab the popcorn.

This might be different in my country where we don't have a potential upcoming Trump presidency, BUT we're still affected by American politics. Last time Trump got elected, we had a huge surge in right wing Christian family values politics. We're an atheist or at best pagan nation at heart so this felt so fake from the get-go. Wdym "back to our Christian roots"? We used to fight Christianity with pitchforks and stuff!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

I'm a younger millennial, my Alpha kids 10/7 are both very much so aware of social issues and we don't sugar coat answers when they ask questions. I'm trying to subliminally give them a fighting chance to think about this stuff on their own and make the right decisions.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-changes-political-divides-2019-7?op=1

Yeah, but watch out. Allegedly they're more conservative than you think.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

And we're still somehow projected to lose the election to Donald fucking Trump.