Hi everyone, I hope you’re all well.
So, there has been a lot of talk over the past few years about Generation Z.
They are the teenagers and young adults of today, and have grown
up in a world of technology, instant communication, and instant
gratification.
Although there is debate about their birth year, with different
researchers citing everything from 1995 to 2001, I tend to agree with
Pew Research, who assert Gen Zers are born from 1997 to about
2012.
Needless to say, because of their youth, they are still very
much finding their feet, and companies, marketing firms, and of
course, political parties are still figuring out just what makes them
tick.
Now, Generation Z was brought to my attention in 2016, when I
learned that, according to a UK study by marketing company The
Gild, these teens were projected to be the most conservative
generation since World War II.
To me, that was very interesting, considering how relentlessly left-wing Millennials
had turned out to be, and as we know, generational trends show
that younger age groups tend to drift leftwards, rather than
rightwards.
Could this be a light at the end of the tunnel?
A potential end to the insane PC brigade and their militant “tolerance”
who were marching through society, haranguing and demonizing
everyone who disagreed with them?
Well, perhaps.
But then again, I reminded myself, it was a smallish sample size, and
the survey was voluntary, which casts doubt over the accuracy of the
results.
Nevertheless, other research began to emerge in a similar vein to the Gild survey,
indicating that the next generation was a contingent of little right
wingers.
Thought to be more entrepreneurial than their Millennial
older siblings, this impression of Gen Z was a relaxed, individualistic
group, more concerned with becoming the next viral hit
and cashing in on it, rather than dying their underarm hair and
screaming about already attained equality.
However, in January this year, a study was released by Pew Research
that seemed to indicate the opposite.
According to Pew, Generation Z in the USA appeared to have similarly Millenial
left wing ideals.
The study found Gen Z is the most likely of all
generations to be comfortable calling someone gender neutral
pronouns, and most likely to know some who doesn’t identity
as male or female.
Six in ten of them believe that forms should offer gender neutral
options.
They are also the generation most accepting of same-sex
marriage and relationships.
Pew also found they are the most likely to believe interracial marriage and diversity
is good for society, and most of them approve of the NFL anthem protests.
They have a similar attitude to Millennials about climate change, and
interestingly enough, Generation Z is even more likely than
Millennials to say that the government should do more than it does
to solve problems.
In addition, the study found that only 30% of
Generation Z believes Trump is doing a good job.
Up until this point, the largely leftist mainstream media had stayed
relatively quiet about Generation Z.
After all, with the exception of David Hogg, they weren’t really emerging
as trailblazers for so-called “progressivism”.
However, when this study came out, they pounced, insisting that Generation Z was a new wave
of Democrat voters, that Republicans had better watch out, and that
the future was a literal liberal tsunami.
So what gives?
Was the apparent light at the end of the tunnel a
complete ruse?
Were we in for another generation of social justice
warriors who would prefer to be under the thumb of an all-
encompassing socialist state rather than roam free in a capitalist
democracy?
Certainly, the media seemed to be celebrating like that
was the case.
But here’s the thing; the Pew study only covered social issues, which
is half the story when it comes to determining anyone’s political or
ideological leanings.
How Generation Z views fiscal issues wasn’t touched, and the only mention of their opinion
on the role of government was the question of whether the
government should do more to solve problems.
That doesn’t necessarily mean big government; that implies effective government,
particularly since a disproportionately large number of Gen Zers
who identify as Republicans also think the government should
do more to solve problems.
The survey does not specify what problems the government should
actually solve, and as it’s specific to the USA, where, for example,
lack of health insurance and crippling student loan debts cause a lot
of problems, there’s a good argument to be made from either side of
the aisle that the government should provide citizens with relief in
those areas.
You’ve got to remember; America is fairly unique in its attitude to
healthcare.
Like, you would be hard pressed to find a conservative in
Australia or the UK who would argue against having a good public
health system.
So, I will be interested to see how this Gen Z attitude to government
in America evolves, if at all, but I think it’s a bit much to say, at this
point in time, that this denotes the next generation of
As for their characteristically leftie social attitudes, that’s not
because they’re pointedly “progressive” about it.
They’re not warriors fighting for social justice, like
their Millennial elders.
Social liberalism is just normalised for Generation
Z.
They are the most racially diverse generation ever, and have grown
up in a time where same sex marriage has been legal for quite a
while, as has adoption by gay couples.
It’s just the thing.
Certainly, in the UK, Gen Z’s attitude to same sex couples
is on trend with a rise in acceptance across all generations, according
to the Ipsos study Beyond Binary.
So, while Generation Z may be pretty chill with social issues,
especially gender and sexuality, it’s not pointed; it’s incidental.
They just don’t care, and are prepared to live
and let live.
In other words, they aren’t social justice warriors, they’re
socially relaxed.
This is,
interestingly enough, a trait shared a by a lot of people on the more
secular centre right, like yours truly.
So, how does Generation Z feel about money?
Are they a generation of Stalinists, or are they Ronald Reagan incarnate?
Well, this generation grew up during the global financial
crisis.
They saw what it did to millennials and their parents, and
as such developed a sense of frugality, and a desire to be prepare for
the future.
They have a more entrepreneurial mindset than Millennials;
probably because they haven’t been afflicted by helicopter
parenting, and grew up glued to the internet.
That is, their celebrities are self-made, and live in the halls of YouTube
and Instagram, rather than Hollywood and pop music.
So, instead of expecting some sort of parental government body to
do everything for them, like Millennials do, Gen Zers want to be the
next Pewdiepie, and are prepared to do the work themselves to get
there.
For example, according to a 2017 study by The Center for
Generational Kinetics, Generation Z students plan to “work during
college, keep clear of any personal debt, and start saving for
retirement.”
Indeed, 12% have already started saving for retirement,
and 21% of them had a savings account before the age of ten.
Currently, 77% of them earn their own spending money by doing
“freelance work, a part time job, or earned allowance.”
In other words, they are practical, fiscally conservative, and know the
dangers of not having a financial safety net.
We can also see this attitude in a global study by Deloitte, which
found the number one concern for Generation Z was owning a home,
as opposed to Millennials, whose top priority is travelling
the world.
Also, Gen Zers had the internet literally from infancy.
This means they have had every single horrible insult
you could possibly imagine thrown at them, and have seen things online
that would shock the bravest baby Boomer, all before the age of
eighteen.
They have been forged in fire in the lawless wild west of
the digital world.
Is it any wonder they have developed a spine of steel
so early on, and are so eager to forge a path for themselves because
screw the haters?
What about globally?
Is this fiscally conservative, entrepreneurial attitude shared by Generation Z everywhere?
Well, according to a global study by the International Federation
of Accountants of Gen Zers in G20 countries, their outlook on public
policy is decidedly nationalist, and their top concerns take on
a typically conservative shape.
Out of fourteen public policy options, Generation Z ranked stability
of their country’s economy as the number one concern, followed by
quality of education, and then availability of jobs.
The bottom three, by dramatic contrast, were addressing income
and wealth inequality, making regulation smarter and more effective,
and improving effectiveness of international taxation systems.
In other words, unlike Millennials, Generation Z favours Economic
Conservatism in Public Policy and Seeks Career Stability, rather than
trying to fix grand international concerns and living the dream at all
costs.
Also, unlike Millennials, who tend to favour globalism, the
same study found that 51% of Gen Z’ers globally favour a nationalist
approach to public policy, as opposed to 32% who favour globalism
and international collaboration.
So, as we can see, for the regressive left to jump the gun and absorb
Generation Z into their army of social justice warriors based simply
on the Pew Research Study would seem a little foolhardy.
While the study is, I would say, an accurate reflection
of their social attitudes, that doesn’t quite mean what a lot of people
think that means.
Particularly since, according to the Hispanic Heritage Foundation,
34% of American Gen Zers favoured Trump in 2016, with 20%
preferring Clinton.
And while during the midterms in 2018, Gen Z had
tipped a bit towards the Democrats, look at exit poll data on swing
states.
While the majority of voters 18-24 voted Democrat, they did
so in smaller numbers than Millennials, which indicates a distinct
generational shift to the right.
Having said that, I don’t think conservatives should be claiming
Generation Z either, because they’re simply not conservative in the
traditional sense of the word.
Sure, they may favour jobs, the economy, and nationalism over tax and globalism,
but they are still undeniably socially liberal, because that’s
the world they’ve grown up in.
My opinion is that, globally, Generation Z, those cheeky youngsters,
are a group of what you’d call classical liberals.
And I don’t mean “liberal” in the sense of the word that
the American left has hijacked
to make themselves sound more palatable.
I mean those who are liberal in the sense that they are dedicated
to securing the freedom of the individual by limiting the power of
the government.
That is true liberalism, and that is what we see in
Gen Z.
As to which way they’ll vote; well that remains to be seen.
Perhaps they’ll be a generation of swing voters.
Perhaps they’ll all lurch one way one year, then scatter all over the place
at the next election.
Either way, they’re an interesting bunch, and they may just save us
from the chaos of the current political climate.