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A Look at How Generation Z and Millennials View Political Issues

The social landscape of America may soon change for the better. America may soon become a nation of open-minded citizens who respect diversity. This is according to a 2018 study conducted on the views of the Millennial generation and Generation Z on social and political issues.

What exactly comprises these generations? Who are they?

Millennials, or Generation Y, are those born between the early 1980s to mid-1990s. At present, they comprise 25 percent of the U.S. population. Generation Z or Gen Z, as they are often referred to, are those born around the late 1990s to early 2000.

The study, conducted by an independent nonprofit research center – Pew Research, describes Gen Z as better educated and more open-minded than previous generations. It has clear views on how the government is doing, however, this may likely change when they become more mature and are of voting age.

Here are the key findings of the study.

As regards the way President Donald Trump handles government business, only 30 percent of the surveyed Gen Z and 29 percent of the Millennials said Trump is doing the right thing. This is low as compared to the 38% to 54% of the older generations who believe Trump is doing good.

The Millennials and Gen Z wants the government to work harder in solving the country’s problems. The older generations, however, said a lot of the problems are better left to experts. On issues about more women running for office, there is no apparent difference. Most of those surveyed across generations believe it is good for women to be in politics.

Most of the respondents across all generations also said immigrants have made positive contributions to the U.S. government. On issues about race or ethnicity, there was a huge gap between the younger and older generations. Sixty-one to Sixty-two percent of the Millennials and Gen-Z are very much open to racial diversity, as well as interracial relationships. About forty-two to fifty-two percent of the older population said this is not okay.

In terms of party affiliation, it turned out that younger Republicans believe there is a need for the government to improve its performance, while the older ones said it doesn’t need to. On the other hand, there is no debate among Democrats regarding this issue as most of them are one in saying there is a need for government to work harder in solving the country’s problems.

On issues of climate change, there is no marked difference because most of them believe it is the humans who are causing the problem. Lastly, all generations are unanimous in their belief that the current government is going in the wrong direction.