Summary
Despite his conservative platform, Donald Trump made unexpected gains among Gen Z voters. Exit polls showed a shift, with young men favoring Trump by 2 points, a reversal from Biden’s previous lead.
Gen Z’s support for Trump may have been underestimated, as an Axios poll found nearly half of Gen Z voters lied about their vote, with young men more likely to support Trump quietly.
Trump connected with young men through appearances on popular podcasts and endorsements from social media influencers.
Disillusionment with the economy and frustration with the Democratic Party’s approach to working-class issues also drove some Gen Z voters to seek change, with Trump capitalizing on these sentiments.
I’m a highschool teacher. This generation of students isn’t even more tech savvy, let alone media savvy. Your exactly correct about the design of modern technology; this generation grew up with tablets and iPhones, they have no idea how to do some incredibly basic tasks unless an app does it for them, and they no understanding of really core - and in my mind simple - computer use concepts like what a folder is, or how find a file on a device and attach it to an email.
We’ve begun teaching media literacy in the highschools, but it’s unfortunately falling into the pitfalls or most education. We pull specialized articles from sources that students would literally never engage with, discuss how to read such articles and how they can be misleading, and never make the connection to the kind of content that students actually absorb. Students are day-in, day-out learning from influencers and social media, and we’re handing them articles from 2010 reprinted into textbooks and news posts they’d never have the patience to read, while continually reinforcing that cell phones are toys that are meant to stay out of the classroom and used in private or with small groups of friends.
The kids aren’t alright, but that’s not on them.
Yep, I’ve been completely underwhelmed with what constitutes being “tech savvy” for a lot of people in that age range. For some of them, if it isn’t a product (and a popular one), it’s like it doesn’t register for them. They think in terms of brands when it comes to technology.
Tech aside, I would love for schools at K-12 and at higher levels of learning to incorporate critical thinking and media literacy instruction. It would be an uphill battle though, probably at the very outset, but certainly after reactionary parents start noticing that their kids don’t think just like them. For some reason, people seem to believe that school is just a glorified job training program, and that anything outside of that is off-limits, meaning, their kids are expected to come out believing the exact same shit going into school as when they come out. I view that as an education FAILURE if a student comes out believing exactly what their parents believe in the end without ever having questioned any of it. Of course, if children deviate even slightly from what their parents/pastor/community believes, the wingers think that is “indoctrination”.
Kids should be forced to go through what I did to get on the Internet. Learn how modems work. Type
A:\install.exeand swap out a dozen floppies before you play that new game you love. (While you’re waiting you can read the manual.) Want a porn video? Learn how to use a downloader and be prepared to wait a few days. Want a new machine? Build it yourself.I have written and moderated courseware for education students focusing on digital literacy. A requirement for graduation, pass/fail. I was so excited to start the project. I was so disappointed by the end.
The teachers to-be had very little digital literacy overall, and very little ability to recognize that or care. Too many passed, by design of the department heads. It was saddening to realize that most of them were headed out into the world with indifference to social media processes and little ability to recognize digital manipulation, and to share that indifference with children.