Gen Z Is Active in Politics, but Cynical About the System, Researchers Find

Study after study shows Gen Z voters feel disengaged from American politics. Rutgers Democracy Lab (RDL) is working to understand why.

RDL is conducting a series of focus groups with Americans ages 18-29 in partnership with Public Agenda, a national research-to-action organization, to better understand the origins of young voters’ attitudes toward politics and democracy. Researchers are analyzing feedback from these focus groups alongside a national survey conducted with NORC (formerly the National Opinion Research Center) at the University of Chicago.

Eyal Hanfling, Director of the Technology and Democracy Research Hub at RDL, discusses the findings in RDL’s new report, “Alienated, Not Apathetic: Gen Z, Political Power and Democracy.” 

What does RDL’s first focus groups reveal about Gen Z voters? 

We found that young people are deeply cynical about American political institutions yet continue to participate. For some participants in our focus groups, civic engagement means non-electoral involvement like community service and organizing, while others approached voting as “harm reduction,” or a tool to keep certain politicians out of office. The young Americans we spoke to were disillusioned with politicians and political parties, but still felt a sense of civic responsibility that motivated them to engage.

What are the root causes of this disillusionment?

Focus group participants pointed to several factors, including the age of elected leaders. The median age of U.S. senators is 65 and the median age in the House of Representatives is 58. Gen Z adults we spoke to generally considered elected officials out of touch with the needs of young people.

Young people also cited the influence of money in politics and dysfunction in all levels of government as reasons for their disillusionment. They are especially wary of special interest groups, large tech companies and wealthy donors as having an outsized effect on elections. 

In general, young people felt democracy wasn’t working as it was intended to.

Are there specific issues driving young voters?

Bread-and-butter issues like cost-of-living, healthcare, and education are likely top of mind for young voters, but we’re closely following public opinion about artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, and surveillance. In each of the focus groups, participants brought up Flock cameras and data center debates unprompted, and expressed genuine fear about rapid advances in AI, but also an inability to control how technology was being used or governed. Our early survey findings also suggest that Gen Z voters care about environmental effects and the use of AI for public surveillance more than other generations, and our future research will explore additional generational differences in attitudes towards AI.

Based on the sentiments shared in these focus groups and the previews of your forthcoming surveys, do you anticipate Gen Z will show up at the polls in this election?

They are going to vote out of a sense of responsibility, but not because they feel like their vote is going to make a change. It does give me some hope because they are still committed to the idea of our democracy even though they are distrustful of every institution, ranging from the media to the Supreme Court to the presidency. 

RDL and Public Agenda will publish a follow-on report in January 2027 that will also incorporate findings from pre- and post-2026 midterm election surveys fielded through AmeriSpeak® Voter Surveys from NORC at the University of Chicago.