Gen Z Adults Are Getting More Moderate

Gen Z has long been characterized as uber-progressive on all fronts, from political leanings and purchasing habits to personal identities and workplace preferences. 

But with a growing share of Gen Zers already in or rapidly approaching the throes of adulthood, their trademark zeal is giving way to a somewhat more pragmatic worldview — at least according to Morning Consult Audience data, which draws on millions of survey interviews about demographics, psychographics, and consumption behaviors.

Zeroing in on domestic responses, we found that since the start of 2021 (and President Joe Biden’s term), the share of U.S. Gen Z adults who describe their political ideology as “moderate” has grown steadily, while the share identifying as “liberal” has moved in the opposite direction. 

Generation moderation?

As of June 2024, Gen Z adults are nearly just as likely to identify as political moderates (27%) as the average U.S. adult (29%). That’s up six percentage points from the 21% of Gen Zers who said the same in January 2021. Simultaneously, the share of liberal-identifying Gen Z adults dropped from 41% to 29%, and the share of self-described conservatives grew from 16% to 21%.

It’s very likely that liberal identification among Gen Z adults experienced a surge in early 2021 in the wake of the January 6th insurrection and President Biden’s inauguration. Even so, it continued to decline well after that news cycle had moved on.

The bottom line is this: More and more Gen Zers are moving toward the political middle, at the most detriment to liberalism. And while the chart above shows data collected among all Gen Z adults, this trend also holds true for Gen Zers who are registered to vote.

A similar shift is present among millennials, too — albeit to a lesser degree. The ideological associations of Gen Xers and baby boomers, meanwhile, have remained steady since early 2021.  

That said, it’s important to note that this data doesn’t reflect political party affiliation. Gen Zers have voted decidedly with Democrats to date, and are still among the most liberal and least conservative cohorts that Morning Consult tracks. It’s also important to note that, while sizable, the recent changes in how Gen Z adults categorize their political ideology don’t indicate a mass swing to the right. Instead, this data is simply the latest in a series of youth culture observations that, when considered together, paint a picture of a generation beginning to experiment with different attitudes and sources of advice.

A changing chattering class

The changes in Gen Z’s political ideology have been occurring against the backdrop of low and stable overall interest in politics, evidence that it is being driven by shifts in broader cultural conversation. 

So who is leading this conversation? A new class of news, political and finance influencers it seems — especially in the last 12 to 18 months. These content creators blur the lines between social media personalities and journalists by recapping or explaining topical events in a colloquial, direct-to-camera video format (usually in front of a screenshot of an actual news article).  

This content is arguably more analysis than objective reporting and more entertainment rather than education, but it’s attracting young audiences, who continue to abandon traditional media, in droves. And many of the most popular so-called “jinfluencers” possess a conservative bent. 

The rise of these right-leaning creators has been cited as a driver for changes in political ideology among Gen Z men in particular. Several recent polls have found that young men are reporting a growing affinity for conservatism. Other research suggests that algorithmic social media feeds, wherein the most sensational content tends to thrive, have been drawing young male users toward accounts that espouse extreme beliefs.

But even content that is not explicitly newsy or political plays a role here, too. For example, hyperbolic generalizations of men and women — and their relationships to one another — have become so pervasive online that Gen Zers’ views on gender are now much more negative than that of all U.S. adults. 

All of the above are reminders of the internet’s unique ability to repackage existing beliefs and introduce them to new audiences in new contexts at scale — for good or bad. However, as with most trends, Gen Zers’ pullback from liberal ideology can’t be explained by internet happenings alone. Another major factor underpinning the situation is, unsurprisingly, the economy. 

Young eyes turn to the economy 

Between January 2021 and June 2024, the share of Gen Z adults who cited economic issues as their top concern when casting votes for federal officeholders grew from 31% to 40%, a figure that is now 5 percentage points higher than the share of all U.S. adults who said the same. 

What’s more — their recent fixation on the economy is generationally unique: The share of millennials, Gen Xers and baby boomers citing the economy as a top voting issue all remained stable or declined over the period. 

Aside from women’s issues spiking in mid-2022 following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, Gen Z adults’ reported interest in all other tested policy areas has failed to come close to the economy. 

The simple fact of life station is certainly at play. With a majority of Gen Zers now firmly in their late teens and early twenties, they’re taking on more monetary responsibilities than ever before, including groceries, rent and car payments, and, of course, college (although many young people are now opting out of four-year degrees due to rapidly rising tuition costs).

Being at the early career stage also means that Gen Zers’ are less likely to be employed full-time and making less income than the average U.S. adult. With all of these circumstances converging against a backdrop of persistent inflation, it makes sense that the economy is a political north star for young people — and will likely maintain such a position moving forward.

Still, there are even more forces contributing to Gen Zers’ move toward centrism — namely in the form of lifestyle fads pushed by yet another class of online content creators. 

Modesty moment

Internet personalities who promote traditional, heteronormative relationships and customs — known broadly as “trad wives” and “trad husbands” — have gained massive Gen Z followings as of late. Similar content championing the importance of daily rituals and routines also thrives across most social media platforms. 

While the implications of this kind of media are hotly debated, it’s clear that the topline messages conveyed by it — that modesty and dutifulness and domestic comforts are something to aspire to — have struck a chord with young people. And Morning Consult Audience data reflects this. 

The share of Gen Z adults who agree with a number of sentiments related to habit and certainty have grown double-digits since early 2021. Those who say faith is the most important part of their life, for example, increased by 12 percentage points. 

Gen Zers’ have also become notably more invested in maintaining things like traditions and privacy in recent years. 

Again, these are confounding and unexpected psychographic shifts for a generation so frequently hailed as nonconformist. But they suggest that Gen Zers are starting to crave relief from the pressure of global uncertainty and technology-induced decision fatigue that gripped their coming-of-age years.

After all, they’re already ditching dating apps and embracing dumb phones. A full-on normie revolution just might be next. 

This memo utilizes data from Morning Consult Audience, our new product that makes it easy to explore and build thousands of custom audience profiles to better understand your target customers. To learn more about Morning Consult Audience, request a demo here.