Gen Z’s political alienation fuels rise in extremism
Gen Z’s pandemic scars, social-media isolation and disordered home life have eroded trust in the American social contract, increasing disaffection and extremism.
In a nutshell
- Rising conspiracy beliefs are linked to Covid-era distrust of institutions
- Nearly half of Gen Z is dissatisfied with U.S. democracy
- Declining religious affiliation reduces civic and social ties
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American history is rife with periods of political division, from the earliest debates between the Federalist and Anti-Federalist founders, Unionists versus Confederates locked in civil war, and more recently, the seemingly insurmountable rift between progressives and conservatives. But particularly noteworthy of late is the political disaffection of Generation Z and the heightened extremism it has wrought.
Generation Z refers to those born between 1997 and 2012, who currently range in age from 14 to 29. They were most immediately preceded by Millennials (1981-1996); Generation X (1965-1980); and Baby Boomers (1946-1964).
Every generation is shaped by collective experiences, although they are not necessarily absolute. The impacts of political, economic and cultural shifts may vary across intra-generational strata, especially when, as now, the pace of change is accelerated. Yet even the youngest and oldest members of Gen Z share a history unlike any other.
The zeitgeist of Gen Z has been largely shaped by, among other things, the Covid-19 pandemic, social media and demographic turns. The turbulence of the past decade has undercut, to a marked degree, their confidence in foundational American values of pluralism, civic participation, free enterprise and democracy. Nearly half of Gen Z respondents in a 2024 national survey expressed dissatisfaction with the way democracy works in the United States – an increase of nearly 50 percent compared to their Millennial counterparts at the same age. Moreover, a third of the Gen Z respondents said American identity was of “little importance” or “no importance” – more than twice the proportion of Millennials at a comparable age.
Research – and recent events – demonstrate that political alienation nurtures extremism. It is therefore worrisome that 18 percent of Gen Z report “never” trusting the government – more than double the proportion of Millennials similarly surveyed – while another 42 percent only trust the government “some of the time.” Gen Z also tends to dismiss the utility of civil discourse and view harassment, intimidation and violent protest as justifiable tactics. Their inordinate embrace of socialism and nationalism reflects authoritarian sympathies.
Political extremism is hardly a new phenomenon in American politics, but among Gen Z, even the most egregious sentiments – including Holocaust denial and communist zeal – are widely circulated, highly networked and broadly tolerated. There are, of course, millions of young Americans who eschew such views, but they are less likely than previous generations to express disagreement or disapproval. Some 66 percent of college students in a Knight Foundation-Ipsos survey reported self-censoring during classroom discussions. (Such reticence does not, however, extend to vicious comments made under the cloak of online anonymity.)
Recent events such as the attempted assassination of United States President Donald Trump, the murders of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, surging rates of hate crimes and violent clashes over border enforcement reflect the rise in political extremism. Indeed, some 14.5 percent of Gen Z respondents in a 2024 national survey described themselves as ideologically “extreme,” compared to 2.7 percent of their Millennial counterparts at the same age.
The heightened extremism has not gone unnoticed by the rest of the country; a plurality of Americans (27 percent) in a 2025 Ipsos poll cited political extremism as the most important issue facing the nation (followed by the economy at 16 percent and immigration at 10 percent).
Europe is by no means immune to youth radicalization, as is particularly evident in Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Identifying the factors contributing to Gen Z’s political alienation is a necessary step toward restoring the civility upon which Western democracy depends.
The Covid-19 catastrophe
The Covid-19 pandemic interfered with milestones of childhood and adolescence among Gen Z. School closures deprived them of basic instruction while imposing extended periods of social isolation. According to the American Adolescence Survey, some 61 percent of Generation Z teens reported feeling “lonely and isolated” often – twice the proportion reported by Baby Boomers during their adolescence. Virtual reality is no substitute for human interaction.
The effects of the loss of millions of lives to Covid-19 are incalculable, of course, but economic losses exceeding trillions of dollars disproportionately affected Gen Z. Younger workers comprised the single largest share of service-sector employment, including restaurants, hotels, retail trade and other customer-facing jobs that were devastated by social distancing edicts. In fact, some two-thirds of Gen Z adults surveyed in 2023 reported that Covid-19 influenced the trajectory of their lives “a great deal” or a “fair” amount.
All of which understandably shook public confidence in the government’s ability to manage crises and, accordingly, undermined hope for the future. The Harvard Youth Poll of 2025 found that only a third of Gen Z believe they will be better off financially than their parents.
Older generations, although by no means unaffected, were somewhat steeled to adversity by life experience. Lacking such context, Gen Z was more vulnerable to cynicism and despair – both of which have fed what the Skeptic Research Center has determined to be “astonishingly high” rates of conspiracy belief in their ranks.
The fraying family fabric
Family structure has changed dramatically since the mid-1960s, with lower rates of marriage, as well as higher rates of divorce and out-of-wedlock births. The broad effect on Gen Z is twofold: They were twice as likely as their predecessors to be raised by an unmarried parent, according to the Pew Research Center, and fewer have entered marriage or parenthood as young adults compared to previous generations.
A two-parent household is no panacea for an ideal childhood; plenty of two-parent families suffer from dysfunction. But the immense pressures of single parenthood are inherently destabilizing, both emotionally and economically. For example, 30 percent of single-mother households live in poverty compared to 8 percent of married-couple families, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
The changing form of the family has also undercut nurturance and socialization. Consider that only 38 percent of Gen Z report sharing meals with their family as a child, compared to 76 percent of Baby Boomers. As the journal Pediatrics documented: “[T]he frequency of family meals was inversely associated with tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use; low grade point average; depressive symptoms; and suicide involvement after controlling for family connectedness.”
Moreover, more than a third (34 percent) of Gen Z identify as religiously unaffiliated, according to the American National Family Life Survey, compared to 29 percent among Millennials, 25 percent among Gen X and 18 percent among Baby Boomers. Researchers have documented a strong correlation between religious affiliation and social and civic engagement.
From the frequency of violent street protests to the volume of vile online rhetoric, there is abundant evidence of heightened political alienation and extremism among Gen Z.
Social media mayhem
Social media performs many valuable functions, but it also feeds alienation and extremism to a troubling degree. The effects are particularly significant for Gen Z, which spends on average more than five hours daily on social media – nearly double the time of Millennials and triple that of Gen X and Baby Boomers, according to the S&P Global Intelligence survey.
Not surprisingly, Gen Z also relies more heavily on social media for news and information than any other generational cohort. That might not necessarily be problematic if they accessed a variety of online sources or routinely engaged in fact-checking. Alas, they do not. Surveys reveal that Gen Z primarily relies on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube for news and information, and is highly susceptible to misinformation.
Social media, by its very nature, nurtures alienation. Platform algorithms are designed to incite emotion to stimulate engagement, including curiosity and “FOMO” (the fear of missing out). But nothing stirs the blood like anger.
To feed that anger, social media curates networks of like-minded individuals to the exclusion of moderating voices. This siloing breeds distrust and incivility. Only one-third of Gen Z believe that those with opposing political views want what is best for the country, according to the Harvard Youth Poll. They also express more antipathy toward out-groups than any other cohort, according to the American National Elections Studies.
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Gen Z has also been raised on an unceasing diet of partisan smears and negative messaging, which has proven more detrimental in the absence of institutional checks on incivility. Whereas politicians and their parties, media, religious leaders and parents once steered public discourse, they have largely been displaced by online influencers – both human and AI – who thrive on hate.
Some purveyors of extremist content claim that they are merely engaging in satire and mockery. As the vice president of the Manhattan Institute think tank, Jesse Arm, explained in a recent City Journal article, “Politics is entertainment: a stage for mockery, transgression, and performance, not moral seriousness or policy discipline.” But as Mr. Arm also notes, there is a desensitizing effect: One in three students surveyed by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education consider it acceptable to use violence to silence a campus speaker – a 50 percent increase over 2020.
The problem of extremism is exacerbated by the failure of public education to impart the lessons of history that would otherwise temper enthusiasm for communism, socialism, fascism and all the other fanciful “isms” peddled by radicals as superior to American democracy. For example, 38 percent of Virginia students reported that college instruction gave them a more negative view of the United States, while only 15 percent said it gave them a positive view of the country.
From the frequency of violent street protests to the volume of vile online rhetoric, there is abundant evidence of heightened political alienation and extremism among Gen Z. A confluence of factors has contributed to the problem, and all defy easy remedy. But as a nation built on civic virtue and mutual tolerance, the future of America depends on reversing this dark tide.
Scenarios
Likely: Gen Z confronts the failure of extremism
New Yorkers may pay a steep price for electing socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor. Perhaps there will be a benefit if the failure of his collectivist policies will enlighten Gen Z about the pitfalls of extremist ideologies.
Gen Z suffers considerable anxiety about their future prospects – particularly with the advent of artificial intelligence. To the extent that economic growth continues, and the facts overtake fearmongering, the age group’s anxiety will abate.
This cohort has been steeped in a culture of grievance, but a backlash against the entitlement mentality is underway. As public sentiment shifts, so too may the attitudes of Gen Z.
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