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| Ruben Weinsteiner |
Rubén Weinsteiner
Among Republicans, Gen Z stands out in views on race, climate and the role of government
No
longer the new kids on the block, Millennials have moved firmly into
their 20s and 30s, and a new generation is coming into focus.
Generation Z –
diverse and on track to be the most well-educated generation yet – is
moving toward adulthood with a liberal set of attitudes and an openness
to emerging social trends.
On a range of issues, from Donald
Trump’s presidency to the role of government to racial equality and
climate change, the views of Gen Z – those ages 13 to 21 in 2018 –
mirror those of Millennials.
1
In each of these realms, the two younger generations hold views that
differ significantly from those of their older counterparts. In most
cases, members of the Silent Generation are at the opposite end, and
Baby Boomers and Gen Xers fall in between.
2 
It’s
too early to say with certainty how the views of this new generation
will evolve. Most have yet to reach voting age, and their outlook could
be altered considerably by changing national conditions, world events or
technological innovations. Even so, two new Pew Research Center
surveys, one of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 and one of adults ages 18 and
older, provide some compelling clues about where they may be headed and
how their views could impact the nation’s political landscape.
Only
about three-in-ten Gen Zers and Millennials (30% and 29%, respectively)
approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president. This
compares with 38% of Gen Xers, 43% of Boomers and 54% of Silents.
Similarly, while majorities in Gen Z and the Millennial generation say
government should do more to solve problems, rather than that government
is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals, Gen
Xers and Boomers are more evenly divided on this issue. For their part,
most Silents would like to see a less activist government.
When
it comes to views on race, the two younger generations are more likely
than older generations to say that blacks are treated less fairly than
whites in the United States today. And they are much more likely than
their elders to approve of NFL players kneeling during the national
anthem as a sign of protest.
The younger generations are also
more accepting of some of the ways in which American society is
changing. Majorities among Gen Z and the Millennial generation say
increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. is a good thing for
society, while older generations are less convinced of this. And they’re
more likely to have a positive view of interracial and same-sex
marriage than their older counterparts.
As a
recent Pew Research Center report
highlighted, Gen Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse
generation we have seen, but this isn’t all that’s driving the attitudes
of this generation when it comes to issues surrounding race and
diversity. There are significant, if more modest, generational
differences on these issues even among non-Hispanic whites.
Roughly a third of Gen Zers know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns
While
Generation Z’s views resemble those of Millennials in many areas, Gen
Zers are distinct from Millennials and older generations in at least two
ways, both of which reflect the cultural context in which they are
coming of age. Gen Zers are more likely than Millennials to say they
know someone who prefers that others use gender-neutral pronouns to
refer to them: 35% say this is the case, compared with a quarter of
Millennials. Among each older generation, the share saying this drops:
16% of Gen Xers, 12% of Boomers and just 7% of Silents say this.
The
youngest generation is also the most likely to say forms or online
profiles that ask about a person’s gender should include options other
than “man” or “woman.” Roughly six-in-ten Gen Zers (59%) hold this view,
compared with half of Millennials and four-in-ten or fewer Gen Xers,
Boomers and Silents.
These findings seem to speak more to
exposure than to viewpoint, as roughly equal shares of Gen Zers and
Millennials say society should be more accepting of people who don’t
identify as either a man or a woman.
Members of Gen Z also stand
out somewhat in their views on the role social media plays in modern
news consumption. These teens and young adults are much less likely than
older generations to say the fact that more people are getting their
news from social media is a bad thing for society – 39% of Gen Zers hold
this view, compared with about half among each of the older
generations.
Among Republicans, Gen Z stands out on some key issues
While
they are young and their political views may not be fully formed, there
are signs that those in Generation Z who identify as Republican or lean
to the Republican Party diverge somewhat from older Republicans – even
Millennials – in their views on several key issues. These same
generational divides are not as apparent among Democrats.
On
views about race relations, Gen Z Republicans are more likely than
older generations of Republicans to say that blacks are treated less
fairly than whites. Among Republicans, 43% of Gen Zers say this,
compared with 30% of Millennials and roughly 20% of Gen Xers, Boomers
and Silents. Gen Z Republicans are also much more likely than their GOP
counterparts in older generations to say increasing racial and ethnic
diversity in the U.S. is a good thing for society. On each of these
measures, Democrats’ views are nearly uniform across generations.
In
addition, the youngest Republicans stand apart in their views on the
role of government and the causes of climate change. Gen Z Republicans
are much more likely than Republicans in older generations to say
government should do more to solve problems. And they are less likely
than their older counterparts to attribute the earth’s warming
temperatures to natural patterns, as opposed to human activity.
While
younger and older Americans differ in many of their views, there are
some areas where generation is not as clearly linked with attitudes.
When it comes to the merits of having more women running for political
office, majorities across generations say this is a good thing for the
country. Majorities in each generation also say that, on balance, legal
immigrants have had a positive impact on the U.S.
This analysis
is based on a survey of 920 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 conducted online
Sept. 17-Nov. 25, 2018, combined with a nationally representative survey
of 10,682 adults ages 18 and older conducted online Sept. 24-Oct. 7,
2018, using Pew Research Center’s
American Trends Panel.
3
Findings based on Generation Z combine data from the teens survey with
data from the 18- to 21-year-old respondents in the adult survey.
Gen Zers and Millennials share views on politics and policy; large generational gaps among Republicans
When it comes to views on political issues and the current political climate, younger generations have consistently held
more liberal views
than older generations in recent years. Today, members of Generation Z
hold many similar views to Millennials, and both tend to be more liberal
than older generations.
Seven-in-ten
Gen Zers say the government should do more to solve problems in this
country, while just 29% say the government is doing too many things that
are better left to individuals and businesses. Gen Zers are slightly
more likely to favor government activism than Millennials, and
significantly more likely than older generations: 53% of Gen Xers, 49%
of Baby Boomers and 39% of Silents favor government involvement over
businesses and individuals.
Among Republicans and those who lean
to the Republican Party, the generational divides are even starker.
Roughly half (52%) of Gen Z Republicans say they think the government
should be doing more to solve problems, compared with 38% of Millennial
Republicans and 29% of Gen Xers. About a quarter of Republican Baby
Boomers (23%) and fewer GOP Silents (12%) believe the government should
be doing more.
Among Democrats, however, these generational
divides largely disappear. Roughly eight-in-ten Gen Z (81%) and
Millennial Democrats (79%) say the government should do more to solve
problems, as do about seven-in-ten Democratic Gen Xers, Boomers and
Silents.
Gen
Zers’ views about climate change are virtually identical to those of
Millennials and not markedly different from Gen Xers. About half in all
three generations say the earth is getting warmer due to human activity.
Boomers are somewhat more skeptical of this than Gen Zers or
Millennials. Members of the Silent Generation are least likely to say
this (38%) and are more likely to say the earth is warming mainly due to
natural patterns (28%) than are Gen Zers, Millennials and Gen Xers.
Among
Republicans, Gen Z stands out from older generations as the least
likely to say the earth is warming because of natural patterns – 18% say
this. By comparison, 30% of Millennial, 36% of Gen X and roughly
four-in-ten Boomer (42%) and Silent Generation Republicans (41%) say the
same. Almost no generation gap exists among Democrats in views on this
issue.
When it comes to views of Donald Trump, there are sizable
generational divides, particularly among Republicans. Nine-in-ten
Republicans in the Silent Generation approve of the job the president is
doing, as do 85% of Baby Boomer Republicans and 76% of Gen X
Republicans; smaller majorities of GOP Millennials (65%) and Gen Zers
(59%) think he’s doing a good job.
Younger
generations also have a different view of the U.S. relative to other
countries in the world. While pluralities of nearly all generations
(with the exception of the Silent Generation) say the U.S. is one of the
best countries in the world along with some others, Gen Zers and
Millennials are the least likely to say the U.S. is better than all
other countries. Only 14% and 13%, respectively, hold this view,
compared with one-in-five Gen Xers, 30% of Boomers and 45% of Silents.
Roughly three-in-ten Gen Zers and Millennials say there are other countries that are better than the U.S.
In
their views about the general direction of the country, Gen Zers are
mostly downbeat, but they’re not alone in that assessment. Among Gen
Zers, Millennials and Gen Xers, two-thirds or more say things in this
country are generally going in the wrong direction. About six-in-ten
Boomers (61%) say the same. Members of the Silent Generation have a less
negative view (53% say things are going in the wrong direction).
Today’s
13- to 21-year-olds are only slightly more likely than Millennials to
say ordinary citizens can do a lot to influence the government in
Washington (53% of Gen Zers say this vs. 46% of Millennials). And their
views on this issue don’t differ much from those of Gen Xers, Boomers or
Silents (50%, 58% and 58%, respectively, say citizens can have a lot of
influence on the government).
Stark generational gaps in views on race
Younger
generations have a different perspective than their older counterparts
on the treatment of blacks in the United States. Two-thirds of Gen Z
(66%) and 62% of Millennials say blacks are treated less fairly than
whites in the U.S. Fewer Gen Xers (53%), Boomers (49%) and Silents (44%)
say this. Roughly half of Silents (44%) say both races are treated
about equally, compared with just 28% among Gen Z.
The patterns
are similar after controlling for race: Younger generations of white
Americans are far more likely than whites in older generations to say
blacks are not receiving fair treatment.
Younger
generations also have a different viewpoint on the issue of NFL players
kneeling during the national anthem as a protest. Majorities among Gen Z
(61%) and the Millennial generation (62%) approve of the protests.
Smaller shares of Gen Xers (44%) and Baby Boomers (37%) favor these
actions. Members of the Silent Generation disapprove of the protests by a
more than two-to-one margin (68% disapprove, 29% approve).
Gen
Zers and Millennials share similar views about racial and ethnic change
in the country. Roughly six-in-ten from each generation say increased
racial and ethnic diversity is a good thing for our society. Gen Xers
are somewhat less likely to agree (52% say this is a good thing), and
older generations are even less likely to view this positively.
Younger
Republicans again stand out in this regard. Half of Gen Z Republicans
(51%) say increased racial and ethnic diversity is a good thing for the
country. This compares with 38% of Millennial, 34% of Gen X, 30% of
Boomer and 28% of Silent Generation Republicans. Among Democrats, there
is widespread agreement across generations.
Though they differ
in their views over the changing racial and ethnic makeup of the
country, across generations most Americans agree about the impact that
legal immigrants have on society. On balance, all generations see legal
immigration as more positive than negative. Across most generations,
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say legal immigrants are
having a positive impact. However, within Gen Z there is no partisan gap
on this issue.
When it comes to views about how careful people
should be in using potentially offensive language, members of Gen Z are
divided over whether people need to be more careful or if concerns about
political correctness have gone too far. Some 46% of Gen Zers say
people need to be more careful about the language they use to avoid
offending people with different backgrounds, while 53% say too many
people are easily offended these days over the language that others use.
Gen Zers’ views are only modestly different from those of
Millennials and Gen Xers on this topic: 39% and 38%, respectively, say
people need to be more careful about the language they use, while about
six-in-ten say people are too easily offended these days. Interestingly,
members of the Silent Generation are closer to members of Gen Z in
their views on this topic than they are to Boomers, Gen Xers or
Millennials.
Gen Z and Millennials have similar views on gender and family
Since they first entered adulthood, Millennials have been at the leading edge of
changing views
on same-sex marriage. In 2014, when a narrow majority of all adults
(52%) said they favored allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, 67%
of Millennials held that view. Today, members of Generation Z are just
as likely as Millennials to say allowing gay and lesbian couples to
marry has been a good thing for the country (48% of Gen Zers and 47% of
Millennials hold this view). One-third of Gen Xers say this is a good
thing for the country, as do 27% of Baby Boomers. Members of the Silent
Generation are the least enthusiastic (18% say this is a good thing).
Relatively
few Gen Zers or Millennials (15%) say same-sex marriage is a bad thing
for society. Boomers and Silents are much more likely to view this
change negatively (32% and 43%, respectively, say this is a bad thing).
Across generations, about four-in-ten say allowing gays and lesbians to
marry hasn’t made much of a difference for the U.S.
In other
ways, too, Gen Zers and Millennials are similar in their openness to
changes that are affecting the institutions of marriage and family.
Roughly half (53%) from each generation say interracial marriage is a
good thing for our society. Gen Xers are somewhat less likely to agree
(41% say this is a good thing), and older generations are much less
likely to view interracial marriage positively. Relatively few across
generations say this trend is bad for society; majorities of Silents
(66%) and Boomers (60%) say it doesn’t make much difference, as do 53%
of Xers.
When it comes to couples living together without being
married, roughly two-thirds of each generation (with the exception of
Silents) say this doesn’t make much of a difference for society. About
one-in-five Gen Zers and Millennials say cohabitation is a good thing
for society – higher than the shares for older generations. Fully 41% of
Silents say this is bad thing for the country, as do about a quarter of
Boomers.
Compared with their views on cohabitation, the
youngest generations have a more negative assessment of the impact of
single women raising children: 35% among Gen Z and 36% of Millennials
say this is a bad thing for society; roughly four-in-ten Gen Xers and
Boomers and 48% of Silents say the same. About half of Gen Zers and
Millennials say this doesn’t make much difference for society, while
relatively few (15%) view it as a good thing.
Across generations, majorities say financial and child care responsibilities should be shared
In
their views about gender roles within couples, members of Generation Z
are virtually identical to Millennials and Gen Xers and quite similar to
Baby Boomers. Large majorities in all four groups say that, in
households with a mother and a father, the responsibility for providing
for the family financially should be shared equally. About one-in-five
Gen Zers, Millennials and Gen Xers – and a quarter of Boomers – say this
responsibility should fall primarily on the fathers. Very few say
mothers should be mostly responsible for this. Silents are the outliers
on this issue: 40% say fathers should be mostly responsible for
providing for their families financially, while 58% say this
responsibility should be shared between mothers and fathers.
For
the most part, there are no notable gender gaps in views on this issue;
the Silent Generation is the exception. Among Gen Zers, Millennials,
Gen Xers and Boomers, male and female respondents are largely in
agreement that mothers and fathers should share family financial
responsibility. Among members of the Silent Generation, roughly half of
men (49%) but 33% of women say fathers should be mostly responsible for
providing for the family financially.
Large majorities (84% or
more) across generations say that responsibility for taking care of
children should be shared by mothers and fathers in households with two
parents. Some 13% among Gen Z say this responsibility should fall mainly
to mothers; similar shares of each of the other generations say the
same. Very few say raising children should fall mostly to dads. Male and
female respondents across generations have similar views on this issue.
Widespread enthusiasm across generations for more women entering politics
A
majority of Americans, regardless of generation, view the increasing
number of women running for public office as a positive change for our
society. Roughly two-thirds of Gen Zers, Millennials and Gen Xers say
this is a good thing, as do 61% of Boomers and 55% of Silents. About
four-in-ten in the Silent Generation (39%) say this trend doesn’t make
much difference for society, somewhat higher than the share among the
three youngest generations (roughly three-in-ten).
There are
significant gender gaps on this question, with female respondents
expressing much more enthusiasm about the growing number of women
running for office in each generation except the Silents. Among Gen
Zers, 76% of young women, versus 57% of young men, say the fact that
more women are running for office is a good thing for society. The
pattern is similar for Millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers. However, among
Silents, roughly equal shares of men (57%) and women (54%) say this is a
good thing.
Gen Zers most likely to say forms or online profiles should offer gender options beyond ‘man’ and ‘woman’
The
recognition of people who don’t identify as a man or a woman has
garnered increased attention amid changing laws concerning gender
options on
official documents and growing usage of
gender-neutral pronouns.
There
are stark generational differences in views on these issues. Generation
Z is the most likely of the five generations to say that when a form or
online profile asks about a person’s gender it should include options
other than “man” and “woman”; a 59% majority of Gen Zers say this. Half
of Millennials say forms or online profiles should include additional
gender options, as do about four-in-ten Gen Xers (40%) and Boomers (37%)
and roughly a third of those in the Silent Generation (32%).
These
views vary widely along partisan lines, with generational differences
evident within each party coalition, but sharpest among Republicans and
Republican-leaning independents. About four-in-ten Republican Gen Zers
(41%) think forms should include other gender options, compared with 27%
of Republican Millennials, 17% of GOP Gen Xers and Boomers and 16% of
Republican Silents. Among Democrats and Democratic leaners, half or more
in all generations say this, including 71% of Gen Zers and 55% of
Silents.
Gen Zers and Millennials have similar views on treatment of people who don’t identify as a man or woman
When
it comes to how accepting society in general is of people who don’t
identify as either a man or a woman, the views of Gen Zers and
Millennials differ from those of older generations. Roughly half of Gen
Zers (50%) and Millennials (47%) think that society is not accepting
enough. Smaller shares of Gen Xers (39%), Boomers (36%) and those in the
Silent Generation (32%) say the same.
A plurality of the Silent
Generation (41%) say society is too accepting of people who don’t
identify as a man or woman. Across all generations, roughly a quarter
say society’s acceptance level is about right.
Again, there are
large partisan gaps on this question, and Gen Z Republicans stand apart
to some extent from other generations of Republicans in their views.
Among Republicans, about three-in-ten Gen Zers (28%) say that society is
not accepting enough of people who don’t identify as a man or woman,
compared with 20% of Millennials, 15% of Gen Xers, 13% of Boomers and
11% of Silents. Democrats vary little by generation in shares holding
this view.
Generations differ in their familiarity and comfort with using gender-neutral pronouns
Gen
Zers and Millennials are much more familiar than their elders with the
idea that some people may prefer gender-neutral pronouns: 74% of Gen
Zers and 69% of Millennials say they have heard “a lot” or “a little”
about people preferring that others use gender-neutral pronouns such as
“they” instead of “he” or “she” when referring to them, with about
three-in-ten saying they have heard a lot about this. Most Gen Xers
(62%) also have heard a lot or a little about people preferring
gender-neutral pronouns.
There is less awareness of this among
older generations. Still, half of Boomers and 45% of Silents say they
have heard at least a little about gender-neutral pronouns.
Gen
Zers are also the most likely among the five generations to say they
personally know someone who goes by gender-neutral pronouns, with 35%
saying so, compared with 25% of Millennials. Each of these younger
generations is more likely than Gen Xers (16%), Boomers (12%) and
Silents (7%) to say they personally know someone who prefers that others
use gender-neutral pronouns when referring to them. This generational
pattern is evident among both Democrats and Republicans.
In
addition to their greater familiarity with gender-neutral pronouns, Gen
Zers and Millennials express somewhat higher levels of comfort with
using gender-neutral pronouns, though generational differences on this
question are more modest. Majorities of Gen Zers (57%) and Millennials
(59%) say they would feel “very” or “somewhat” comfortable using a
gender-neutral pronoun to refer to someone if asked to do so, including
about three-in-ten (32% of Gen Zers, 31% of Millennials) who say they
would be very comfortable doing this. By comparison, Gen Xers and
Boomers are evenly divided: About as many say they would feel at least
somewhat comfortable (49% and 50%, respectively) as say they would be
uncomfortable.
Silents are the only group in which more say they
would feel uncomfortable (59%) than say they would feel comfortable
(39%) using a gender-neutral pronoun to refer to someone.
There
are wide party gaps on this measure across generations. Within each
generation, Democrats come down on the side of feeling comfortable,
rather than uncomfortable, using a gender-neutral pronoun to refer to
someone if asked to do so. In contrast, for each generation of
Republicans, majorities say they would feel uncomfortable doing this.
Across
generations, knowing someone who goes by gender-neutral pronouns is
linked to comfort levels in using these pronouns. Three-quarters of
Millennials and about two-thirds of Gen Zers, Gen Xers and Boomers who
personally know someone who goes by gender-neutral pronouns say they
would feel very or somewhat comfortable referring to someone with a
gender-neutral pronoun. Those who don’t know someone are roughly 20
percentage points less likely to say the same (51% of Gen Zers, 54% of
Millennials, 46% of Gen Xers and 48% of Boomers who don’t know someone
say this).
The
Latin America and Caribbean region was the world’s fastest-growing
source of international migrants from 1990 through 2010. However, growth
in the number of emigrants from this region has slowed dramatically in
recent years – due in large part to a slowdown of people leaving Mexico,
according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. 
The
Latin America and Caribbean region’s recent slowdown stands in contrast
to previous decades, when it was the world’s fastest-growing region as a
source of emigrants. From 1990 to 2000, and from 2000 to 2010, its
emigrant population grew by 58% and 44%, respectively. 
Since
2010, Honduras (29%), Venezuela (28%), the Dominican Republic (21%),
Guatemala (19%) and Costa Rica (17%) have had the fastest-growing
emigrant populations among Latin American and Caribbean nations (with
emigrant populations of 100,000 or more). Some reasons
for these increases include political and economic instability,
conflict and violence, and climate-related events. For example, in the
case of Venezuela, hyperinflation
has made certain basic goods and services unaffordable. That has
contributed to a large outmigration that began in 2015 and continued
through 2018. (Early estimates from last year show a dramatic increase in emigrants from Venezuela not captured in the latest UN emigrant stock data.) 
The
destinations of emigrants from Latin American and Caribbean countries
have changed somewhat since 1990, though the United States remains the
overwhelming destination of choice. The U.S. was home to 67% of the
region’s emigrants in 2017, almost unchanged from 62% in 1990. 
