How old is your son?
I agree. My Ds age 22 and 25 feel the same way, as do their friends. It is almost impossible to get 18-24 year olds to vote; I tried for years.
Iām surprised to hear about young people not voting. That isnāt/wasnāt the case in our circle. Our D and her friends registered to vote as soon as they turned 18 and there were long lines for voting at her college.
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27% of those under age 30 voted in 2022, and that was close to setting records. Within that cohort, most were aged 25-29.
Voter participation rates in the US are awful. I hope that parents are encouraging their children to exercise their right to vote when they are of age.
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S is 24. Most of his friends about the same age. Bay Area, tech employees for the most part, some still in school PhD programs at Cal and Standford.
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Agreed that voter participation rates are awful in this country.
My family is extremely politically aware and politics was something that was discussed from the toddler years. My son and husband have volunteered for campaigns, knocking on doors, driving people to polls etc. All of us have voted in every single election, even for dog-catcher. And every year my kids push their friends to vote.
But I know weāre a total outlier.
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As others have said, Iām surprised at this. If my D2, age 26 could get in line more than once to vote sheād do it in a heartbeat. Same for the two in their early 30ās.
I guess the next question is why donāt ātheyā (the age group overall - or any age group register to vote/vote.
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The ideology gap graphic in the OPās first post basically tells me that in the future there will be far fewer children born into liberal households.
This whole thread makes me thankful for the healthy relationships both of my boys are in.
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Donāt get too excited. My parents were VERY conservativeā¦
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Because most people care more about their careers, friendships, managing finances, raising kids, and spending their free time relaxing and not which party is in charge.
Most people are centrists (despite what some want to believe) and centrists dislike both parties.
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Thatās why the question where young people must identify not as being close to a party but as āliberalā or āconservativeā is more valid.
That being said, @Rivet2000ās children not voting might be linked to the fact their vote wonāt matter one way or the other. Would they feel as uninterested if they lived in GA, MI, NC or PA?
If they had to choose would they self identify as conservative or liberal ?
But that question wasnāt about voting or party affiliation.
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I live in GA and have lots of young family members in MI. I know lots of young Gen Z folks who have indicated that they are not voting in 2024.
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Iām not excited, Iām agnostic. It just stands to reason that the phenomenon represented in that chart, and the proliferation of gender fluidity, will deplete the pool of liberal people that have children.
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Not to mention that liberal people seem to be more likely to lean towards not having children for a variety of reasons.
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I havenāt discussed sexual orientation at all. Maybe you are thinking of someone else.
Yes, I am sorry, that was @seal16. I dont know how to untag you.
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Same for my DD who is also 24 and in a Bay Area and in tech. Under no circumstances would they be checking political affiliation of the potential date. They have opinions on some issues but see both parties as completely disappointing and many will not be voting.
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Hmmm. Iām a well-educated liberal female, as are most of my friends. And if āwealth, education, heightā are the 3 factors we require of husbands, I guess most of us missed that memo. I can think of only one of us who married a husband who has all 3. My own husband has only 1. Weāre all in our 50s, so these 3 requirements must be something that women have been ācompromising onā for some time now.
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Since the OP article is hidden, I am guessing from available information that he has taken a snapshot of political leanings across generations to suggest a generational change, as well making up definitions of political leanings. This is flawed because people change over time, political issues change over time, etc.
Billions of years of evolution have led us to today, so nothing is fundamentally changing about anything within our stitch-in-time lifetimes. Trying to influence the scale of relationships, the need for them, etc might cause a blip here and there, but peopleās basic human needs will always win out.
Specifically for those that think women donāt need a man, some women are really struggling because of this viewpoint. Psychotherapists are swamped with women coming in and confessing that they want/need a man, but are shamed by their circle of family and friends into thinking that they donāt.
The number of non-partnered adults has grown by 30% over that last few decades. Along with this,
1 out of 4 women now on an antidepressant (2.5 times that of men), 60% rise in suicide, arrests of women for drug offenses has tripled (flat for men), the number of women with tattoos is now 40% higher than the number of men with tattoos, female alcoholism up 84%. It goes on and on.
It is ok for a woman to need a man. It is very natural, and provides happiness to many.