Are Young People Really Becoming More Politically Polarized? Here’s What the Evidence Says

What is polarization?

Scholars define social polarization as a type of segregation not within a certain community, but within society itself. Factors like unequal incomes, real-estate fluctuations and economic struggles play a huge role in it. According to Amber Hye-Yon Lee, it may result in people becoming less trusting of each other based on racial, ethnic or economic differences.

On the other hand, political polarization is all about people’s political views, such as which party they support, for example. Kalen Churcher refers to it as “the growing ideological divide between political groups, where individuals increasingly align with extreme positions rather than two moderate viewpoints.” This basically means that people tend to go overboard and move towards extremes rather than opting for compromise.

Is Gen Z the Leading Cause of Polarization?

Studies all show that there is an increasing rate of polarization happening all over the world, but they often disagree on how big of a role Gen Z—and, more importantly, social media—plays in this. Without a doubt, Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with social media and algorithms constantly shaping the information they see. Political opinions can appear on our phones at any moment, mixed in between videos of celebrities or memes. But evidence suggests that the situation is much more complicated.

A study in the United States conducted in 2024 showed that political sorting, which describes the tendency for people’s political identities and opinions to increasingly line up with one another, has grown over time. However, this change was mainly driven by changes happening within generations, rather than younger generations replacing older ones. In fact, newer generations were often found to be less politically sorted than the generations they are replacing.

So, despite the popular idea that Gen Z is creating a new era of political extremism, younger people may not actually be the main cause of increasing polarization. Keep in mind that the extremist views you might come across on social media do not necessarily reflect reality. However, this does not mean that Gen Z is not affected by polarization.

Does Social Media Really Make Us More Polarized?

Social media is often blamed for creating echo chambers. These are online spaces where people mostly see opinions they agree with. Algorithms tend to recommend similar content, making it easier for people to believe that their side is obviously right and that everyone else is ignorant or even dangerous to our society.

A study of 27 developed democracies found that social media’s effects depend heavily on the political environment of each country. In countries with high levels of affective polarization, using social media for political information was linked to greater political participation, along with lower satisfaction with democracy.

Simply put, social media can encourage young people to care more about politics and participate more actively. At the same time, it can also expose them to more conflict, hostility and distrust. Therefore, social media seems to be more like an amplifier: it can spread useful information, which can easily be turned into something panic-inducing or anger-provoking.

Then What Really Influences Our Political Views?

One reason political views can differ between generations is that they have grown up under different circumstances. First of all, economic uncertainty plays a huge role in our view of the world. Many young people today enter adulthood while having to deal with expensive housing, unstable jobs and concerns about their financial future. The OECD reports that economic, social and financial concerns often affect young people more strongly than older generations.

Moreover, cultural changes can also create political divisions. Younger generations have generally grown up with changing attitudes towards gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration and national identity. However, not everyone experiences these rapid changes in the same way. While some view them as progress, others may feel that they threaten traditions, opportunities or identity.

What Does Polarization Look Like in Real Life?

In Brazil, political divisions have become strongly connected to support for different political movements, particularly those associated with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro. Research on the 2022 elections found that the divide between their supporters was not only about their policies, but also about how supporters viewed and felt about the opposing political group.

These examples show us that youth polarization is not one single global phenomenon and that the issues may be different. On the other hand, there is still a common theme in what causes this divide.

The situation differs greatly from country to country. Let’s take a look at South Korea, where one of the clearest examples is the growing political divide between men and women. While men tend to support conservative or right-wing ideas, young women tend to support liberal or progressive parties. Feminism, mandatory military service for men, employment opportunities and gender equality have all become the centre of major discussions.

The Positive and Negative Effects of Political Differences

Political differences are not automatically harmful. In fact, they are essential building blocks of democracy. If everyone had the same opinions, there would be little to no debate about how society should deal with problems like inequality or climate change.

Different political views can bring attention to problems that others might ignore and force governments to consider different solutions. Young people with strong political opinions can also become more active citizens by voting, protesting, joining campaigns or demanding change. The real danger is therefore not disagreement itself, but when political differences become so intense that people stop listening to one another and simply view the opposing side as an enemy, which can lead to numerous negative effects.

One of these negative consequences is intolerance, which is the unwillingness to accept views, beliefs or behaviours that differ from your own. Without a doubt, everyone has moral boundaries, which are in fact necessary to set, but it is important not to take things too far, because it is easy to fall into a habit of not listening to other opinions at all.

On a larger scale, social division is also possible, in which we can observe regular patterns of division in society that are associated with membership in particular social groups, generally when it comes to advantages, equality and differences.

But What’s the Solution?

If you do not want to fall into the belief that your opinion is the one and only truth, or you feel the importance of shedding light on this problem, there are many ways you can achieve positive change.

One of the simplest things you can do is take a moment before reacting to or sharing political content. Keep in mind that even though the news may sound like what you want to believe, first you have to ask yourself a few questions in order to make sure you do not fall victim to the spread of misinformation:

Is the source of this information reliable? What evidence supports it? Is important context missing? Does the language sound manipulative or informative?

Another useful skill to have is learning to separate disagreement from personal hostility. It is possible to oppose someone’s political views without automatically assuming that person is evil or stupid, as long as those views do not go directly against your deepest moral principles. Of course, this does not mean that every opinion can or should be accepted without criticism.

On a social level, education plays one of the most important roles in preparing young people for the world of politics. Schools should not simply tell students what to think politically. Instead, they can teach students how to evaluate important information, recognise manipulation, check sources and build arguments based on reliable evidence.

UNESCO describes media and information literacy as an important tool for helping people engage critically with information, navigate online spaces and respond to challenges such as hate speech and declining trust in the media.

Overall, the most important part is creating spaces for meaningful conversations, in which people can connect with their community and learn to listen to differing opinions. Online political discussions often reward quick reactions, sarcasm and conflict. On the other hand, face-to-face discussions, community events, student groups and other spaces where people encounter different perspectives can encourage a more human understanding of political opponents.

Author: Laura Juhász
Editor & Publisher: Lucía Lobato

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