Gen Z's gendered divergences in the U.S. 2024 election: Digital engagement, education, and politics

On the eve of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the media was abuzz with Gen Z’s historic divergence at the ballot box. To understand Gen Z’s political fracturing, the research reveals how this election is at the nexus of larger gendered polarization in terms of digital activities and educational trajectories. In doing so, the research brings together these foci and puts them into dialogue with one another regarding Gen Z: the first digital generation. Focusing on a revelatory population, this study illuminates the voices of Gen Z socialized in a community marked by long term economic insecurity in an agricultural belt of California. Taking inspiration from Hochschild’s examination of the “crisis of men” vis-à-vis the 2024 election in the U.S., the analysis draws on her concepts of the “pride paradox” and the “pride economy.” Findings reveal linkages between gender, social media versus gaming, and going to college or “going to the trades.” All of these are driving gendered divergences within Gen Z’s media prosumption with important consequences for postsecondary educational trajectories which have implications for political stances. The research closes with a discussion of the impact of digital activities on identity projects that can translate into political stances, as well as the far-reaching implications of these processes for Gen Z globally in light of recent European elections.