John Della Volpe - Understanding Gen Z | The Daily Show

you have spoken to Jen Z many of them here tonight by the way I don't know if you spoke to them how many of you spoke to John for the okay you'll get to that's crazy turn this into a focus group maybe this is a focus group is that how you do it is it uh are these how do you get to jenzi I have two of them in my house and I don't know what they think about anything um they want to be listened to it's actually quite quite quite easy you can bring a group of young people together and I ask a couple simple questions do you feel understood no what do people like me what do you think people like me don't understand about you and then there we go for two hours it's actually quite easy can I tell you something that is the plot of The Breakfast Club that uh uh how so is this mostly focus groups are these checklists and surveys that you pass out how how is this done what we do and we've been doing this for 20 almost 25 years now at Harvard right because young people 25 years ago were interested in understanding their generation and to do that well you need to go beyond traditional polling and asking people what they think right track wrong track you need to spend time immerse yourself in these communities we spent a long weekend in Michigan um with a 25 students or so um just a few months ago to begin to understand now do are these people do they do you put up a flyer uh or do you put that on well sometimes we we literally go into coffee shops sometimes we'll hang up we'll hang up posters asking people if they want to participate in a town hall sometimes we'll we we'll recruit people based upon certain demographic groups we'll pay them for a couple of hours time do you worry that you're the the the sample size is skewed to people who visit coffee shops like H how do you adjust for that we well that's just one phase right that's the qualitative and then we learn from those kinds of questions and we conduct very large scale surveys of a relatively small population so whereas most polls across the country might have a thousand Americans maybe a couple thousand Americans right we do a couple thousand young people between the ages of 18 to 29 who were representative of that generation across the country so we learn from conversations in coffee shops in community colleges and you know online and we take those ideas um we learn from what we hear and we try to quantify that through very large scale very rigorous surveys a couple times a year and and what then do you do with that how is that is that then sent to the media and they use it in a reductionist way that doesn't understand anything that you're talking about to make it seem as though on college campuses all across the America all they talk about is Israel Gaza because I've been on those campuses all they talk about is getting laid in classes it depends upon listen it depends upon what media Outlet we're talking about right there are some media Outlets who take these headlines and they run them around the world as propaganda to say this generation ruist man yeah to say this generation of Americans are anti-American you'll see that around the world so you can use polling as propaganda this project started because not enough young people were participating in politics back in 1996 like when we were young voters only a third of us voted in the presidential election thank you so much for calling me a young voter in in 1996 when I believe I was old enough to have been president uh what would you like this to be used for what what is useful in this in in your mind because it's it's very difficult to take a snapshot of something and say this is the picture of this generation this without a this is what's so important okay is that I think the goal of this or the goal of any public opinion research is to give voice to a generation to give voice to the vulnerable but isn't that Tik Tock isn't that what social like I've never had a more heard generation I can't get them off my phone yeah and and if you if you take a moment off of their phone you know what they're going to tell you they're going to tell you that several days last couple weeks they were depressed they're going to tell you some serious serious concerns they have about their own mental health and it gets pretty dark in some cases they're going to tell you that they're not confident that they'll ever be able to do what we did in terms of own a house they'll tell you that they're concerned about literally being homeless it's there's virtually every focus group I do whether it's virtual or otherwise last night two members of a focus group of young people had already been homeless for an extended period of time in their home how quickly reveal these sorts of things within 15 20 minutes there was a woman in tears when I simply said see this is the difference between kind of what the polling is that you might see the reductionist polling versus true public opinion research right the way I get to this is I asked three questions okay the first question is your name where you're from what's the best part of your life today next question what keeps you up at night what are your stressors right and then very very quickly it gets to the point that they open up and this is something I think unique about this cohort of younger people of of Jen ear that um they feel so disconnected from older Generations because older Generations through the media and otherwise consider them snowflakes right but no generation ever feels connected to the the Young Generation never feels connected to the older generation that's the whole point they're here to replace us they're we're we're our job is to breed uh swim upstream and then die off right but this gener what this generation is they're upfront telling us about these concerns and I argue that these concerns are more real and versal than maybe our concerns what would you what would you like our political system or our media system to do with this other than to come out and go hey these guys are are worried because what we ultimately end up getting I I'll watch the news and just see uh the Harvard School of politics Institute uh did a survey and the number one concern is inflation and number 15 is Israel Gaza and 14 is emo music like it's and it'll just give you this list and there's no illumination there it's just a list what what I want elected officials to do and they are doing it is to understand these concerns so they can speak to these concerns because if they speak to these concerns younger people will be more likely to vote not only can they speak to these concerns but if they could show the track record and the and the progress that we have made because John this is a different and better country because young people vote in 2020 in record numbers we don't have kbj on the Supreme Court we don't have the largest they voted in record numbers in the last one and record numbers what was the percentage of of young people that voted we look at 18 to 29 year olds it's the first time in history that more than half voted 51 52% really on College even in Vietnam the young people didn't vote on col this is higher than any time on record wow um on college campuses it was over 60% which is essentially the same rate as all Americans um and what's interesting about this is not only do we have the highest turnout ever um but also it was the youth vote specifically in those five Battleground States Pennsylvania Wisconsin Michigan Arizona Georgia who by 20 points voted for Biden Donald Trump won everybody over the age of 44 so it's a young people in particular who are responsible flipping those States from red to blue and so if you were young people today and you did that and you uh overcame that what has been done for you other than some of you you know in terms of like loan forgiveness or something along those lines but do you think that the politicians did uh uh honor that vote I think so because let's start with student de50 billion do of student debt relief right in the last three years for over 4 million soon to be 10 million Americans that doesn't happen we don't have in my opinion the first bipartison gun violence prevention act in two generations so that's you feel like that information just has to be uh uh delineated to them or they're not feeling those effects yet or did they are they disappointed is this survey different for young people do they feel uh do they feel that they were heard no I think well I think that's the challenge right because what I care most about is participation okay and what drives participation is whether they can see a tangible difference in politics itics and government in their vote and despite what I believe has been the most Pro youth agenda in several Generations from the Biden Administration despite that few young people appreciate that right few young people know the climate the gun violence um and student death for forgiv as examples right right are they thinking about things more immediate to their lives is that why they're feeling differently I I don't think they're they're watching the news news as closely it's hard to get some of this information in the news so much what's in the news is a negative part one but the other thing is compared to what the policy preferences are for seniors like you you can feel $2,000 prescription drug cap you know that that's immediate right you can see in your 401k right the rec the kind of the record uh performance you can feel that these things may take a generation to actually feel with the exception of debt relief so when it make I wonder if it make more sense if instead of if if the idea is to make it useful information for people that can be actionable is the idea maybe to think of this more as a customer survey the way that a corporation might to say what is your satisfaction with uh the United States government or the government or your government or your life and how would what would improve it exactly do they do that we essentially do that we essentially like a customer service it is essentially a a customer survey and I will tell you it was pretty tricky very difficult 20 25 years ago when we started okay we have been honored inside the RNC the DNC our students have briefed Administration the Obama Administration the Trump Administration and the Biden Administration directly so we are honored because of the work of the young people who craft the questions here that we do have the ear and you think there's an understanding now of this are you finding the kind of polarization that we see on on social media and is the algorithm driving their opinions in a way that wasn't happening 25 years ago absolutely and of course there's no equal side to the algorithm right it's it's it's it's is it radicalizing this generation I think there's an element of it for sure I certainly think there's an element of those people who feel like the kind of the the kind of the backlash right who who don't feel connected the thing about this generation is essentially two-thirds of this generation share a relatively common set of values in terms of what's in important for government to to to focus on to fight for right so if you're a part of that onethird who feels disconnected there is that opportunity I do think with these algorithms to go into some pretty dark places where's the disconnect is the disconnect from the media from uh how the politicians utilize that information from uh their own misunderstanding of how the world should listen to them you know where where is then the disconnect I I think it's I think it's all of the above I do think that young people you know they used to information quickly right they're used to you know um asking for something and receiving it you know in an instant or being delivered to them right so there does need to be I think some greater appreciation for the system and the process part one um but like governments in specifically government and political parties need to understand that elections are one and Lost based upon what young people think these days 40% 40% of of the electorate are going to be gen Z or Millennials 40% in this coming election this election this coming election gen Z and Millennials okay they have a shared set of values and you and you write in there that their passion will save this country I do think so I do think so because as I talked about the severe kind of anxiety and depression that they have but um in many cases um other Generations okay who feel that way it's normal to actually you know flee okay um and to run away um but this generation has decided to use all the tools as David hog the Parkland activist talks about in their civic toolbox to fix problems and to stand up for the vulnerable whether it's voting whether it's protesting you really think they're different than past young Generations I mean that kind of idealism and that kind of activism has always been a part of uh that and then everybody gets jobs and says it well listen uh generally I mean that's that's been my experience I mean that's the whole you know what happened the hippies and the hippies turned into the uppies and they all went down to Wall Street and you know it's I feel like we keep getting trapped in this cycle of like the children of the future and you're like yeah they've been saying that forever and this cycle keeps repeating as though we didn't also have the potential to do it but we didn't and they I think so two things one is um this generation of younger voters voted at twice the level as Millennials gen you can but still twice like when we were their age when we were their age 14 15% of us voted okay now why we were building a society we were out in the streets bricks and Mora building a society and how' to go right not well right not right so um so that's part that that is part one but I am and telling you that they are committed they are committed to to to dealing with these issues because I'll tell you why um or just the ones you talk to I that's only my curiosity because I have two ofbody well you don't talk to me I you didn't talk to my kids you you'd come on here tonight and go they just like watching Netflix they really it's it's do do you understand what I'm saying I think we tend to want to look at it and make sweeping judgments about who these kids are and we tend to then simplify it into a monolith and that is the first step in misunderstanding and misrepresenting what they actually do I liked much more what you talked about when you broke them down and they started talking to you as individuals it's it's maybe when we make when we have to take the reality of their lives and make them into Data that we go wrong is that possible I I I I think so but in each generation does have um kind of a a central identity so for example gen xers okay um we were terms of politics and ideology split relatively the same as many as conservatives as liberals Republicans and Democrats whereas this generation is different the reason that this generation is different this is important that no generation no generation since the greatest Generation has dealt with more chaos more trauma more quickly than Jen Z all of this at their at their footsteps um before the age of 25 listen to me listen to me no that's completely not true great absolutely when I was when I was growing up Martin Luther King was killed John F Kennedy was killed Robert Kennedy was killed the Vietnam War was on and then there was water game one on the moon we came together for that this generation this generation but that did negate all the other it did not it did not and every generation has their trauma but this generation hasn't seen America at our best no no no no when was the last time when was the last time this your your kids felt good about being American and connected to everybody this morning really yeah I again this is the kind of generalization that I think I take issue with that idea that like this generation has uh had challenges in a way that no one else has I just think that's uh uh putting upon them a sense of uh a victimhood that is not necessarily and I think can can ultimately have them play into that identity as opposed to saying yeah man your perspective is this is the worst the world has ever been but I'm going to tell you something the world is hard and it's horrible sometimes and it spins out of control and all we can do is fight every day to make the world more look like the one that you want it to be but to treat them as though they have faced some kind of condition that is so anatha to everything that all these other Generations have faced doesn't feel real to me I didn't say more than all other Generations what I said you said since the greatest Generation what and the difference though is without seeing America United the difference between a millennial in my view and a genzer is a millennial remembers September 11th and setember 12th and 13th for that period of time when we came together a red County and a blue County hung the flag we came together day it was right it was a short period of time but this this this this generation doesn't understand that and it's been division after Division and it would be easy for them in my opinion to not engage in politics not try to work with other people to try to uh how how much of that is a fiction how much of that is imposed upon them through the algorithm and through the media that somehow you know we were just talking about this uh a a young woman in the audience said how do you remain hopeful and I said the way I remain hopeful is to separate the world that you read about and hear about on the news and in the algorithm from the world that you experience as a human being every day and aren't we by creating these data points of the horror that they all live in like yeah it sucks to have shooter drills but we had nuclear war drills where we hid under desks and I didn't know that much about the atomic bomb but I was pretty sure my desk wouldn't help but do you understand what I'm saying like I do so we create this mythology I do around these things that is part of that separation but there's nothing um seeing children slaughtered in schools we didn't see a nuclear war is not mythology but we were seeing in Vietnam we were seeing I mean we are and and we are seeing that but what I'm telling you is I listen there's elements of this I agree and we collectively should be putting this into context for people it does stress them out I agree with that okay I I agree with that but what I'm saying is that we just we don't have to agree that um but we just have to understand the way that they feel and where they're coming from and help them help themselves and help us that's all that's my message and and these issues are real because we could work a summer job as an intern or cutting grass and afford a 4-year I mean one-year tuition a public or private university we could do that in the 50s 60s 70s and 80s young people can't do that today okay young you could work a a a one job and afford a house these are the rights not only are is this generation losing reproductive Health Care from the Supreme Court but this is a generation who feels like they're losing other rights the rights to attend a college without going broke if you work hard right the rights to um own a home or piece of property those are the rights and isn't that a different conversation isn't that that's think so I don't think so it's about an econ it's not listen young people live in the same economy that we all live in and you know I would look at it like sometimes we'll think like I happen to be in an unbelievably fortunate situation but I look at the crunch that people feel you know just as they get into middle age after having worked for so long they just get to that college age where they're putting their kidss through college their parents start to need help and you're in that crazy squeeze but separating that through generations does isn't isn't that losing the overall thread economically no there is clearly economic stress around all Americans right now right right listen before we did this survey do we really need to talk to the Gen Z anymore before the don't we know enough already I watch the Tik Tok it's everywhere are they do do they do you think social media has hurt them unquestionably it's hurt them really yeah it's hurt them what would you do to ameliorate this feeling that uh Jen Z is having and and to or has it helped them organize and so you wouldn't lose it because it's a double- edge there it's certainly some pros to it I mean there are folks who feel vulnerable who can find community on that space where they can't find in their own in their own community and that's good right they can or organize from it but the degree to which fear is instilled in their lives I was talking the other day in terms of what people are anxious about and a lot of young men I I talk to have uh feeds every morning of car crashes like horrible horrible car crashes in their Tik Tok Instagram feeds where they're concerned about driving to work the economic fears about wait what yeah like in terms of the algorithms right oh it just feeds them car crashes feeds car crashes to them it feeds car crashes to how the does that even start I that's just one that's just that's just kind of one example can I tell you all I get is that one girl going uh I'm two days into college and I'm three lectures behind and then it's just a thousand people dancing to that that's your that's that's you that's your algorithm right that's uh they found you I'm doing it wrong uh thank you very much for for coming by uh Harvard's John delobi [Music]

Channel: The Daily Show

Views: 551,492

Keywords: the daily show, the daily show episodes, comedy central, comedians, comedian, funny video, comedy videos, funny clips, daily show, news, politics, election, genz, millenials, jonstewart, harvard

Id: fPg6Wks9wQY

Length: 22min 37sec (1357 seconds)

Published: Fri May 10 2024