Busting the myth that Gen Z isn’t protesting

This article Busting the myth that Gen Z isn’t protesting was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

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This summer, the United States was alive with nonviolent resistance. In Los Angeles, anti-ICE protests used dancing and music to create joyful defiance. In Washington, D.C., when federal forces attempted to assert control over the nation’s capital, grassroots groups quickly organized an effective response. Meanwhile, No Kings Day, on June 14, became one of the largest days of collective action in U.S. history, with estimates suggesting between two and 4.8 million people participating in over 2,150 actions nationwide.

Yet, despite all the vibrancy and people in the streets, one nagging question keeps popping up from viral social media posts to mainstream media trend pieces: Why isn’t Gen Z protesting?

Anthony Vidal Torres, communications director of the youth activist group Get Free, thinks this observation is short-sighted. 

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“Gen Z, like generations before them, is finding and creating ways to take real action,” Vidal Torres said. “There are going to be different lanes in this larger movement to get free from fascism and white supremacy, and that includes some spaces that are going to be led by older generations, and that’s okay.”

One lane young people recently played a significant role in was New York City’s 2025 Democratic mayoral primary. Gen Z was widely credited as helping lead Zohran Mamdani to victory with over 43 percent of the vote, with the majority of Gen Z voters ranking Mamdani first. Overall, the turnout among younger voters was more than double the turnout of the previous mayoral primary in 2021. 

Although Mamdani’s strategic use of social media was effective in reaching young voters, it also underscores one of the challenges Gen Z faces: social media addiction. According to a research report from the National Library of Medicine, “social media engagement algorithms are becoming more complex and designed to maintain users’ attention for as long as possible.”

Social media addiction is also linked to increased bullying because of the ease of hiding behind a screen when spreading hate. It’s not hard to see how this might have an impact on youth activism, but many aren’t letting it stop them. 

“I literally woke up this morning to six death threats and two rape threats for posting a woman waving a Free Palestine flag,” said Chris Scanlon, a Gen Z activist who posts frequently on Instagram. “It might piss a lot of people off, but I really don’t care anymore. I’ve gotten to a point within myself where I will take the threats if it means I can keep doing some good.”

Emmi Pearce, a college student at SUNY Purchase, said she wishes more people used their social media as a platform to repost activist messages.

“I [post on social media] because it’s extremely important to spread awareness and I hope there are a few people that view my media and are educated from it, or maybe change perspectives,” Pearce said. “Also, so people know where I stand because I’m proud of my political beliefs.”

Another reason Gen Z may be reluctant to take a visible stand — in the way its critics are demanding — is because of what happened when campuses across the country began protesting Israel’s war on Gaza. Encampments, die-ins and a range of other nonviolent actions demanding college administrations divest from Israeli companies supporting the war were met with massive crackdowns, oftentimes involving police and law enforcement. Thousands of students were arrested and many were expelled or hit with some other form of academic punishment, putting their futures at risk. 

Pearce said she knows many students who needed therapy and counseling after experiencing backlash at the spring 2024 protests.

“My school is full of student activism,” she said. “The first protest we held was by the dorms and the school administration called the police. They brutally assaulted dozens of students, destroyed their belongings and suspended some students from the school entirely. After that, they tried to assign ‘free speech zones,’ which makes literally no sense, but we continued protesting on campus even with police present.”

Students across the country are still facing intense pushback from law enforcement when they rally or protest. At a Brooklyn College protest at the end of the Spring 2025 semester, 14 people were taken into custody and seven were arrested. 

At a protest at Washington Square Park in March against the ICE detainment of Mahmoud Khalil, officers arrested at least 20 protesters. Vidal Torres said he believes this backlash is a result of the “elite 1 percent” who are in control of the U.S. being afraid of the power Gen Z can have. 

“They’re desperate to divide us against each other so that they can not only keep us from uniting in much larger numbers to overpower them, but also to prevent us from finishing the job our ancestors started,” he said.

Despite the many challenges and setbacks Gen Z activism has faced in the U.S., there are plenty of examples of today’s youth leading the charge and succeeding around the world. In one example, students at Ireland’s Trinity College led a successful campus protest that recently resulted in the university announcing a total divestment from Israel. In Serbia, a student-led movement led to the resignation of the corrupt and authoritarian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević in January 2025. Similarly, Millennial and Gen Z women led pro-democracy rallies in 2024 against the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol. The movement utilized pop culture, including K-pop music and lightsticks, to provide a sense of unity and energize the movement to impeach the president. 

Globally, youth are leading the charge on climate justice. Since Greta Thunberg began a climate strike in 2018, millions of people have joined school walkouts in over 100 countries.

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“Gen Z is out here,” Vidal Torres said. “Youth are an anchor and vanguard of movements and have always been in our country’s history. It’s critical for us to unleash the power of the most diverse generation in our country’s history.”

Despite enduring countless blows, Gen Z continues to fight for justice in whichever ways it can. While their actions may not always be what other generations expect — or even notice — young people’s impact on politics and activism is ever-present.  

“There are many ways for folks to find each other on and offline, but the main thing is to get organized, because our ancestors are worth fighting for,” Vidal Torres said. “Our values are worth fighting for. Future generations are worth fighting for, and we can and we will get free together.”

This article Busting the myth that Gen Z isn’t protesting was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

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