Turning Point USA

While at Turning Point USA’s annual Student Action Summit, I had the opportunity to speak with podcast host and Turning Point contributor Graham Allen about where Gen Z is at, and where we’re going.

I explained my belief that most Americans have not fully grasped how significantly different reality is for this next generation, growing up in a time where truth is relative and fact is opinion. People are told to live out “their truth,” unless that truth happens to involve conservative values.

Gen Z experienced the beginning of cultural politics, when social issues became so significant in every day life that political conversations around the dinner table or on your college campus became inevitable.

We experienced the beginning of free instant gratification, which covers everything from the pornography industry to online dating and hookup culture. Addressing porn specifically, Graham mentioned that adults in the past had to provide payment information, or even go to a local store to obtain explicit materials. Now, the websites containing that obscene content are paid to show their audience through advertisements, without much regard for the age of the viewer.

The damage this instant access has already done to our young generation and our ability to form meaningful, lasting relationships cannot be overstated.

I also explained how the evolution of technology has affected our generation. There are a lot of difficulties that we face because of the instant gratification culture, as well as the propaganda that is spread from every corner of the internet on a daily basis.

Though many conservatives don’t see eye to eye with me, I truly do not believe that the internet is the root of all the evil we see today. It is at our disposal and can be used as an instrument of truth, as opposed to an avenue of indoctrination for the younger generation. We don’t need to abandon the apps and websites that don’t respect our values, we need to bring the culture war to those platforms to break out of our own echo chamber.

I also explained during this conversation that conservatives too frequently look down on “young culture” and young adults, whereas the left has noticed this, and exploits youth engagement at the earliest age possible to push their agendas. Conservative adults need to become more comfortable allowing the younger generation to take a seat at the table, to respect their life experience and allow them to gain more.

I am often told that I am too young to be where I am at, to give speeches or have a platform, even by people on the right. If I am facing this criticism, I know thousands of young American’s seeking involvement are as well. We need to be motivating young people to take a stand for what they believe in, for their values and morals.

Generation Z has a remarkable opportunity to flip the script in my opinion. I think our age group, everyone from 12-25 has been sold on a single idea that you need to graduate college, climb the corporate ladder and fit into one of two columns — but we don’t.

We are a uniquely different generation of free thinkers and ambitious individuals, who will not fit into the box prescribed for us, that is why I have hope for Generation Z.