Digital Culture Gives Young People Political Voice

If you were lost at mentions of brat summer and coconut trees, you’re not alone.

The ever-changing U.S. political landscape is fueling the Meme Machine on social media, and the memes are coming in hot—so quickly, in fact, that it can be a challenge to keep up. While it often appears digital culture mimics somewhat of a “Squirrel!” approach, what we more often see resembles a tornado—a big, barreling new idea blazing a trail and scooping up all the other cultural artifacts to add to its strength. It’s where we get the viral mashup of a summer hit song with previous footage of a potential presidential candidate. Old(er) and current ideas come together to make a new point—one that’s valid in this moment.

People engage with social media each day as consumers, but also sometimes as creators; both roles contribute to the delivery of information and the ability to think critically about it. This may be especially true of young people, so-called “digital natives” who often see these platforms as a way to express their creativity. In this way, memes, reels, TikTok, Threads, posts, etc. don’t just allow young people to interpret our society—they also shape its culture.

So what does this mean for young people’s understanding of politics? The latest findings from Springtide Research Institute on Gen Z’s engagement with politics show that while young people know not to trust everything they see on social media, they also see it as a space to learn about political issues and events they aren’t learning about elsewhere. They particularly appreciate seeing events unfold firsthand and hearing from people experiencing them directly.

Yet, it’s about more simple comprehension. Social media and the cultural artifacts traded on it also give young people a political voice—one that often enables them to interpret and weigh in on political events, contributing commentary within the culture and context in which they find themselves. Researcher Henry Jenkins and team called this “civic imagination,” or the ways young people use popular culture to frame political issues in ways that not only help to make sense of them but perhaps also allow them to envision different futures.

The creation and sharing of memes may be one of the most tangible ways young people place political issues into their digital and cultural contexts. Memes allow young people to engage politically by digitally adding their voice and presence to the conversation, which can aid in establishing their political identities. But the act of creating, sharing, and interacting with memes also provides communal benefits by offering a shared experience. In his study of U.S. youth and their interaction with political memes, researcher Joel Penney found young people often bond and feel a sense of solidarity through memes; they can also serve as a coping mechanism for the often-upsetting nature of political news and events. While some young people in the study believed memes could trivialize important issues, others thought their power actually lies in the humor. The laughs provide an entry point for more serious conversation, since kernels of truth are often embedded within the meme.

The young people Anne Leiser interviewed described memes as a “phenomenon of the masses, a powerful political tool for ordinary citizens,” which may seem like a reach for those of us who came of age politically without them. Yet, digital culture and the memes and videos circulating within it are shaping young people’s political identities, beliefs, and engagement. The public square can be found in every smartphone—this online arena, and the young people making and sharing memes within it, has the power to exert real influence on the political sphere.