Plenty to worry about there and not without foundation, right? Rachel, I want to know, you know, in answer to Riley's wider concerns, how representative is he of his Gen Z 1.0 or Gen Z in general?

When you think about Gen Z's relationship to AI, it's really nuanced because young people report that they're using AI every day for things from school to navigating relationships, work, and also maybe making a meal or figuring out an exercise, etc.

But at the same time, there are plenty of concerns about what it's doing to the job market, how it's going to affect the environment.

And young people are kind of trying to square these two things.

And I think that there's largely a sense of FOMO, a fear of missing out around AI, where young people are being told that if they don't learn how to navigate and become fluent in AI, that they will be left behind.

And at the same time, they are worried about what they might seed if they rely so heavily on AI when it comes to the social emotional skills or critical thinking skills, things like that.

Of course, all generations are dealing with the tension that exists with this new technology.

there also, I hear a

What are they telling you about the key issues, and whether they say they're looking to shift back to Democrats?

Well, thank you so much, Dana, for having me.

When I'm talking with young voters across the country, I am hearing one primary concern, and that is economic anxiety.

We did a big Gen Z voter report at the Up and Up.

We spoke to more than 70 young people in 28 states and DC over the summer, and we really were just hearing this pervasive sense of anxiety, insecurity, a, a fear of what is coming down the line when it comes to the economy, jobs.

And there are really just a core set of issues that they are uniting behind, and that's, again, the economy, inflation, AI, of course, and then war, corruption, uh, really these concerns that all voters share.

Hm.

Because again, there are a core set of unifying issues that are bringing all young people together, that they all can see as concerns in their lives, and that's not as gendered as the issues were in 2024, when, for example, in 2024, there was r- really an emphasis on the parts of Democrats to talk about abortion and reproductive healthcare access, and to make that a central point in the election.

feel that that's a bad label, but they like the candidates? So

overall, Gen Z is anti-label.

They don't like labels when it comes to anything, let alone their politics.

They don't like being boxed in.

This generation is very swingy, too, when it does come to their political ideology and overwhelmingly independent.

And so that's one piece of it.

They also don't really know what democratic socialism means.

So I know you focus on this