Beyond the "Gen Z" vote: study finds political parties need to understand where young voters get their information

Study of nearly 52,000 people reveals a global network of microcultures, where young voters share fewer political beliefs with their peers, even as attitudes converge across borders

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As America dissects the midterm election results, new research suggests young people are more culturally connected across borders than older generations, yet harder to read through age, party and other traditional demographic labels. For political parties and businesses alike, that challenges how they understand the people they're trying to reach.

A study of 51,929 survey responses across the US, UK, France and Germany finds that Gen Z's political views are the least alike of any generation studied. Young people are less likely than older generations to share the same combination of political beliefs with their peers, even as their views and cultural influences become increasingly similar across national borders.

The findings point to the emergence of a global network of microcultures. Whereas national newspapers and broadcasters once helped shape shared cultural experiences, fragmented digital feeds now expose young people to different information sources and influences from across the world.

The research challenges the idea of "Gen Z" or "the youth vote" as a coherent political group. Age and party affiliation are a weaker guide to younger voters' positions on individual issues than they are for older voters. For political parties, understanding the information sources and cultural influences shaping those beliefs could give a fuller picture of the electorate.

Businesses face the same problem. Brands targeting "the Gen Z consumer" risk missing big differences within that audience, while young consumers in different countries may share cultural influences that age and geography don't capture.

The study, published today by synthetic audience company Electric Twin, was co-authored by Michael Muthukrishna, Professor of Economic Psychology at NYU and the London School of Economics, author of A Theory of Everyone and Electric Twin's Chief Science Advisor, and Electric Twin co-founder Dr. Ben Warner.

Key findings include:

• Gen Z is the generation least like itself: Put 100 American Boomers in a room and 20 will find someone with identical answers to 13 policy questions. Among 100 Gen Z Americans, just nine will. Across the four countries, Gen Z respondents are as likely to find that match among Boomers as among their own generation.
• Party labels reveal less about young voters: In the US, Boomers who vote for right-wing parties gave right-leaning answers on eight party-dividing questions 65.7% of the time. Among Gen Z right-wing voters, it was just 46.3%.
• Culture increasingly crosses borders: Asked which celebrities most people their age would know, 46% of Gen Z's answers named someone also given in all four countries, compared with 17% of Boomers'.
• Political attitudes are converging internationally: Across 13 policy questions, the share of Boomers taking each side differed between the four countries by an average of 11 percentage points. Among Gen Z, the difference was just four.
• Young people inhabit more online environments: Gen Z uses an average of 6.2 of 21 online platforms each week, compared with 3.0 for Boomers, while 78% use Instagram weekly, against 30% of Boomers.

Michael Muthukrishna said: "Gen Z is the generation least like itself. Young people across borders share more cultural references and similar political attitudes than previous generations, but have less in common politically with others their own age. We're seeing the emergence of a global network of microcultures, where information travels across borders but the influences shaping people's beliefs are increasingly diverse."

Dr. Ben Warner said: "We keep talking about Gen Z as though it's one audience with a shared set of beliefs, interests and behaviors. But our research shows why that assumption is increasingly misleading. Young people across different countries share more cultural references and similar political views than previous generations, but their individual beliefs are less tightly connected. We're seeing a culture that is becoming more global and more fragmented at the same time.

"Knowing someone's age or where they live may tell you less than you think about what they care about. If you're building a brand, developing a product or trying to understand your audience, you need to look beyond traditional demographic labels and understand the different communities and influences shaping people."

The full report, Gen Z is unbound, is available at https://www.electrictwin.com/research/gen-z-unbound  

Notes to Editors

About the research: 
Gen Z is Unbound is based on an online panel survey run by Electric Twin in two waves, 30 January to 6 March and 22 to 26 April 2026: 51,929 analysed responses from Gen Z to Boomers in the US, UK, France and Germany, quota-sampled on age, region and education. Cross-sectional data cannot separate age from generation.

About Electric Twin:
Founded by former military commander Alex Cooper and former advisor on Digital and Data to the Prime Minister, Ben Warner, Electric Twin builds synthetic audiences so organisations can understand their customers and make better decisions. Using AI, machine learning and social science research, the tech simulates how real audiences behave, so companies can test ideas, messaging, and campaigns and get feedback in minutes instead of weeks. The tech is being embraced by leading global brands including The Times, Virgin, and Sage. Electric Twin recently raised millions in funding from leading investors including Marc Andreessen and Slack's Cal Henderson.

For more information, visit electrictwin.com

SOURCE Electric Twin