This week’s “Short” deals with the Republican effort to ban TikTok in the United States. Ostensibly, they argue it’s to protect our privacy since TikTok is a Chinese company.
But the main reason Republicans are fighting for a ban is to take-away a major communication tool from Generation Z voters, who are by far the most progressive voting bloc in the country.
Generation Z played a key role in helping get Democrats victories across the country in the last few election cycles. And that’s particularly true here in Michigan, as Gen Z voters showed up in greater numbers than in any other state in 2022.
Rather than win over some Gen Z voters with policy ideas of their own, Republicans believe shutting down those voters’ favorite mode of communication will help their party in the future.
I also talked about this topic on this week’s episode of the podcast with Progress Michigan’s Jade Gray, and I’ll post that episode below as well.
–Pat
NOTES:
“On the Cusp of Adulthood and Facing an Uncertain Future: What We Know About Gen Z So Far.” By Kim Parker and Ruth Igielnik of Pew Research Center
“Montana becomes the first state to ban TikTok.” By Ayana Archie of NPR
“TikTok on iPhone” by Nordskov Media is marked with CC0 1.0.
