Kamala Harris has targeted much of her campaigning towards the younger generations, using platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram to target the young voters.
With 40 million young people eligible to vote, this demographic has been a huge draw for both candidates. The previous election only achieved a 50 per cent turnout of possible younger votes, so the 2024 Republican and Democratic campaigns have targeted Gen Z across the socials.
A poll conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, which surveyed 2,010 Americans aged 18 to 29, found that more than half said they would participate in this election. Perhaps unsurprisingly, following the events on Capitol Hill in 2020, a different survey by the same source revealed that only 20% of young Americans believe there will be a peaceful transition of power following the election result.
Meanwhile, Harris’s Tik Tok account has 7.9 million followers and gained many celebrities, such as Beyonce and Eminem, who have endorsed her. This is a carefully targeted attempt to increase youth turnouts for the election, as well as educate and introduce young people to voting.
Donald Trump has also used social media to boost engagement from young audiences. Having amassed more than 13 million followers, he has actively encouraged Gen Z to go out and vote.
However, as only 36% of individuals on Tik Tok are over 18, a large part of campaigning on both sides has been targeted toward future generations who cannot yet vote.
