Cause and Social Influence’s research explores how Americans in their formative years are influenced to care about movements and social issues and to act on them. In their 2019 report on Influencing Young Americans, the organization conducted social listening and surveyed 1,100 American participants between the ages of 18 and 30.
They sought to determine the influences that prompt Young America to move beyond caring about an issue to standing up for change. And, what then influences them to join social movements. They found:
- Young Americans trust nonprofits (79%) and social movements (77%) the most and corporations (56%) the least.
- Climate change tops the list of social issues of most concern in 2019 (30%) followed by civil rights/racial discrimination at 25%.
- In 2019, the interest in gun safety declined among millennials, with almost twice the percentage of Gen Z interested (10% vs. 18%, respectively).
