If you look through my social media, you will find vacation photos, quotes, songs and things I thought were funny, but you will also see a lot of politics.

This is common for my generation, Gen Z, which is considered by some as one of the most politically active in modern history. Take, for instance, the 2022 midterms, when young voters showed up at rates higher than those of any other generation at our age.

Those numbers don’t show the reality. Many of us are more concerned with what our social media presence says about our politics rather than what our politics actually does for our communities. We’re politically aware, but that does not mean we’re always politically engaged. 

The numbers back this up. White youth voters turn out at rates 7 to 11 points higher than Black youth voters, with an even larger gap for Latino youth. Additionally, young people with college degrees vote 30 points more than those without. Gen Z is engaged, but that engagement is unevenly distributed and often only exists online. 

We grew up on the internet, so much so that we’re known as the first generation of “digital natives.” It makes sense that most of our identity, including our political one, lives there too. 

Social media does have real benefits: It spreads information fast, helps young people find causes they care about, and makes political organization easier. Since 2016, youth turnout at protests has tripled thanks to social media. 

These platforms that mobilize us also hold us back. They’re built to maximize engagement by amplifying outrage and polarization, not collaboration and participation.

I spoke recently with Belinha De Abreu, a media literacy scholar who specializes in youth political communication. She told me that even though Gen Z has plenty of reasons to be politically active, constant exposure to crisis-driven political media has left young people overwhelmed rather than empowered. And the numbers prove this: Youth voter turnout dropped from 50 percent in 2020 to 42 percent in 2024. During the election, it felt like every other video on my phone was attacking one side or the other. At some point, you can’t help but start to go numb.

There is something even more substantial underneath that burnout: fear. Nearly half of young Americans don’t speak out about politics because they are afraid of how others will react, and one-third say they feel judged for their political views. Social media offers distance and anonymity that real life doesn’t. We post rather than speak up because it seems safer. We feel like we’re still participating, even if we truly aren’t. 

Democracy runs on showing up, not just awareness. Showing up in conversations, communities and voting booths is what keeps our democracy working. These are things that require what many of us in the younger generations aren’t experiencing: civic belonging. We lack the sense that we have a real effect on politics and a place within it. 

This is where nonpartisan organizations like the Ramos Research Institute are important. Its Courageous Dialogue initiative focuses on encouraging respectful political conversations on college campuses across the country, helping students feel as if they have a real place in politics. It recognizes that civic participation isn’t inherent for everyone; it has to be learned and supported, especially in today’s political climate. When young people feel connected to their political systems and belong in them, participation becomes far less intimidating. 

Social media is an indisputable part of our lives and is one of the primary ways that my age group interacts with politics. It is a powerful tool with many benefits to spread awareness, but that awareness is only one step in the journey to civic engagement. A repost or Instagram story can introduce an idea, but true democratic participation requires something deeper: civic belonging, real judgment-free conversations and a generation that feels empowered to engage beyond our screens. 

An Instagram story disappears in 24 hours. Civic belonging doesn’t.

McKinley Coontz is a University of Oregon student. She wrote this for www.InsideSources.com.