Poll: Millennials, Gen Z Say Media Responsible For Divisiveness

Millennials and Gen Z believe the media is responsible for the divisiveness afflicting the country by failing to represent or by misrepresenting people of color, and that the media now has an obligation to help fix the divide, according to The Hollywood Reporter citing study findings released by Fuse Media.

The newly released findings from Fuse Media’s fifth annual Fuse Multicultural Insider study, entitled “Establishing an Emotional Connection Through Empowerment,” discovered how large a role media plays in the lives of millennials and Gen Z. 82 percent say that media shapes the way the world is viewed, 81 percent feel media shapes the way they view and value themselves and others, and 73 percent believe that media influences how people perceive and treat others.

The study combined in-depth qualitative interviews with 12 thought-leaders along with a comprehensive quantitative online survey that included 1,710 respondents (379 were Generation Z, ages 16-24; 827 Millennials, ages 25-38; and 504 Generation X, ages 39-54).

A lack of representation and misrepresentation in media led to both generational groups feeling disconnected, excluded, insignificant, shameful and disenfranchised, the study noted, adding that these emotions are felt the strongest among the Hispanic community.

When asked how included they feel in American society, slightly less than half of Gen Z and millennials felt included (46 percent). These feelings of not being included increased among the younger ages of both generations, (23 percent of Gen Z vs. 13 percent of millennials and 13 percent of Gen X), and intensified among Black Gen Zers (27 percent). Additionally, 55 percent of respondents who are people of color, feel that even when represented in media, their culture is often or always misrepresented through stereotypical portrayals.

Gen Z and millennials agreed that media has a responsibility to unify society and media should be more empowering, with two in three young adults purposefully seeking out empowering content. This sentiment was 13 percent more likely among people of color surveyed.