Gen Z's Most Recent Obsession: Jack Schlossberg

The Kennedys have been making headlines recently with their massive involvement in the 2024 presidential race. Robert Kennedy Jr. recently announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race and endorse former President Donald J. Trump for the presidency in 2024. Meanwhile, Jack Schlossberg, John F. Kennedy's only grandson, has become more public about his political opinions after being made a political correspondent for Teen Vogue in July. Even before transitioning into journalism, Schlossberg had been openly critical of his uncle's campaign. However, after filling his new position, Schlossberg has been more supportive of RFK Jr's former presidential opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, as the election nears. Much of Schlossberg's journalism has been shared on TikTok and Instagram, where he communicates his opinions and insight into political happenings in bit-size, comedically-styled, casual videos. His videos have been widely popular on social media platforms, as his personal accounts have amassed 409.3 thousand TikTok followers and 384 thousand Instagram followers. Schlossberg's videos have also prompted many users to create fan edits supporting him by highlighting his good looks and partisan participation (viral example below). 

Jack Schlossberg's popularity on the social media app denotes some of Gen Z's positive attitude towards social media journalists who are open about their partisan ties. Much like his grandfather did during the 1960 election, Schlossberg has used his charisma to gain mass support. The Harris team has also taken note of his popularity and legacy, as he was one of many speakers at the Democratic National Convention highlighting Kamala Harris's strengths as a candidate. While it is difficult to gauge how much of his engagement online will mobilize supporters to vote and volunteer for the campaign, the collective media buzz has given Harris a platform to speak openly about where she stands, allowing a broader audience to make up their opinions on how they would feel about a Harris presidency. 

Political figures and those tied to them, like Schlossberg, are not oblivious to the power social media has in gaining Gen Z's support. This sentiment is evident in Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's move to collaborate with several gaming influencers to livestream an Among Us gameplay and implore the mostly young audience to vote or motivate those who can vote to show up to the polls during the 2020 election. The 2020 presidential election saw record-breaking numbers of voters under 30 who turned up at the polls. As Phillip Bump of the Washington Post remarks in his analysis of the 2020 election, a fall in youth voter turnout will most negatively impact the Democratic Party as younger voters are more likely to support Democratic candidates. The high youth turnout in the 2020 election was crucial to Biden's presidential victory, and Harris hopes to replicate these same results. We must stay tuned to see how successful Schlossberg's and others' efforts to mobilize young voters will be. Will a youth-driven Democratic victory be achieved in this coming presidential election?

References: 

https://www.vogue.com/article/jack-schlossberg-interview

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-twitch-stream-encouraging-people-vote/story?id=73734695&cid=social_twitter_abcnp

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/08/biden-youth-vote-democrats/

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNEvody1/