New Age Activism

Political activism appears to be a privilege, while new, non-traditional avenues for activism emerge. While political and social discourse have dominated social channels and the news, consumers are more likely to “vote” with their dollars than their time. Political activism appears to be a privilege, while new, non-traditional avenues for activism emerge.

The past several years of social unrest across America have highlighted the wide range of experiences, equity and opinions that exist across our diverse demographic, shifting how consumers are spending time and energy engaging in social and political pursuits. While many people are motivated by social causes like giving to charity, less are inclined to political activism. About 10% of all respondents attended a political event or rally in the past year, but 50% donated to charity during the same period.

Most archetypes exhibit similar donation behaviors with the exception of the older skewing archetypes, Homebody and Explorer, who are slightly more giving with their donations, and Maverick — a younger, high-spending and low-earning archetype who donates about half as frequently to charitable causes as some of the other archetypes. Activism enthusiasts, defined as those who have both attended a political protest or rally and donated to a charitable organization or cause in the last 12 months, represent 5% of the overall group. They primarily consist of young-skewing, white men with limited household respon- sibilities, primarily in the Pioneer archetype.

They also tend to be liberal-leaning early tech adopters with above-aver- age prioritization of self care. There’s a growing demand for people to find ways to spend time and money in advancement of the causes with which they identify. While the Gen-Z- and millennial-dominant Maverick is often recognized as the more politically-charged and socially-conscious generation, our findings indicate that they are still early in finding how they want to make an impact.

They are about average when it comes to engaging in activism, but they do appear to be thinking through how to align their values across various aspects of life. We’re seeing early indicators that the “activism” of the next generation may not be as grounded in political outcries and demonstrations as it is embedded in day-to-day life, by choosing to work for organizations or buy products and services that are aligned with one’s values and purpose. The clamor of politics and detachment young generations feel from government is driving inspiration to fuel activism in non-traditional ways, both as employees and consumers.

Whether it’s sustainability, or any other motivating cause, there’s a growing demand for people to find ways to spend time and money in advancement of the causes with which they identify..