Society/Culture Why are young males now more right wing then older males?

[RedStarUncle]

Im not aware of that gen x and millenials have not trended towards conservatism. Have you seen any data on that?

A quick bit of googling and the news stories seem to more specifically identify the trend with Gen Y rather than Gen X. I won't post the links because I'm sure you can search "are Gen Y becoming less conservative with age" and pick whichever articles you do and don't want to read.

I think the anecdotal explanation is that increasing conservatism with age comes with having more to protect so being less likely to want to see change to institutions. Millennials have had a harder time acquiring property, more senior jobs, wealth generally, and slower to start families and having smaller families... hence not making that shift.

I guess you could say with Gen X example that maybe the shift still occurs it just comes later in life than in the past.

All it comes down to... in any sense... is whether there is a real shift to left-wing politics leading to young males moving to the far-right as an act of rebellion, or whether young males are just being sold that message without there being any truth to it at all.

 

[RedStarUncle]

Way over valuing Sky News reach and underestimating social media

Agree... the right-shift of traditional media that is encapsulated by Murdoch occurred decades ago and it's effect is clear to see; the shift of traditional centre-left parties like ALP, Democrats, UK Lab, etc. so they basically now occupy the centre or centre-right at their core. Murdoch's agenda was basically a conservative one (with a neoliberal capitalist bent).

Social Media has been the tool by which extremist fringe views have been allowed to thrive. Various contributing factors have given a much bigger overflow of the right-fringe views into mainstream political discourse.

Murdoch has chased those fringe views rather than drive them.