Gen Z’s political awakening: From reels to revolution

For a long time, Generation Z (Gen Z) has been criticised for being distracted, impatient and too dependent on social media. It is often described as a generation that spends hours watching reels but shows little interest in society’s serious questions. However, something interesting is happening around the world. The same generation that was once accused of being politically indifferent is now questioning governments, challenging established institutions and demanding accountability. From Bangladesh and Nepal to Kenya, India, and Indonesia, young people have become increasingly visible in political movements, and many see Gen Z’s political awakening in them.

A generation that has refused to remain silent

As a member of Gen Z and a political science student, the author finds this transformation particularly interesting. The author has often wondered whether India’s youth are witnessing a genuine political awakening or simply another moment of collective anger. Why are young people becoming increasingly active? Why are they questioning institutions that previous generations often accepted? And why does it appear that the streets have become an important space for expressing their political demands?

Perhaps the answer is that politics has become impossible to separate from everyday life. The cost of education, unemployment, examination irregularities, freedom of expression and the behaviour of political leaders are not distant political issues. They directly affect our future.

The Indian example makes this particularly clear. The paper leak controversy over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, in 2026 became the starting point of a major youth-led movement. What began as anger over examination irregularities developed into a nationwide campaign for accountability. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical online movement founded by Boston University scholar Abhijeet Dipke, emerged as a major force in the protests, demanding the resignation of the then Union education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, examination reforms and justice for affected students. On July 25th 2026, Pradhan resigned amid the protests.

This development was significant not merely because a minister resigned. It showed that young people, often dismissed as politically inexperienced, could organise themselves and challenge those occupying the highest positions of political authority.

For me, this is where the real story begins. Gen Z is not simply becoming more vocal. It is increasingly beginning to understand itself as a political force.

How internet fuels Gen Z’s political awakening

One of the most important factors behind Gen Z’s political awakening is the internet. But I think its significance goes beyond access to information. The internet has changed the way young people understand their own problems.

Consider a student who fails to find employment after completing a degree. Initially, the student might believe that the problem is personal. Perhaps they lack the necessary skills, or perhaps they have not worked hard enough. But when thousands of other young people experience the same frustration, the question changes. It is no longer simply about individual failure. It becomes a question about the economy, public policy and the responsibilities of the state.

This transformation reminds the author of C Wright Mills and his concept of the sociological imagination. Mills argued that personal troubles must be understood in relation to wider public issues. Social media has made this connection increasingly visible. Young people are discovering that their frustrations are not isolated experiences but are often shared by an entire generation.

The NEET controversy is a powerful example. For many students, a competitive examination is not simply an examination. It represents years of preparation, financial sacrifices by families and the hope of a better future. When irregularities occur, the consequences extend far beyond the examination hall. Students begin asking questions about institutional credibility, the fairness of the selection process and the accountability of those responsible for administering examinations.

The CJP-led movement showed how digital communication could transform individual frustration into collective political action. A movement that began through online satire eventually developed into a nationwide protest demanding institutional accountability.

However, the author won’t argue that social media automatically makes people politically conscious. It can also spread misinformation, encourage emotional reactions and reduce complicated political questions to slogans. Awareness is important, but it is only the beginning of political understanding.

Still, the internet has made it increasingly difficult for institutions to ignore ordinary citizens’ voices. It has allowed young people to communicate their grievances without necessarily depending on traditional political organisations. And perhaps that is one of the most important changes of our time. Young people are discovering that they do not always need to wait for someone else to represent their concerns.

Broken promises and crisis of political legitimacy

The Gen Z’s political awakening cannot be understood without examining the economic conditions in which it has grown up.

Young people have repeatedly been told that education leads to employment, hard work leads to prosperity and economic development eventually improves everyone’s lives. Yet, for many of them, the reality is far more complicated. They complete their education, prepare for competitive examinations, struggle to find employment and watch the cost of living rise.

The problem is not simply that young people want better lives. Every generation has wanted that. The problem is that many young people feel they have fulfilled their responsibilities without receiving the opportunities they were promised. They are expected to study, work hard, remain disciplined and respect institutions. But when those institutions fail, young people increasingly question whether the state is fulfilling its own responsibilities.

This is where the question of political legitimacy becomes important. As a political science student, the author understands legitimacy as the acceptance of political authority as rightful or justified. A government may possess the legal power to rule, but its authority becomes vulnerable when citizens begin to believe that it is corrupt, unresponsive or incapable of representing their interests.

Max Weber’s discussion of legitimate authority helps explain why political institutions depend on more than their ability to exercise power. They also depend on people recognising that power as legitimate.

Pradhan’s resignation was a significant political development, but it should not be understood as the complete solution to the problem. Institutional reform is equally important. If the examination system remains vulnerable to irregularities, the same frustration may emerge again.

This is why Gen Z’s political awakening is more than a demand to remove political leaders. It is increasingly becoming a demand for institutions that are transparent, accountable and capable of fulfilling their responsibilities. Young people are not necessarily rejecting the promises of modern society. They are demanding that those promises be fulfilled.

From political awareness to political responsibility

However, another side to this discussion deserves equal attention. Young people are often celebrated when they protest against injustice, but it is rarely asked whether political awareness also requires responsibility. The right to protest is an important democratic right, but citizenship involves more than expressing dissatisfaction with those in power.

A person can demand accountability from the government while refusing to question the leaders of their own political movement. A person can speak about freedom of expression while refusing to listen to opposing views. A person can demand democratic institutions while supporting authoritarian behaviour when it benefits their preferred political group. This contradiction is worth examining.

Gen Z isn’t automatically more democratic, responsible, or politically informed than previous generations. Every generation contains people who question authority and people who defend it. What makes the present moment different is how visible and fast young people can organise and express their political demands.

Political awareness must therefore move beyond anger. It must develop into an understanding of institutions, constitutional values and the consequences of political decisions. Protests can expose injustice, but they cannot always explain how a better political system should function. Removing a government does not automatically eliminate corruption, inequality or the concentration of power. A movement may successfully challenge an established authority and still struggle to create a more democratic and accountable system. The real challenge is to turn political energy into lasting democratic change.

For the author, Gen Z’s political awakening is not simply about young people becoming more active. It is about a generation beginning to understand itself as a political subject. Young people are no longer satisfied with being treated merely as students, voters or beneficiaries of government policies. The youth want to help shape the institutions that govern their lives.

This is the most important aspect of the present moment. Young people are beginning to understand that citizenship is not a passive identity granted by the state. It is an active relationship between people and the institutions that exercise power over them.

The future may still be uncertain, and the movements may succeed or fail. But the streets are not silent. Students are still gathering, demanding their rights, questioning authority and refusing to accept injustice as the price of their future. Perhaps the real significance of Gen Z’s political awakening lies not in how many leaders it removes, but in how many young people it teaches that their voices matter. A generation that has learned to question power may never again be satisfied with simply obeying it.