Welcome back to Did You See This? — the SUNN Post’s biweekly column spotlighting news that students like you (and me!) need to know. Read on for today’s headlines.
Young voters, especially men, contributed to the midterms’ leftward swing.
The Rundown
Democrats swept the midterm elections, and voters ages 18 to 29 had the largest leftward shift of any age group. Young men’s trajectory was particularly striking: Following a 23-point shift to the right in 2024, they swung nearly 40 points to the left this year. For a lot of young voters, it came down to the high cost of living. CNN exit polling revealed that 61% of them deemed the issue crucial to how they cast their ballots, while 90% also reported concern about the cost of gas.
Michigan State University student Caleb Christie relayed to CNN that going into this election he was thinking about “basic necessities … lower gas prices. We want to be able to buy a house. We want to be able to have a family.”
Some young men identified with the messages of Democratic Sens.-elect James Talarico of Texas and Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan in particular. Several told the New York Times that they felt “seen and heard” by the strong economic language El-Sayed and Talarico used, explaining that the candidates were “clear that they’re not going into the office to represent their party.”
Where To Find More
I go to school in Michigan, so I paid particular attention to how El-Sayed swung young men from Trump by 55 points. Hear from some young Michiganders disillusioned with the president. And check out The Daily Texan’s coverage of student reactions to Talarico’s win.
Google will terminate search access for students at K-12 schools that ban AI.
The Rundown
Google announced on Nov. 3 that it would turn off artificial intelligence in its educational apps for K-12 student accounts unless school administrators enabled the feature. But there’s one hitch: AI features are built into Google’s search function. So, the effect is that schools that reject AI entirely “will not have access to search, and they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available,” according to Google’s vice president.
The president of the American Federation of Teachers condemned the company for prioritizing “business interests over the education of our children.” Google’s educational technology dominates U.S. schools. And research indicating that chatbots endanger critical thinking and foster emotional dependency has fueled backlash to the company’s approach. This follows outrage over the company’s decision earlier this year to turn its Gemini AI feature on automatically for all students in the Classroom app, a portal that helps teachers and students manage assignments.
Where To Find More
The New York Times reported on a lawsuit filed against Google this month. The suit alleges that the company puts children in harm’s way by hastily integrating AI features into apps used on its Chromebooks without notifying parents of dangers.
Gen Zers head back to the theaters, fueling a brand new day for cinema.
The Rundown
More Gen Zers are going to movies than any other generation, with 87% having seen at least one movie in theaters in the year preceding a 2025 Fandango survey. And they have driven the success of recent films like “Obsession,” “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” Part of the appeal is the idea of cinema as a communal experience: About “Obsession,” college student Luca DeSanto wrote in USA Today that “the entire audience was in that film together … Films like this create an environment for conversation and culture.”
Movies have drawn young viewers in. How can Hollywood keep them? For starters, some industry strategists are looking to Letterboxd for guidance. The film-centered social media platform boasts millions of Gen Z users, including a 23-year-old who said, “I think Gen Z are missing community spaces where we can discuss these sorts of things … I also love seeing what my friends are up to, what films they’re watching.” Others in Hollywood have spotted viral fancams created by young video editors on TikTok, hiring them to cut trailers and promo videos.
For Gen Z, theaters aren’t just for movies — 89% want alternative content shown as well. They ranked movie re-releases first on their list, along with television shows and sporting events. Theaters seem to be trying to meet this demand: “Call Me By Your Name” and “The Hunger Games” were re-released this year, and the show “Heated Rivalry” is currently playing in some theaters.
Where To Find More
“Obsession” star Inde Navarrette took her appearance on “The Kyle Buchanan Show” as an opportunity to advise Hollywood on what Gen Z wants to see on the big screen. Watch here.
