America This Week Wave 253

The Look Ahead: Data That Matters in 2025

The latest trends in society and culture from The Harris Poll

Happy New Year!

Last year was marked by seismic shifts in American society. Americans are vastly different today in how they vote, work, parent, date, and whom they trust. And with the pace of change unlikely to abate, some significant trends will have staying power in 2025. Here are ten trends from our data worth watching.

Latinos are like a super colossal swing state.

In Axios-Harris Poll Latino surveys we shared at the RNC and DNC, economic frustration boiled over into intentions of striking back. Long ignored or given lip service, U.S. Latinos lamented forcefully against high prices and depressed wages while supporting tighter restrictions on border control. Notably, four in five felt both political parties pander to them, and a plurality said “neither” party cares more about them than the other. In our polls, we saw the cracks in identity politics that became rightward voter shifts. Latinos are nearly 20% of the U.S. population and are increasingly younger and assimilated. As they understand their agency, Latinos may move between parties with the heft of three or four swing states combined.

Do you know where your employees are?

Our CSO Libby Rodney Rodney coined a notable term this year, “Quiet Vacationing,”  to describe how employees — especially Millennials — admitted to taking time off without telling their bosses (28%, MLS: 37%) and clicking their cursor to maintain online status (31%, 38%). This speaks to the growing generational gap in hybrid and office work and a fraying contract between managers and younger employees when (61%) of Millennial employees get nervous when requesting PTO days. In a world of ever-lessening institutional trust, watch for mentoring to make a comeback and culture to differentiate corporate performance.

Crispy parenting is a public health crisis.

Harris and the American Psychological Association authors found that the stress level of parents (especially working ones) was nearly double that of the general population. From money worries (66% v. other adults: 39%) to feeling so stressed they felt numb (42% v. 22%), the data was so alarming that the Surgeon General issued a warning for protecting parents. It’s clear that while so much of youth mental health and wellness is now publicly accepted, America’s parents need support, too.

Feelings are more important than facts.

This summer, while the market was roaring, we polled with the Guardian to ask Americans a pop quiz on the nation’s economy. Americans got it wrong, with (49%) believing the S&P was down (it was up); that we were in a recession (56%), and that inflation was rising (72%) (no to both). Surprisingly (76%) of Americans told us that economists may say things are getting better, but they’re not feeling it where they live. Economic dissociation was a canary in the election coal mine and proof that we are in a post-fact society where institutions and authority are less important than the voices of those we trust and with whom we have shared lived experiences. New nodes of ‘micro-trust’ are being built in ideas as diverse as citizen assemblies to moving where people politically agree with you. More and more trust will be built bottom-up than top-down.

Young Americans wish away social media.

Citing burnout and esteem attacks, over half of Gen Z wish social media didn’t exist. This is from a New York Times OpEd our co-CEO Will Johnson wrote, finding Harris data that (60%) of Gen Z spend at least four hours a day scrolling, with an equal number citing the negative impacts of social media on society (60% v. positive: 32%). Leaving many Gen Z to wish for previous times, with nearly half wishing that X/Twitter (50%), TikTok (47%), and Snapchat (43%) had never been invented. Watch for more social media swearing off in the form of ‘dry days’ or deleting/re-downloading apps, etc.

The great estrangement.

In one of the more startling surveys we found, half of all Americans have broken off communications with a close relation, and one in five attribute the standoff to political differences. Among those estranged over politics, nearly half report that the break occurred within the past year, with one in seven in the month leading into the election. However, some have found a simple hack: We found that (23%) of all voters have lied to people close to them about who they’ve voted for – especially younger voters (Gen Z: 48%, MLS: 38%).

Falling out of love with billionaires.

It’s not just Elon Musk – Americans fell out of love with billionaires. Three out of five Americans believe billionaires create a more unfair society. Further, (71%) deem wealth inequality a serious national issue, especially among People of Color. That’s up from (64%) in 2022. Moreover, two out of three agree that “America has become a backyard” for the country’s 800 billionaires. While (46%) of Americans don’t believe in limiting wealth, (69%) – and four of five Gen Zers – want to tax them more. With the growing influence of Billionaires in the West Wing, how will the public’s already fraying relationship with Corporate America be impacted?

Being proudly single (or not able to afford to be a grown-up).

It may be easier to be single. Most Gen Z/MLS (56%, 60%) report that more of their circle chooses singlehood deliberately. More often than men, single women say they’d rather “be single than settle for someone with different political beliefs” (53% v. 38%). Also, four in five Millennials tell us they consider astrological signs, with (45%) actively avoiding dates with astrologically incompatible signs. Watch this year how singles influence a growing trend in economic-arrested development, such as delayed home buying, having children, and more.

The GDP of mental health.

In January, Elmo asked on Twitter, “Hi, just checking in. How’s everybody doing?” and got trauma-dumped by the Internet. The incredible outpouring spoke to the public widespread anxieties over the economy, the election, and the challenges of modern life. When asked what we should prioritize for the future well-being of our country in our Sesame Workshop Harris Poll State of Well-Being Report, (77%) believe mental health, well-being, and happiness are nearly equal to economic stability (80%). This year, wellness will move from a squishy, feel-good concept to a monetizable national asset.

Ozempic is a gateway drug to other life hacks.

From crypto to biohacks, millennials are notoriously early adopters of any idea or trend that could improve their lives. In 2024, it was Ozempic, with over half taking or considering GLP-1 drugs (57% v. gen pop: 39%). But the Ozempic Effect extends well beyond appetite control, with those on GLP-1s documenting significant drops in bad habits – alcohol cravings (26%), doomscrolling (19%), and even cable news viewership (15%) and gambling (13%). Over a third of Americans would be willing to take GLP-1s if they came in pills – more so than if the price dropped (35% v. 21%), so watch for more industries being disrupted in hopefully healthier ways.