John Della Volpe, the director of polling at the Harvard Institute of Politics, is on a mission to dispel myths about Gen Zers in his new book, Fight: How Gen Z Is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America.

The publication's title says it all, as the book is centered on young Americans being determined to fight for change within the U.S.—contrary to older generations' misconceptions about Gen Z.

"I don't think there is any generation in 75 years that has been confronted with more chaos, more quickly in their young lives than Gen Z or Zoomers," Della Volpe said in a recent promotional interview. "Many of them were born right around 9/11, and it's always been kind of a shadow in their lives. Millions of their parents lost their homes due to the Great Recession."

"Entering school, they faced lockdown drills, things that my generation had never seen. And the idea of going to a place and being safe never really existed for young people," he continued. "Just so much chaos, even before COVID-19 and the social isolation of the lockdown, all of this accelerated by social media. All of this happening before they were 25. So that's where they came of age."

However, instead of being broken by this "chaos," Della Volpe says that Gen Zers were made more robust and more determined.

"Rather than melting, it made them harder and made them tougher and made them more focused to do great things for themselves and for the country," he added.

Veteran pollster John Della Volpe says that everything he was told — and that most people think — about Generation Z is wrong.

He explores the evolution of Gen Z and politics in his new book: https://t.co/dmw7upmIlR

— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) January 18, 2022

David Hogg

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