New Survey Shows What Nearly 1/3 of Gen Z Wants the Gov't to Put in Private Homes
A new survey has found that, amid overwhelming opposition to government-run surveillance cameras in homes, one group of Americans is less opposed than everyone else.
A survey by the Cato Institute found that 29 percent of Americans under 30 who participated in a recent survey said they favored “the government installing surveillance cameras in every household” in order to “reduce domestic violence, abuse, and other illegal activity.”
The second-highest level of support came among the second-youngest group surveyed. Twenty percent of participants in the survey who were between 30 and 44 said government surveillance in the home was fine with them.
Then came a very dramatic fall. Welcoming a 21st century version of George Orwell’s “1984” into the home was supported by only 6 percent of survey respondents between 45 and 64, and by only 5 percent of those over 65.
Overall, 75 percent of those surveyed opposed the idea.
The survey noted that 33 percent of black Americans supported government surveillance at home, as did 25 percent of Hispanics, while only 9 percent of white Americans and 11 percent of Asian-Americans supported the idea.
The survey, which asked about surveillance along with questions about a Central Bank Digital Currency, had a margin of error of 2.54 percentage points. YouGov collected responses from Feb. 27 to March 8, 2023. Two thousand responses were tabulated.
The survey drew some sharp responses on Twitter.
Ah oh. The leftist indoctrination is working.
Nearly 30% of people under 30 support government surveillance cameras in every home: poll. ‘Young people seem more willing to prioritize safety over ensuring robust freedom’https://t.co/RzAbdY8g0c
— Jeff Younger (@JeffYoungerShow) June 6, 2023
America is so screwed if we don’t defeat the woke mind virus and woke cult.
It’s an Orwellian nightmare in the making.
Young Americans, minorities, lefties, and CBDC supporters are more likely to support government surveillance cameras in their homes.https://t.co/MVE9VPoWVa pic.twitter.com/SKbAyHwR6q
— Mike Melo (@MichaelFMelo) June 6, 2023
On this day in 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy. Of those that survived, a few thousand are still alive today. In today’s news, a YouGov poll finds 29% of Gen Z, and 20% of Millenials support government surveillance cameras in every home.
— Rob Burgner (@RobBurgner) June 6, 2023
The subject of a digital currency drew little support, with 49 percent having no opinion, 34 percent opposed, and 16 percent in support.
In writing about the survey questions about surveillance cameras, Emily Ekins and Jordan Gygi said older Americans know something about the evils of surveillance younger Americans do not.
“Being raised during the Cold War amidst regular news reports of the Soviet Union surveilling their own people may have demonstrated to Americans the dangers of giving the government too much power to monitor people. Young people today are less exposed to these types of examples and thus less aware of the dangers of expansive government power,” they wrote.
Ekins and Gygi said the survey could be the first indication of a new attitude arising that could be dangerous.
“If these trends continue, the United States may confront a very different privacy landscape in the future. It is possible that at some point, the American public will be open to extreme government overreach in a world that feels scarier and more dangerous than before, whether or not it is,” they wrote.
They noted that young Americans need to know the downside of overweening government.
“Thus, it is important to impart the learnings of the past (and present) about what can happen when government amasses too much power. Without explicitly telling younger generations about the risks and dangers of government surveillance they will forget these lessons and may find themselves repeating devastating mistakes of the past,” they wrote.
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