Abstract

Generation Z will continue to be the youngest demographic of voters for the next five years, and their civic engagement, or lack thereof, has the potential to shape the future of American democracy. As youth voter participation drops, it may be time to change the political issues information environment to reengage Generation Z in voting. To that end, this investigation reviews research on Generation Z’s current events information behavior in conjunction with informed voting behavior to identify areas of overlap, research gaps, and appropriate theories to frame further study. Based on preliminary findings, research on Generation Z's information-seeking, technology use, and social behavior related to current events has increased in recent years. Theories identified to frame future research focusing on current events and informed voting include Satisficing, Everyday Life Information Seeking, Social Network Analysis, and Sense-making, specifically Dervin’s ten information assumptions. Additionally, the investigation revealed a robust body of research studying the impacts of informed voting on voting behavior, civic engagement, and societal impacts. Upon completion of the reviews, it is clear that looking at these two areas of interest in concert would help information science practitioners better support young adult information needs related to civic engagement. Furthermore, it leads to the conclusion that understanding young adult information behavior and supporting informed voting will have long-term positive societal impacts.

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