As the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, young Americans are once again becoming engaged in social issues they were interested in before 2020, a report from Cause & Social Influence finds.

Based on a survey conducted in late September of a thousand Americans between the ages of 18 and 30, the report, Influencing Young America to Act: Fall 2021, found that for the first time since the spring of 2020, gun safety was among the top five social issues of interest, which were animal welfare (33 percent), gun safety (21 percent), civil rights, racial discrimination, and social justice (20 percent), climate change (17 percent), healthcare premiums and healthcare reform (17 percent), and mental health and social services (17 percent). Human rights (26 percent), #BlackLivesMatter (21 percent), and affordable housing (16 percent) were the top three social movements for which respondents reported taking action in the last thirty days.

The most common action respondents took in support of a cause or issue was learning more about it (34 percent), followed by signing a petition (32 percent), purchasing certain products or supporting local businesses (31 percent), not purchasing certain products or not supporting certain brands or companies (23 percent), and posting or sharing content on social media (21 percent). According to the report, more than three-quarters of respondents said that companies have "a great deal of influence" (39 percent) or "some influence" (37 percent) on social issues.

The survey also found that 59 percent of respondents said they had received a COVID-19 vaccine, 68 percent said they "usually wear a mask when in public places among people outside of [their] family and close social circle," and 65 percent said everyone should do so. Only 56 percent of young Americans said they support vaccine mandates, compared with between 64 percent and 69 percent among all Americans.

Top issues young Americans believed should be priorities for the Biden administration were healthcare premiums and reform (34 percent), the budget and the economy (24 percent), COVID-19 (21 percent), and climate change (20 percent). While 65 percent of respondents said actions individuals take to help address climate change can have an impact, 31 percent believed the government and politicians held the greatest responsibility for addressing the climate crisis, more than individuals (19 percent), industry and corporations (14 percent), higher education (14 percent), nonprofits (4 percent), or think tanks (3 percent).

(Photo credit: GettyImages)