Indian Council of World Affairs

Abstract: Social media in Nepal has emerged as a new platform for facilitating digital political participation of the Gen Zs, which is also shaping the vision and aspirations of the younger generation for the country’s future. 

Introduction

On the 8^th of September 2025, thousands of young Nepalese (Generation Z) gathered in the streets of major cities across Nepal, including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, and other cities. The protest, featuring placards demanding accountability and transparency, was characterised as a peaceful youth-led anti-corruption mobilisation against the earlier government’s decision to ban several social media platforms. Later, after the violent suppression from the Government side, taking 19 lives in a single day, the youth protest became violent. Within two days of movement, a total of 77 lives were lost, with hundreds injured, government buildings torched, and widespread destruction reported.[i][ii]

The Gen Z, youth born between 1997 and 2012,[iii] spent much of their time on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter (X), and others. Growing up in a digitalised world with Google, social media, and now Artificial Intelligence, they are significantly different from millennials, septuagenarians, and octogenarians in their learning and interactions. Digital platforms are integral to their daily lives.

Social Media as a New Political Space

For Gen Z, social media has become one of the most important tools of political socialisation rather than merely a source of entertainment. Scholars like Anja Neundorf and Kaat Smets explained political socialisation as the process by which youth come to understand power, authority, and their role in the political system.[iv] In the present context, social media is playing a significant role in political socialisation. Gen Z engages with social media through posts, reels, memes, comments, online discussions, and other teaching and learning activities. Through everyday social media scrolling, they witness debates and discussions on policy issues, international affairs, corruption, government decisions, inequality, and more, which help shape the political attitudes of youth.[v] Secondly, social media also encourages political participation through posts, comments, online trends, sharing, and hashtags.[vi] Additionally, social media provides social validation for political ideas and perceptions, helping marginalised individuals connect with like-minded communities and reduce feelings of isolation.[vii]

In Nepal, over the past few decades, the use of social media has grown tremendously, especially among Gen Z, influencing the political culture and attitudes of Nepalese youth. Given the context of political instability and jolts over the past 10 years, which have ultimately affected policy decisions and good governance, public frustration and dissatisfaction have increased significantly.[viii]^,[ix] Hence, the Gen-Z movement of September 2025 was a culmination of their discontent during calls for a political transformation.

A Kathmandu-based political analyst noted that while the Gen Z movement in Nepal may not have achieved sweeping reforms. Still, it has indeed “brought a kind of terror in the political process.”[x] On the other hand, critics point to the perceived lack of intersectionality. Some critics argue that while Gen-Z in Nepal speaks out about rights and liberties, seeks accountability, and raises concerns about growing corruption, they remain “unbothered about the issues of equality and social justice”.[xi] Nonetheless, Gen Z has leveraged social media to express their political opinions, amplify their voices, and ensure digital political participation.

Experts suggest that recent Gen-Z protests across the world can be seen as “network-centric, digitally enabled, and leaderless”. [xii] Social media platforms have become a new political space for Gen-Z voices. These digitally mobilised movements, if not successful in changing governments, still have the potential to reshape political discourse, delegitimise entrenched elites, and redefine what is politically possible, serving as a diagnostic signal of the state's failure to meet generational expectations.[xiii]

The Gen Z Aspirations and Vision of Nepal

The September 2025 Gen-Z-led protest in Nepal, followed by large-scale social media discussions among several youth organisations,[xiv] led to the formation of an interim government under Sushila Karki. The formation of an interim government, which also paved the way for a fresh election in March 2026, can be seen as the partial success of the Gen-Z movement. Recently, the interim PM Karki signed an agreement with youth groups in Nepal on 10 December 2025, officially recognising the movement as a historic “people movement”.[xv] The 10-point agreement demands justice and reparations for victims of the September 2025 protests, recognising the deceased as martyrs, compensating families, treating the injured, and freeing detainees, while calling for investigations into rights violations and sweeping anti-corruption and electoral reforms.[xvi] The agreement also provides for establishing a formal youth representation through a Gen-Z Council and a Constitutional Amendment Suggestion Commission.[xvii]

The Gen-Z voices in Nepal can be examined through the lens of Gen Z’s aspirations and vision for domestic politics and foreign policy. Domestically, they seek a fundamental redesign of Nepal’s governance model and a new social contract,[xviii] envisioned a Nepal where youth make their voices heard through technology, innovation, and accountable government. At its core, it reflects the Gen Z aspiration for accountable governance, political transparency, diaspora inclusion, and internal party democracy.

In foreign policy, Gen-Z in Nepal view the country’s foreign relations through the lens of lived experiences and tangible outcomes.[xix] Hence, they advocate greater transparency and decentralisation in foreign policy formulation and decision-making, especially regarding opportunities in education and scholarships, workforce migration, and institutionalised youth engagement in bilateral relations.[xx] The Gen-Z aspire to be recognised as political stakeholders and ensure their digital political participation, rather than remaining passive audiences.

Conclusion

Social media platforms have become a major facilitator of political and policy-related discourse in Nepal, empowering Gen-Z to assert their voice. This fosters digital political participation, deepens engagement with domestic and foreign policy issues, and shapes their vision and aspirations. The Gen-Z movement in Nepal appears to have succeeded to some extent in bringing change in the government and paving the way for political transition; however, the complete transition will remain to be seen after the upcoming election.

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*Jyotish Harsh, Research Intern, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. 

Endnotes 

[i] Kathmandu Post, “Celebrities, Gen Z, and the Ballot,” January 1, 2026, https://kathmandupost.com/art-culture/2026/01/01/celebrities-gen-z-and-the-ballot. Accessed February 6, 2026.

[ii] Binod Ghimire, “A Third of Buildings Torched in Gen Z Protests Fully Destroyed,” Kathmandu Post, October 9, 2025, https://kathmandupost.com/national/2025/10/09/a-third-of-buildings-torched-in-gen-z-protests-fully-destroyed. Accessed February 6, 2026.

[iii] Rasila Dhamala, “Generational Social Media Consumption Patterns in Nepal,” The Annapurna Express, September 25, 2025, https://theannapurnaexpress.com/story/58874/. Accessed February 6, 2026.

[iv] Anja Neundorf and Kaat Smets, “Political Socialisation and the Making of Citizens,” in Political Socialisation and the Making of Citizens, Oxford Handbooks Online in Political Science (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017), https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/843686. Accessed February 6, 2026.

[v] Asim Razzaq et al., “Effects of the Usage of Social Media on Political Socialisation of Youth” Journal of Peace, Development and Communication 4, no. 1 (2020): 67–81, https://doi.org/10.36968/JPDC-V04-I01-04.Accessed February 7, 2026.Top of FormBottom of Form

[vi] Pradeep Nair, Tobias Eberwein, and Cassian Scruggs Sparkes-Vian, “Editorial: Social Media and Political Participation: Unpacking the Role of Social Media in Contemporary Politics,” Frontiers in Sociology 10 (August 1, 2025), article 1658996, https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1658996.Accessed February 7, 2026.

[vii] Sara Wilf et al., “Development and Validation of the Youth Sociopolitical Action Scale for Social Media (SASSM),” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 52 (2023): 105–16, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9977085/. Accessed February 7, 2026.

[viii] Subodh C. Bharti, “Coalition Politics, Political Jolts and Uncertainty in Nepal,” Indian Council of World Affairs, June 27, 2024, /show_content.php?lang=1&level=3&ls_id=11030&lid=7005 Accessed February 7, 2026.

[ix] Subodh C. Bharti, “नेपाल में गहराती अस्थिरता: संघर्ष, चुनौतियाँ एवं संभावनाएं,” Indian Council of World Affairs, April 15, 2025, /show_content.php?lang=1&level=3&ls_id=12771&lid=7815.Accessed February 7, 2026.

[x] Hari Sharma,2025 in Purushottam Poudel, “100 Days Later, September Gen Z Revolt Receives Mixed Reviews,” The Kathmandu Post, December 18, 2025, https://kathmandupost.com/national/2025/12/18/100-days-later-september-gen-z-revolt-receives-mixed-reviews.Accessed. Accessed February 9, 2026

[xi] Mitra Pariyar, “Gen Z Movement and the Dalit Cause,” The Kathmandu Post, November 10, 2025, https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2025/11/10/gen-z-movement-and-the-dalit-cause. Accessed February 7, 2026.

[xii] Nivedita Ray, remarks in “Gen Z-Led Digital Voices: Reshaping Africa,” panel discussion, Indian Council of World Affairs, January 15, 2026.

[xiii] Ibid.

[xiv] Rishikesh Dahal, “Media Effects: 2025 Gen Z-Led Protest in Nepal,” Media Studies Group (blog), November 13, 2025, https://www.mediastudiesgroup.org.in/media-effects-gen-z-led-protest-in-nepal/?utm. Accessed February 9, 2026

[xv] Bishal Thapa, “Securing Gen Z’s Legacy,” The Kathmandu Post (column), December 18, 2025, https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2025/12/18/securing-gen-z-s-legacy. Accessed February 7, 2026.

[xvi] _____“Govt, Gen-Z Sign 10-Point Accord,” The Rising Nepal Daily (Kathmandu), December 11, 2025, https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/72430.Accessed February 7, 2026.

[xvii] Ibid.

[xviii] Hiramani Ghimire, “Gen Z’s Message for Governance Reform,” The Kathmandu Post, October 6, 2025, https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2025/10/06/gen-z-s-message-for-governance-reform. Accessed February 7, 2026.

[xix] Subodh Chandra Bharti, remarks in a conversation on Nepal, Indian Council of World Affairs, February 13, 2026.

[xx] Ibid.