An anarcho-punk and screamo song, it features an intense, heavy rock instrumentation consisting of desert-rock guitar riffs, straightforward chords, breakneck drums and "renegade" percussion.

Reviewers praised the heavier rock-indebted sound, Healy's vocal delivery and the sonic departure from the band's third studio album, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships (2018).

Healy told Dan Stubbs of NME that "People" was influenced by Converge, Minor Threat and Gorilla Biscuits—bands he grew up listening to.

Featuring a speech from Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg, the track calls for civil disobedience and rebellion to achieve a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

[12][6][13] It has an intense, heavy rock instrumentation built upon desert-rock guitar riffs,[14][15] straightforward chords, breakneck drums and "renegade" percussion.

[16][17][18] Chris DeVille of Stereogum compared the song's aggressive, "serrated noise-punk onslaught" to Liars, LCD Soundsystem, Death from Above and Metz.

[20] Sarah Jamieson of DIY called the track "deliciously divisive ... dirty and deranged", and viewed it as a melting pot of musical influences from Death from Above, Refused and Primal Scream.

"[16] Healy condemns both personal and systemic inaction ("Stop fucking with the kids"),[6] appeals for the younger generation to create change ("We are appalling and we need to stop just watching shit in bed / And I know it sounds boring and we like things that are funny / But we need to get this in our fucking heads") and highlights the imminent danger of the global climate crisis ("It's Monday morning and we've only got a thousand of them left").

[21][20] Lindsey Smith of iHeartRadio commented that "People" embraces the angst and political themes common in punk music,[22] while Samantha Small of Consequence of Sound felt the song's purpose is to: "[tell] listeners to pay attention to the debilitating stasis of the world".

[28] In his review of the song for Pitchfork, Moreland lauded the track for Healy's vocal performance and themes, saying: "If there's still any question about whether or not the 1975 is a rock band, rather than an '80s-indebted pop act, 'People' will put that debate to rest.

[31] In his review of the song for NME, Smith said it is, "A push-back to the naysayers and the critics who dismiss them throwaway pop music, and an act of self-vandalisation to rip it up and start again.

To make Healy look real and "a bit toxic", Morioka added a wet texture to his hair, while makeup artist Anne Sophie Costa used gray eye shadow and blue lip gloss.

Jon Emmony and Aaron Jablonski of Exit Simulation created several AR filters that are used in the video, with them being meant to represent different aspects of surveillance systems.

The first filter has glowing yellow data points, while the second is shown scanning the band members in a "ghostly" way, and the third moved their eyes and mouth to different locations in an effort to avoid recognition.

[39] The inside of the cube is filled with bright lights, while the screens display internet images and lyrics from the song, mimicking the sensory overload of the online experience.

[19][37] Healy is shown with pale white skin, red-stained lips and long black hair, while several AR filters are superimposed over his face.