Young People Are Being Put Off By Politics. Here’s Why That’s Bad News.

Pic: Unsplash Creative Commons /  Vlad Tchompalov

 Young people in the UK are losing political interest. The studies prove it. This could be detrimental to our future unless action is taken now. Let’s take a look at why this is such bad news.

Deception

In my experience, young people tend to be put off by politics, and it comes from many different sources. Some older generations believe that young people have not had enough life experience to make the best decisions. They are judgemental and dismissive. The media making it all appear so complicated could be another reason.

However, I think that ultimately, the responsibility lies at the door of politicians.

Pic: Unsplash Creative Commons /Rawpixel

But Why?

Young people not turning up to vote as much as they used to is called voter apathy. Numerous factors can contribute to this feeling. Some young people believe that their vote will not make a difference, especially in constituencies with a safe seat.

Perhaps it is the distractions of technology and social media that is to blame. This can be deduced from how rapid technological development correlates with a decrease in younger voter turnout.

Access to the news

There also seems to be a lack of news outlets reporting political matters that are targeted at the youth. Some young adults and children can manoeuvre through the long, convoluted paragraphs in broadsheet newspapers and online articles, but some cannot.

Nick D’Aloisio, from London, noticed this issue. He decided to develop an app called Summly, which can summarise (see what I did there?) complicated news stories. This allows young people with access to smartphones to be informed of the news in easy to read bullet points.

Doing more to get the youth involved in politics has immense benefits. It would teach young people to utilise their voice, detect flaws in society, and ultimately improve the world they live in.