Have conventional forms of political participation become outdated amongst the younger generation?
Youth political engagement is a complex story to tell and the relationship between young people and politics is forever changing and evolving (Levy, 2016). Political participation describes the ways in which people actively seek to influence the policies that are being created by the governments, but even the act of political participation is not so straightforward and can be divided into two categories, conventional and unconventional. Conventional participation refers to participation in formal settings such as voting or contacting your elected representative, unconventional forms of political participation refers to forms of political participation that takes place outside of politics, such as engagement and activism via social media and protesting (Hoffman, 2020). Alongside this, the very concept of political participation has become very common throughout public discourse within recent years. There has been a clear and evident increase in the number of citizens speaking out against governments as well as international organisations and corporations (Quaranta, 2021).
In most democratic countries within the world, citizens’ involvement in political activities such as voting or protesting, fluctuates and develops widely over time (Levy, 2016). Currently, we are living through turbulent times politically, and therefore, it is more important now more than ever for the younger generation to be politically active. However, this is not the case, and in recent years there has been a steady decline in the amount of young people that are politically active, especially via conventional forms of active political participation such as voting and protesting. There has been some research that suggests that young people who are involved in interactive political experiences, for example, young people who participate in active political discussions at school, college or university are more likely to become politically active and engaged citizens (Levy, 2016).
(Yougov.com, 2017)
Using the UK as an example, the diagram above shows the ages of the people who voted in the 2017 British general election. It is obvious from this diagram alone that the older generation are more likely to vote, however, it is also interesting to note that only 69% of the British general public voted at all. I was 18 at the time of the 2019 general election and was shocked when I would ask my peers if they were planning on voting and their answer was no. From my perspective, modern politics is not inclusive to all generations due to its rigid structure.
Is the current lack of political interaction from young people a result of genuine uninterest? Laziness? Or are current political systems outdated and not as engaging as they could be? The reasoning behind young people’s lack of political engagement is something that has yet to be explained, but it could be more complex than simple laziness or a general disinterest. Perhaps politics is evolving and in order for the younger generation to feel included and represented, conventional expressions of political opinions need to evolve and progress too. The solution to the issue of low levels of political participation amongst the younger generation is not something that the younger generation can solve alone, politicians and governments need to take a certain level of responsibility in order for there to be political equality.
Despite the lack of conventional politics that young people are not engaging in, such as voting which is made clear in recent years, there has been a rise in the amount of ‘non conventional’ and creative forms of politics amongst young people that has mainly been facilitated via the use of social media. For example, during the Covid 19 pandemic, individuals on social media were able to share their own personal opinions, especially when it came to the distribution of the vaccine. In 2020, it was reported that less than 40% of UK citizens who had previously voted in the 2019 general election had faith in the government’s handling of the Covid 19 pandemic (Hoffman, 2020) further suggesting that voting is an outdated form of political participation. Information about the way in which the pandemic has been mishandled by the British Government in particular was made easily accessible. For example, the entire Dominic Cummings scandal that took place in the earlier days of the pandemic was made public very quickly as a result of people spotting him and posting it on social media. The following days, there were countless memes and jokes that were created and posted, proving further that young people like to use humour and creativity in order to spread their political message.
A more recent example of people using alternative methods to engage politically is the initiation of discussion on social media surrounding the current situation in Ukraine. Whilst this is mainly a humanitarian issue, politics obviously play a part in this crisis too. I have witnessed people using social media to collect donations and recruit other volunteers to travel to the border and help civilians in Ukraine, and on the other end of the spectrum there have been people signing and sharing petitions, and donating to fundraisers to help support Ukraine. It is especially important to shed light onto this situation as the Kremlin in Russia has censored information about the war from entering the Russian media (Troianovski, 2022), this has lead to people in the UK adding information about the war, and how you can access BBC news in Russia on google maps, linking it in the reviews section of Russian restaurants in London (Phillips, 2022). Whether these actions have any effect is unknown, but the situation has left people feeling so powerless that there is not much more individuals can do.
One thing that will be interesting to analyse will be the amount of young people who vote in the next general election. It will be interesting to see whether the current state of affairs, the mishandling of the pandemic from the British government, the conflict in Eastern Europe and Russia, will have an impact on the way in which young people view conventional political formats such as voting. It is clear to see that conventional forms of political participation are becoming more and more outdated. In order for young people to feel validation in their political participation, the way in which the governments interact with that generation needs to evolve and change to include these unconventional forms of participation.
Bibliography
Hoffman, C., 2020. How COVID-19 increased unconventional political participation in Western Europe – Global Politics and COVID-19. [online] Wp.geneseo.edu. Available at: <https://wp.geneseo.edu/gepcovid19/2020/12/22/a-roadmap-on-how-covid-19-increased-political-participation-especially-unconventional-forms-in-western-europe/> [Accessed 5 February 2022].
- How Britain voted at the 2017 general election. [image] Available at: <https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2017/06/13/how-britain-voted-2017-general-election> [Accessed 8 February 2022].
Levy, B., 2016. Advising a Model United Nations club: A scaffolded youth-adult partnership to foster active participation and political engagement. [online] Scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu. Available at: <https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=etap_fac_scholar> [Accessed 8 February 2022].
Phillips, J., 2022. BBC World News is taken OFF AIR in Russia. [online] Mail Online. Available at: <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10583045/BBC-World-News-taken-AIR-Russia.html> [Accessed 9 March 2022].
Quaranta, M., 2021. The Rise of Unconventional Political Participation in Italy: Measurement Equivalence and Trends, 1976-2009. [online] Gla.ac.uk. Available at: <https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_264092_smxx.pdf> [Accessed 8 February 2022].
Troianovski, A., 2022. Russia Takes Censorship to New Extremes, Stifling War Coverage. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/world/europe/russia-censorship-media-crackdown.html> [Accessed 4 March 2022].
Hi Harriet,
Loved reading your blog!
I fully agree with you that the current political system is not engaging enough for young people, and the narratives that run through it are not accurate representations of young people in politics especially given the alternate forms of participation they engage in.
However, I also feel that if younger people were given more responsibility to vote from a younger age they would be more likely to engage in the conventional forms of political participation. What are your opinions on lowering the voting age? Do you think that if we gave younger people more responsibility to vote from a younger age, we would see higher rates of “traditional” participation such as voting among these age groups?
Hi James! Thank you so much for your comment! I fully believe that lowering the voting age could only be a positive thing. If we encouraged people to be engaged with politics from a younger age, and their opinions were validated through physical actions such as voting then perhaps the engagement would be higher. I think validation is an important tool in getting the younger generation to be more politically active, and lowering the voting age is a good way of doing this as voting could be considered the most conventional form of political participation. This is a great point to think about!
Hi Harriet,
I really enjoyed reading your blog, there are so many good points! I am not surprised at the distrust felt towards the Government, and alienation individuals seem to feel towards our current political system. You mention how current politics are evolving and I just wanted to ask in what ways you feel this is occurring? You’ve mentioned the current relevance of social media which is a huge factor in current political activity, but are there any other areas you feel politics are evolving and changing? As for people feeling powerless to change politics, do you think there are any solutions to this, possibly via protests or other means of demonstration? Thanks!
Hi Katie! Thank you so much for your comment! In my opinion politics is constantly changing and evolving and I think this is especially relevant post Covid. I think the handling of the pandemic, particularly in the UK, has really opened people’s eyes and highlighted how corrupt our current government truly is as it has also highlighted many other issues that affect ‘real’ people such as the cost of living crisis. In regards to people feeling powerless, I think protests and demonstrations are definitely the greatest way for there to be a shift in the dynamics, but even then it could feel futile if young people still feel that they are not being represented. However, I really think that the current government is outdated and perhaps in order for younger people to become more engaged it needs to steer away from the two party voting system and needs to be updated with a broader demographic of MPs. I think what I truly mean is that political systems need to evolve and change alongside the public demand, perhaps people are less engaged because it feels like a stiff and stagnant institution! Something to think about! Thanks so much!
Hi Harriet, I really enjoyed reading your blog! I completely agree that speaking youth political engagement is a complex topic and I love how you have mentioned the importance of current affairs and the politically turbulent times our young people are living through at the moment. It is true that young people should be more active now than ever before as we have access to the widest means of participation, making it easier for us. The decline definitely needs to be tackled! Your questions on laziness and uninterest are very interesting as young people are generally considered to be lazy and uninteresting and I think we need to work to remove this stereotype and focus on how we can make current political systems modern and appealing to engage with. Again, I agree with you that those in power have a responsibility to contribute towards political equality so that younger people feel more appreciated and important in official political processes as opposed to undermined and demoralised. The next election will definitely be interesting and provide insight into the behaviours of young people in relation to politics, especially in the wake of Covid-19. Thanks for your blog!
Hi Nisha! Thanks so much for your comment! I am glad you enjoyed my blog! Yes this is true, it is a stereotype that young people are lazy and uninterested in general but also within politics, and it definitely needs to be tackled. I feel as if this is a stereotype that is often held within the older generation, and it can be particularly harmful. I also feel that the current government and two party voting system is a super outdated system and needs to evolve in order for young people to have more desire to be politically engaged. It is also really interesting to consider the outcome and levels of engagement within the next general election post Covid, especially after the amount of corruption that has come from the government regarding the handling of the pandemic, and the cost of living crisis that has come from it. Thanks again!