Politics, politics, politics. Probably one of the most controversial topics all over the world for as long as we can all remember! With the world essentially revolving around laws and politics it becomes an interest topic of discussion as not very many people are too bothered about it. The twenty first century is a time of technological growth, society no longer looks at politics and laws the way it once did. The younger generation now are growing up with iPads in primary schools, and an increase in interactive learning while they are at school. Education is one of the keys ways in which politics is introduced to children from a young age regardless of their interest to it or not.  Now that the youth are growing up with technology as a comfort blanket, it has become he easiest way for them to interact with one another as well as vote in online petitions nowadays. This blog is by no means created in order to change people views on youth politics, nor is it a concrete analysis that young people as a whole do not engage politically.

Politics, democracy and human rights, not exactly the hot topic on a group chat. For centuries the fight for justice and democracy all over the world has left us with a good few lessons for the future generations. However, when we look at the reality of it, there has been a huge decline in the number of young people showing interest or participating politically in their communities. Between 1992 and 2005, youth turnout at UK general elections dropped by 28%, and has hovered around the 40% mark ever since (Travis 2017). Having said this with the new realm of social media young people have found different approaches to voicing their opinions. When young people engage in the community they gain a sense of belonging, social media is now a way in which a large amount of the population are a part of. Dalton (1996) explains that young people are not in fact apathetic they are just preoccupied with other things, ‘alternative politics includes; online politics and consumer politics. In this day and age ‘alternative’ suggests online polls and petitions which are proving to be a popular way of expressing what a community or a group people want.

This being a personal blog I myself cannot say I am completely interested on politics but living in the UK, however whenever it’s election time I always want to know what is happening, we always want to know. There is just a great loss in faith due to all the rushing around we have to do as city dwellers. Jeremy Corbyn is someone who I would say influenced the youth in a relatable way. He essentially restored the Labour party’s hope of success. The election saw a surge in both Conservative and Labour votes as the first-past-the-post system amplified the return of the two-party system after 20 years.

Depending on how much you read into politics or not you may or may not have heard of ‘youthquake’. It is now known as a political awakening among millennial voters – its word of the year! The “youthquake” was the key component of Corbyn’s 10-point advance in Labour’s share of the vote. No official data exists for the scale of the youth vote but an NME-led exit poll suggests turnout among under-35s rose by 12 points compared with 2015, to 56%. The survey said nearly two-thirds of younger voters backed Labour, with Brexit being their main concern. Although it’s not a huge increase a slight progress is made. The concept of youthquake can seem somewhat problematic to some, the current establishment and perhaps the reason why many argue that youthquake is not really a ‘myth’ would be due to the fact that young people are now in a position where they are rejecting the current state of affairs as they simply feel as though the state is not a system that look out for their wellbeing.

 This may not be the exact improvement the government is looking for in our youth, however I would say it has shon some light on the fact that young people do infact care about politics, and Jeremy Corbyn did a good job in proving the nation that not all young people are criminals and uneducated. It is simply just a matter of what we as people feel. If the youth do not feel as though they are being supported there is no chance they would be willing to take time from their leisure to do as the government tells them to do so. The London riots in 2011 being a prime example of how things can go wrong with the youngsters and state do not see eye to eye. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on why you guys think young people do not engage politically and what alternative options are out there that we have not yet discovered!

Bibliography 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42747342 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2997125/100-000-Banksy-painting-pouting-young-girl-worthless-vandal-painted-wearing-BURKHA.html

http://acidmidget.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/banksy-trolley-stencil-london.html

The youth for today: how the 2017 election changed the political landscape Young people flex political muscle to real effect as surge in Labour and Tory votes marks return of two-party system ; Alan Travis Home affairs editor: Fri 9 Jun 2017 13.11 BST First published on Fri 9 Jun 2017 07.22 BST

Dalton, R. (1996) Citizen Politics in Western Democracies. Chatham NJ: Chatham House. p20-43