Photographer : Bryce Edwards |
In August 2006, I attended a seminar on the results of a study into young people and political engagement. The findings presented were interesting and somewhat contradictory. The study found that young people (that’s us) tend to think politics is boring and removed from our everyday lives. But in contrast, most of us are interested in and concerned about a number of (political) issues. It appears that we tend to distinguish formal political structures and institutions (like parliament and voting) from less formal structures and participation (like petitions, protests, volunteering with organisations and issues) and, in general, we don’t define the latter as “political”.
I think the stereotype that young people are apathetic and disengaged in politics, stems from the way we define politics. Much of the research in this field takes a narrow view of politics and political participation, identifying it with formal structures and institutions. Since young people are less interested in these formal structures, academia, politicians and the popular press have too often assumed that young people are disengaged. Contrary to this view, I believe that young people are very much engaged in politics by their awareness and activism on social issues from volunteering to debating and protesting.
Are you interested in politics?Whenever I pose this question to other young people like my friends and even to older people, I almost always get a cringe and a lecture about politics being uncool, full of corruption and completely irrelevant to our lives. But paradoxically, when we begin talking, our conversation is filled with political issues, whether it’s multiculturalism, poverty in Africa, the war in the Middle East, the plight of refugees, terrorism, censorship or global warming. So I find that while most people claim at first to be uninterested in politics, they usually are more engaged than they realise. I think that that comes down to the way we define politics.
So what is “politics”?For me, politics is about the issues that affect people and the world around them. This means issues we are passionate about as well as more formal institutional structures, like government, parliament and voting. So multiculturalism, war, taxes, poverty, homelessness, long hospital waiting list, water restrictions, school funding etc, are all politics. So if you’re interested in any of these issues, then you’re interested in politics.
How do we as the young people engage in politics?Young people these days engage in politics in a variety of ways and using a variety of mediums. We engage by debating and sharing insights and opinions on various issues whether it’s discussions with friends or postings on blogs; we engage by signing petitions; we attend rallies and protests on issues we regard as important; we volunteer our time and energy to organisations whose work we value; we are media savvy, questioning what is presented and we stay pretty well informed! I suspect that although most of us enrol and vote in local, state and federal elections, we find our participation in the less formal settings more meaningful and effective. That’s probably because we are sceptical about the intentions of our leaders and the impact that our vote will make. Nevertheless, I think that for the most part, young people are very much engaged albeit in different ways.
Does being informed and opinionated make you an active citizen?Once you take a broader view of what politics means and encompasses, then political engagement by young people is wider than it is generally perceived to be. I think that discussing political issues, whether it’s a debate between friends or having a rant on a blog about an issue you have an opinion on, is a very important step and should definitely be regarded as political participation. The value of awareness and civic engagement should not be overlooked. After all, it is through sharing our ideas, expanding our knowledge and reshaping our opinions, that we are able to overcome ignorance and make informed decisions…whether that means who to vote for, what brand to buy or what to believe in.
How can I be more empowered?So getting informed and forming an opinion is the first step. The next step is taking action on the issues we care so much about, in order to instigate change. That’s why I find ActNow a useful tool which allows me to not only further explore issues I care about, but to make that next step of taking action and effecting change.
In summary … I think most young people do care about the world and the community and are much more engaged in politics than we realise or care to admit or than society gives us credit for!! Frankly I think being interested in politics is pretty damn cool … I mean what’s more important than knowing about and taking action on the issues that affect our world?
How do I know this?Government & International Relations Colloquia, Dr Kathy Edwards, Senior Research Associate, YES Project, Education & Social Work, University of Sydney August 17th
Print, M., Saha, L. & Edwards, K. (2005),
Youth Electoral Study Report 1 Enrolment and Voting,
http://civics.edfac.usyd.edu.au/Report1.pdf Print, M., Saha, L. & Edwards, K. (2005),
Youth Electoral Study Report 2 Youth, Political Engagement and Voting,
http://civics.edfac.usyd.edu.au/YES%20Report%202.pdfThe University of Sydney Centre for Research and Teaching in Civics,
Research Projects–Yes Projects http://civics.edfac.usyd.edu.au/projects_yes.shtml
