Does the young generation of today suffer from political apathy? A front page from the Post pictured Katherine Swann who has dreams of becoming a United Nations diplomat and had won a trip to a UN convention for her ability to debate around the topic ‘striving for justice’. Katherine chose to represent Syria in the UN-style debate, which took place in Melbourne. In my opinion not many people in my age group would be able to point to Syria on a map, let alone be able to understand the current political crisis it now faces.
Political apathy amongst youth of today has been linked with a growing disenchantment with traditional news forms such as the newspaper. A 1994 study conducted by Rager et al. investigated what youth would like to read in newspapers. The study found that there was a demand for background information that would allow them to better understand the context of the news story. If the newspaper editor agreed to accommodate this request, their young readership would be better informed, able to understand the news and likely to make conclusions and comparisons to the society in which they live.
The consequences of youth turning away from news are that they are becoming increasingly ignorant of the foundation of their democratic lifestyle and geographical position in relation to the rest of the world. In Evans and Sternberg’s research this was exemplified by a young boy who read about a tragedy yet could not feel any empathy for the victims involved. Brad: “Actually it sounds really sick, but I … don’t really get horrified … when you see things like earthquakes in Japan and that big explosion thing in wherever — Oklahoma.” His response suggests that youth are turning away from the traumatic events in the world because they live in a society where they feel they do not have to care and are not motivated to do so.
According to Buckingham, young people are increasingly being condemned for being lazier and less socially responsible. They have blind faith in the leaders of their government and are not questioning the structures of the government itself. Democracy relies on voters making an informed decision. If youth are turning their back on politics in the media, this could be seen as a direct threat to democracy and the integrity of its processes.
However all is not lost, while the youth may reject the traditional mainstream news mediums they have been switching over to different news forms, which they find are more sympathetic for their age group. The question is whether these new forms educate them to the same extent as a traditional news form potentially would.
The Internet has been shown to facilitate participation in politically driven discussion by the youth. While not many studies have been conducted in Australia that specifically examine the impact that the internet has on the youth’s daily lives, Ariadne Vromen’s (2007) ethnographic study examines the way young Australians use the internet and online networks to participate in politics.
Vromen’s study found that the Internet both provides a medium, which establishes both an autonomous and an alternative form for politics. This means the Internet has a dual role in both creating a space, which reinforces the politics and also provides an online sphere where new political opportunities can be made.
‘Kony 2012’ was representative of just how politically active the youth can be with issues that are of concern to them. It was reflective of how new media could be used as an opportunity for film to provoke social change. The video spread quickly over Facebook and then went viral on YouTube.
The film was constructed to appeal personally to the viewer of the film. A study conducted by Kalin, found that participants reported that participation in the project for Invisible Children made them feel as though one person can make a difference. The message was carefully constructed to emphasize a human-interest concern that directly related to youth who were politically charged to cause the government to act.
Gibson and Ward also praise the Internet for its capacity to provide a space where politicians can voice the principles of their party. Twenty-four-hour access and instant updating also allows for the continuous distribution of campaign news and rebuttal of opponents’ attacks. The multimedia, online format (bright colours and short headlines) appears to be highly attractive to young people. Candidates in Australia have been using Twitter and Facebook in an attempt to engage with the youth of today.
New forms of media provide an opportunity for making politics attractive to the youth. The youth are politically engaged in their own way through ‘twittering, posting and texting’.
The question is whether new forms of media are more effective than traditional forms for engaging the youth with politics?
Buckingham, D. (2000) The Making of Citizens: Young People, News and Politics, Routledge, London.
Buckingham, D. (1999) ‘Young People, Politics and News Media: Beyond Political Socialisation’, Oxford Review of Education, vol. 25, no. 1&2, pp. 171-184.
Evans, V. & Sternberg, J. (2000) ‘Young People, Politics and Television Current Affairs in Australia’, Journal of Australian Studies, no. 63, pp. 103-109 195-197.
Karlin, B. (2012) ‘Power through Participation: Impacts of Youth Involvement in Invisible Children’ Center for Unconventional Security Affairs (CUSA) University of California, Irvine, pp.1-19. Availability: http://files.isanet.org/ConferenceArchive/b1dddb0296df47129449f0ffdb0e802e.pdf [cited 12th August 2012]
‘Off to Haggle at The Hague’, Post, August 4 2012, p.1
Rager, Gunther, Muller-Gerbes, Sigrud and Haage, Anne (1994) Leserwu ̈nsche als Herausforderung. Neue Impulse fu ̈r die Tageszeitung, Bonn: ZV, Zeitungsverlag Service
Vromen, Ariadne. (2008) ‘Building Virtual Spaces: Young People, Participation and the Internet’ Australian Journal of Political Science, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 79 – 97
Ward, S, Gibson, R. (2002) ‘Virtual Campaigning: Australian Parties and the Impact of the Internet’ Australian Journal of Political Science, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 99–129
Please comment on this blog post! Do you believe that our generation are turning their back on politics in the media? Could this be seen as a direct threat to democracy and the integrity of its processes?
knowledge is power 
Todays new media sources provide more of an opportunity for youth to have more information and a less biased view then traditional media sources, however it the onus is still on the individuals to have an interest in world problems and have the motivation to change.
Informed political debate is critical to the democratic process. Absolutely socially aware youth need to be engaged in this pursuit.
do you believe that new media forms are facilitating this ‘informed political debate’? Are new media forms successfully engaging the youth with political content?
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