Why Aren't Young People More Politically Active?

In recent years, young people's attendance has fallen behind at the polls. According to Gallup, for example, 82 percent of people age 65 and up have an interest in voting, whereas only 26 percent of those under 30 do. 

One possible explanation is that young people have a negative reputation when it comes to politics. Even if they were to come out and vote in the midterms, they likely still will be called out for not participating, from both left and right sides.

Of course, that's not true, many millennials are very politically engaged. Look at the leaders of popular movements such as Black Lives Matter, the climate justice movement, or March for Our Lives. And millennials have recently started running impressive campaigns for and winning public office. But over and over again, the query remains: Why aren’t more young people more politically active?

If we are really passionate about increased participation in politics among the generations coming of age in the 21st century, a few things need to change.

Many people are ashamed to admit that they don’t know how to vote, and a lot of the times the issues they are going to be voting on have not even crossed their radar. Young people are afraid to ask these questions for fear of looking "dumb," but why is that? It is not a secret that civic education is severely lacking in today's high schools and most teachers do not want to talk about politics because it is too controversial. But here's the thing: civil discussions on political matters are so important! Young people need to see that so that they will be able to discuss things in a civil manner in the future. When every news source we have is showing us severely segmented discussions about political matters, how our we ever supposed to get along??

And this segmented way of life that pits Republicans and Democrats against each other doesn't stop when you get to college. Today, one of the most common ways that students can get politically involved on college campuses is through College Democrats or College Republicans organizations. Yet, more often than not, these clubs only serve as networking opportunities for like-minded individuals. You really don't get to learn about the important issues and you definitely do not learn how to see the other person's point of view. 

Instead of shaming young folks for not knowing where to get stamps, why not help them learn?

It’s time to ask: Why aren’t more adults willing to be mentors? Teachers, parents, counselors; you are who young people look up too. You are responsible for shaping the young minds of America. So please, instead of just trying to impose your own political views on us, teach us about the issues that really matter, and allow us to develop our own opinions. Don't keep us in the dark any longer. 

Shifting attitudes are no substitute, of course, for laws that make political participation easier—such as strong civic education, automatic and same-day voter registration, and lowering the voting age. But mentoring is a big step everyone can take immediately to help end critical barriers to youth participation once and for all.