Young people and Political Apathy
INTRODUCTION This Government and Governance assignment focuses on the subject of young people and politics. It explores the issues of whether young people are apathetic about politics. “Teenagers and young adults are less likely to be involved in conventional politics, be knowledgeable about politics, have any attachment to any political party, or view voting as a civic responsibility. ... The assertion was made by Alison Park, who conducted a survey of young people’s social and political attitudes (O’Toole, T. ... Participation and non-participation among young people,’ volume 9, Carfax Publishing). ... The issue of youth political participation has received a great deal of attention in recent years. ... Participation and non-participation among young people,’ volume 9, Carfax Publishing). ... Researches of political participation have attempted to explain this decline. ... Parry et al focused on particular types of political participation: voting, party membership, joining an interest group, contacting MP’s or councillors, signing petitions and taking part in demonstrations. ... Parry et al found political participation amongst young people extended no further than voting. ... ) below: Just Voters Activists (various) Almost inactive People surveyed 50% 25% 25% The citizen audit does consider a wider range of activities which include organisational membership, contacting people or organisations to influence political outcomes, identification with issues or causes and serving the community. ... Their preliminary findings suggest, mirroring that of Parry et al, that a quarter of young adults are politically inactive (O’Toole, T. ... Participation and non-participation among young people,’ volume 9, Carfax Publishing). ... These approaches share positivist underpinnings and emphasise survey techniques, but address more specifically the attitudes and behaviour of young people. ... They targeted young people who reached twenty-one years of age just before or after the turn of the millennium. ... Participation and non-participation among young people,’ volume 9, Carfax Publishing). Alison Park (Park, 2003) , together with the British Social Attitudes Survey, analysed young people’s social and political attitudes. ... Participation and non-participation among young people,’ volume 9, Carfax Publishing). ... As is shown so far, the Government and mentioned researchers are concerned about the lack of political participation from the young. ... “YOUNG ADULTS ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE INVOLVED IN CONVENTIONAL POLITICS” From the research I have conducted and from my own experiences, I do not agree with this statement. If you look back in the INTRODUCTION section on page 1 and the early part of this page, findings from mainstream and survey-based research have been critical of young people’s involvement in politics. These research techniques categorise certain subjects to what the researchers view as political. ... When researches use certain subjects as an earmark for political participation they are leaving a narrow concept of politics. Many young people may not be interested in the ‘political’ subjects raised by the researchers. They may instead be interested in other political areas such as the environment, factors that affect students, women’s rights, third world debt and animal testing. Someone who does not participate in conventional political activities, but who may participate in issues such as allowing homosexuals to marry, would be classified politically apathetic in mainstream and survey-based literature. ... Even Parry et al’s study found that only 18 per cent of respondents identified the list of activities they drew up as political (O’Toole, T. ... Participation and non-participation among young people,’ volume 9, Carfax Publishing). Whatever political activities young people are involved in, they themselves may not perceive what they are doing is political. ... Below are some case studies which argue that young people are in-fact politically involved. ... During March of 2003, many young adults protested against the war on Iraq. ... More than 200 children protested outside the Houses of Parliament, some were as young as thirteen. In other parts of the country crowds of 500 children/young adults were in attendance. ... Another protest involving young people was on 4th December 2002. ... This shows that young adults are getting involved in the political realm. ... “YOUNG ADULTS ARE NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT POLITICS” Mainstream and survey-based researchers concluded that young people are not knowledgeable about politics to the extent they should be. ... political’. when in-fact young people were knowledgeable about politics even if they did not realise it. ... Whereas what young people are interested in, e. ... It is true to say that young people are not knowledgeable about conventional politics, as was shown by the researchers (refer back to the INTRODUCTION section on pages 1 and 2). But in-terms of informal politics, a lot of young people are very knowledgeable. A reason for why young people are not knowledgeable towards conventional politics was identified by a researcher by the name of White. He found that young people view politics as boring and irrelevant. Young people have the perceived idea that they cannot influence the decision making process, particularly up to the age of eighteen (O’Toole, T. ... Participation and non-participation among young people,’ volume 9, Carfax Publishing). Alison Park identified a link between political and social exclusion. Young people from a wealthier and better educated background engaged more in conventional politics than those from a more disadvantaged background. Some say that the media is to blame for young people’s greater awareness to informal politics and a limited knowledge to formal politics.