Young people and the general election – what do they know?
The 2024 general election is just weeks away and, with politicians knocking at our doors and promoting themselves across social media, the lead up is in full swing.
As Friday November 29th approaches, many young people (myself included) will be voting in a General Election for the first time.
But where are they getting their information from? This is the first generation of voters who have been brought up in the digital era, most of these people (late teens to early twenties) have had a phone and access to social media since the age of 12 or 13.
In my own personal circle, there is a definite lack of interest in the General Election, and politics in general. News and current affairs are not aimed at people who are 20 years of age.
But perhaps more time and effort needs to be put into tailoring the news for them. We are seeing more and more journalists (and politicians but we will return to this point) using their social media platforms to put news stories out into the world, but is it enough?
In a very Gen Z style of polling, I did a social media callout, getting information from different college students, seeing their views on the upcoming election.
When asked ‘What do you know about the upcoming election?’, there can be a broad range of responses, due to the open ended nature of the question. Unsurprisingly, one answer was sent to me again and again: “Nothing.”
“I could be wrong, but I think it’s a general election where we vote what party is in charge”, said a TUD Grangegorman Business and Law student. I myself have to question if I would be up to date on the political landscape of our country if it were not linked with the course I am doing.
“It was a couple of weeks ago, Trump won.” This one came from a Business and Economics student. I chose to believe that it was intended as a joke – however, this came up again in conversations.
The recent presidential election in the United States came up constantly in conversations. Perhaps it was the satirical nature of the now President Elect, or the social media posts from Team Kamala that were constantly being sent back and forth between myself and my sister. Some of these videos were outlandish and did seem to just be attempts to get Gen Z interacting with the election, but perhaps that isn’t a bad thing?
No one has talked to me about Simon Harris’s TikTok’s that talk about his policies and his goals, but a number of my friends sent me the video of him jiving with a shop owner in Monaghan. A middle ground in which an informative video with an entertainment aspect could do wonders for a lot of politicians attempting to gain the support and awareness from young people.
So, if a lot of young people aren’t reading up a huge amount on policies and plans, how are they going to decide who to vote for, if they vote at all?
One voter said, “I will vote similar to my dad as he is really into it.”
Another put their sources of information as, “Online and my parents”.
And again, “Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, cause my parents do”. This was a recurring answer, one that I resonated with. When in doubt, ask your parents! This seems to be seen as a reliable source.
Instagram and TikTok was brought up as well, with these social media platforms being used in lieu of a news app for Gen Z. I myself have the RTÉ News and Irish Times apps, but they don’t tell me anything that won’t come up in my social media feed in the same time frame.
While I do believe politicians should be making a larger effort to appeal to young people, there is also a certain point in which we must grow up and start looking at the literature and the policies ourselves. It is all well and good to listen to our parents and copy what they do. (Even as someone with an interest in politics, my parent’s choices will influence my own.) But it is our own futures that we need to think about.
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