Opinion Article - Why Young People don't Vote

2/8/14

Understand

I recently found an opinion article on Stuff.co.nz, originally from the Dominion Post, which was written leading up to the 2011 election and talks about why that election was so vital for young people to vote in. More importantly it talked about why young people don't vote:

Young people are not apathetic as such, they have just disengaged from traditional ways of doing politics. Rather than buy into a package-deal political ideology by supporting or joining a political party, young people today are engaging with political issues case by case and on their own terms.

This reflects an assessment on the part of young people of the effectiveness of various forms of political involvement. Our formal political system has lost relevance with a generation used to empowerment, open discussion and immediacy. Instead, we increasingly engage in politics by taking direct action in issue-based campaigns.