Differences in political participation between young and old people

Abstract

People often complain about the supposed laziness and ineptitude of the younger generation, remonstrating their lack of respect for the traditions and seniority of the older population. These reactions are not new, however, as Plato voiced similar concerns about the young people of his time:The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers. 1 We also find a similar reaction among political researchers, whenever they conclude that young people are not sufficiently engaged in politics. 2 Such a conclusion is not unfounded: in almost every election young people are the least likely to vote, and these participation rates are continuously declining; 3 the youth membership of political parties is dropping; 4 young people are less concerned with politics, less politically knowledgeable, do not participate in social or political activities, are more apathetic, and have low levels of political interest, etc. 5 For almost every activity or attitude, young people have the lowest score. Conventional 'wisdom' dictates that young people are 'ignorant', 'apathetic', 'selfish', 'indifferent', 'alienated', 'disaffected' and 'disinterested' when it comes to politics. 6 Negative media discourses also add to these views. 7 Others argue that young people cannot participate politically until they become eligible voters. 8 Either way, it appears that young people and political participation present an unlikely and perhaps incompatible combination.But are young people doing such a bad job? Do they really have such low levels of involvement? In the literature, we find three reasons for these images and the perceived political participation gap between younger and older people. Firstly, due to the lifecycle and generational effects, young people have fewer reasons to participate: they do not have a house, stable residence, children . . . factors which make people more likely to engage in political participation. Secondly, the attractiveness of new forms of participation has caused younger people to divert from traditional forms of political participation as practised by the older generation, like voting or political party membership. Rather, young people prefer

Standby citizens: diverse faces of political passivity

“…In a sense, the very concept of 'politics' is broadened to include things like the political-ethical-based patterns of consumption at local markets (Micheletti, 2003) and food preferences (Micheletti and Stolle, 2009). If all these types of involvement and interest are taken into account, the overall picture is not as dark as conventional assessments would suggest (Quintelier, 2007). In the United States, if not in Europe, scholars have recently reported on 'an unmistakable expansion of youth interest in politics and public affairs' (Sander and Putnam, 2010: 11).…”

Engagement, passivity and detachment: 16‐year‐old students’ conceptions of politics and the relationship between people and politics

“…Others have found that young people feel unheard by politicians and consequently withdraw from formal political activities, engaging in newer forms of participation, such as signing petitions (e.g. Quintelier, 2007;Sloam, 2014). Evidence has suggested that the young engage in politics as individuals, rather than as part of large organisations (Fieldhouse et al, 2007).…”

“…During the last 10-15 years, researchers have increasingly critiqued the narrow conception of politics in studies of adolescents' interest and participation in political activities (O'Toole, 2003;Marsh et al, 2007;Quintelier, 2007;Manning, 2010;Kallio & H€ akli, 2013). These studies have noted that focusing on formal political activities limits the opportunities to learn about involvement in other civic or political activities or how respondents define political participation (EdComs, 2008).…”

Young People, Political Participation and Trust in Britain

“…Instead, research indicates that this group do take part in differing forms of political action (Quintelier, 2007). Research conducted by Norris (2003) indicates that young people are more likely to engage in 'cause-oriented' styles of politics (or what Pattie et al, [2004] refer to as 'micro-politics') than they are in 'formal' politics -participation that uses less institutionalised methods such as demonstrations, boycotts, and direct action.…”