Disengagement and apathy among youth in the political process

On 2 June 2022, the province of Ontario held its election to choose a new premier and government to serve for the next four years. Just eight months ago the Federal Government had a general election. It was observed, during this election process, that young adults had very little interest in the political process.

On the day of the provincial election, I was instructing my International Business students who are high school seniors. The topic for discussion was ‘global trends and its implication for future generations’. The highlight of the discussion, which stirred the most concern, was the impact of global climate change. One student seemed alarmed and wondered if we were not too far gone to change the course of the impending climate disaster. I responded by asking “how many of you are over the age of eighteen years”. Almost everyone in the class responded in the affirmative. I then proceeded to ask, “how many of you will be voting today”. Their responses were varied, but they were all oblivious that an election was being held. Their responses were as follows: “My vote doesn’t count or make a difference”. “I was not aware there was an election”. “What type of election is on today?” Who do I vote for, do I pick a name out of a hat?”, “Can I vote online?”

My students’ responses gave me pause for just a moment, then I reflected and realized that my two adult sons gave me similar responses when I encouraged them to go out and vote in previous elections. My older son, on two previous occasions, even worked for Elections Canada and Ontario in conducting elections, yet disengaged from the most essential part of the electoral process.

Their feeling of cynicism and profound disillusionment is prevalent among young people in the political system. This perception is due to the fact they do not receive enough political information. This lack of knowledge on how politics affects their lives results in a sense of indifference. Many young adults indicate that they are sick of the false promises, dishonesty, hypocrisy, and corruption associated with political life and they are unwilling to participate in a so-called meaningless activity.

This approach has provoked me to question whether or not Western democracy and freedom that our forefathers fought so long and hard for is at stake. A recent survey conducted by Elections Canada examined the decline in turnout in Canadian federal elections. There were multiple responses as to why young people are less likely to vote. Only a third of the youths 18-35 years of age vote in elections federally and provincially. The reasons cited include: not feeling integrated; being distanced from politics by age; not feeling connected; and lack of information and knowledge of the process.

A large section of the youth population believes that the government does not care about their views, their needs, or issues. They believe political parties do not reach out to them and are perceived to be out of touch. In general, young adults feel that the policies carried out by governments do not affect them. They believe the issues that relate to education, student loan, and employment are not adequately addressed.

The apparent apathy and cynicism of politics may not only just be a youth issue as the voter turnout in the recently held provincial election was a record low of 43 per cent of the electorate casting their ballots and two years ago in the Jamaican general election, but only 37 per cent of the electorate also voted. Interestingly, both places secured similar results with the incumbent government winning by an increasing majority. Low voter turnout tends to favour the incumbent government.

To improve youth political engagement there needs to be more education in schools concerning governance and civil societal participation. More political system change and the tackling of more relevant issues involving the youth. The issues of honesty, responsibility, and accountability in politics will need to be adequately addressed. Political parties and politicians will need to be innovative in their methods of communication to reach this demography as youths are not a homogeneous group.

I have voted in every major election since turning 18, in two separate countries. It is my firm belief that if you do not vote and participate in the democratic process, you would have forfeited your right to voice your protest of government policies with which you might not agree. In our democratic system, the ballot is the best way to enact change.

For democracy to be strengthened, all segments of society must be included. When young people are disenfranchised or disengaged from the democratic process, a significant portion of the population will be left with little or no voice and influence in the decisions that affect key sections of society. A key consequence is a steady walk in the eroding of our democratic institutions and promotion of incompetence in governance.

Fernon Wilson is an educator working in Canada.