Young Scooters Research Paper

The youth of today face many challenges. They face the normal challenges of becoming an adult and gaining their independence, leaving home for the first time, busier schedules than ever, and the new right to vote. Voting for the first time is an exciting experience and offers a new freedom not previously experienced but many of today’s youth decide not to exercise their new right. There has been a 15% decline in the turnout of 18-25 year olds since 1972 (Levine, Peter and Mark Hugo Lopez). This could be the result of confusion on the process of voting, more instability of their living situation, lack of interest, and lack of knowledge regarding politics.

A large portion of the younger population is turned off by politics and do not contain

Attempts to sway the young voters often backfires and is seen “as a war waged on television, loaded with negative ads and gotcha stories that seem dirty and distasteful…” (Eisner, Jane). Ads that attack political opponents lead to questions about both candidates’ moral values and trustworthiness. This often makes the young voters feel lied to and taken advantage of. The use of specific tactics to get young people’s votes often leads to even less support by young voters. When politicians use clearly phony tactics to try and seem “cool” to the younger populations, the youth are able to recognize it immediately and feel pressured and manipulated. It feels like the politician is more like a car salesman trying to push for whatever profits their own self-interest most, rather than someone that will look out for what is best for the country or community. It leads to questions of

By making them aware of policies and areas of concern, the youth can form their own opinions on what should be done and begin to care about what happens with it. They can’t care about issues they don’t know about. Politicians also need to start touching on issues that are important to today’s youth and relevant to their immediate lives. Bernie Sanders is a prime example of someone who really motivated and drew out the youth by addressing issues that were important to them. His rally gathered “thousands of supporters, most of them young…for what seemed more like a concert than a campaign stop” showing that when a politician addresses topics that are relevant to young voters, they will turn out in large quantities and could potentially make a difference in elections (Decker, Cathleen). Making voting an easier process for college students would also help tremendously. Many students do not vote because they cannot miss class and did not want to go through the process of getting an absentee ballot. If this process was made easier, many students would be able to vote and want to do