Journal of Promotional Communications

Apathetic or Uninformed?: Political Participation Among Young Voters

Felicity Pentland

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Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between young voters and the political process, specifically focusing on the extent to which the British youth are apathetic and the factors contributing to the decline in young voter turnout and disengagement.  The research employed both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, leading to the emergence of two global themes.  Firstly, young voters demonstrated the trajectory of distancing themselves from politics, identifying the primary barriers to entry as a perceived lack of political understanding and a negative view of politics.  Secondly, participants proposed possible solutions to overcome these barriers, recommending the continuance and improvement of Citizenship as a compulsory part of the National Curriculum, political actors and parties communicating with young voters on their level, a focus on building trust in politicians, and the introduction of online voting.  Both themes are interrogated in-depth, resulting in the conclusion that young voters are neither apathetic nor ambivalent to the political process as academic and media narratives have argued, thus opening the door for political parties to increase the engagement and participation of young voters in the democratic society.

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