According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, a non-partisan research organisation, an estimated 24 million 18 to 29 year olds voted. This was an increase of 2.2 million over 2004. The group points out that youth turnout was up to 54.5 percent, 19 percent more than in 2004. For the first time in 20 years, voters under age 30 made up a larger proportion of the electorate than those over age 65. Young people were clearly the driving force behind this election.
Young voters in the USA displayed a passionate reaction rarely seen today when it comes to politics. Only a few months ago I was having a serious conversation with colleagues in the youth engagement field about whether Generation Y were particularly apathetic when it comes to politics. It is fantastic and heartening that the American youth could certainly not be accused of being apathetic in the recent election. I hope the passion and concern for politics that Obama has created spreads to other democracies around the world when it comes to voting time.
It’s incredible too that Obama has 2.5 million fans on Facebook and, if my friends were anything to go by, lots of people put Obama-related status updates on their Facebook profiles.
I was giving a talk at the Chicago Business School in London on the day that Obama was declared President Elect. It was wonderful to see Americans in Britain who were proud to be American and to witness a huge sense of positivity and optimism. There was such a wave of euphoria that probably spread around the world on Tuesday. I hope it lasts and I hope all the passionate and committed young voters stay passionate and committed and engaged with politics long after Obama takes up his position in January.
Sally
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Interesting post and blog. Relevantly, many prominent experts and publications have pointed out that Obama is part of Generation Jones, born 1954-1965, between the Boomers and GenXers.
This link takes you to a page you may find interesting: it has, among other things, excerpts from publications like Newsweek and the New York Times, and videos with over 25 top pundits, all talking specifically about Obama’s identity as a GenJoneser:
http://www.generationjones.com/2008election.html
Thanks for your comment. Generation is definitely an attitude not an age and I increasingly find that people appoint themselves into the generation that they feel most affinity with.
I, like many others, was delighted to see Obama elected President in the recent elections. He reached out and connected with millions using new technology and in doing so established the internet as a powerful political tool. My hope is that his administration will embrace the tools he used to connect with the electorate so successfully during his campaign and continue to use them to full effect when he’s in office. His is the first true internet presidency, and will undoubtedly usher in a new level of engagement in politics if it continues the way it started.
Hi Sally, I like the post and yet find I’m quibbling, as usual. Here’s my quibble. While I instinctively agree that it’s heartening to see young people feeling engaged and enthusiastic about politics, I also think that reflects a prejudice of my own – that people ‘jolly well ought’ to be interested in politics.
One of the many things that the Internet, social networking, clusters, etc. make possible is engagement by groups of like-minded people on small or focused or specialised ‘micro-issues’. If this is possible (and it is), it’s surely reasonable to suppose that people will generally be more enthusiastic about those narrow concerns that really interest them than about a national political party/leader dealing with many issues that they/we don’t find personally interesting.
So, in the broader scheme of things, I think people will (and perhaps should) move away from concern with large scale party politics and general elections. But it would be good for society if they stayed interested and active in something: (say poverty or drinking water or poetry or AIDS or vegetable growing or breakdancing). Because those are all politics too.
Andrew – oh I do the “jolly well ought to” thing too. I guess I think that young people (and us older ones for that matter) have not had too much to be inspired about in recent years when it comes to political leaders. So whilst I am sad about apathy I can understand where it comes from. I hope that people show interest in big picture politics as well as the important issues that you mention. Not sure about breakdancing though…