Many young Americans claim that the reason they don’t want to get involved in politics is because the news is too negative or depressing. However, the real reason that young Americans aren’t knowledgeable about world events is because of their geographical privilege and implicit ignorance of what’s going on.
According to Ruby Belle Booth, the main contributor to a survey conducted by The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), at Tufts University, only around 40 percent of the American youth surveyed felt that they were qualified to participate in politics.
You can see this phenomenon online and in real life. American youth are deemed as “clueless” and even dumb when it comes to matters such as politics, history and geography. This has turned into a serious problem today, when so many crucial global changes have occurred, like the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, and our own country’s political controversies.
Being uneducated on world events and policies also hinders your knowledge when voting and participating in politics, whether that’s protesting or even running for office.
The real question is, why are American youth so uneducated when we have all of the information we need at our fingertips?
I’ve heard many young people in my life say time and time again that “the news is depressing” and “politics stress me out.” While these statements can be reasonable, it’s not a valid excuse for being completely unaware of important global events.
It is also important to note how American youth spend a lot of time on their phones and other devices. A Gallup survey conducted by Jonathan Rothwell, a principal economist at Gallup, concluded that the average teen spends around 4.8 hours a day on social media.
A study by the Pew Research Center conducted by Naomi Forman-Katz reported that only 15 percent of adults aged 18-29 followed news all or most of the time. The survey also included information about why young Americans don’t seek out news.
However, it can be unfair to decide to stop caring about global and even national news when it can have such a strong impact on many people’s lives.
For example, more recent global topics such as the ongoing conflict in Iran, an extremely impactful situation for many people, is a
topic that we should all be more knowledgeable on.
When Americans claim that they don’t want to follow the news, especially on topics like Iran, it comes from a very privileged place. We sit comfortably in our beds, scrolling for hours on our phones, and yet still don’t want to give attention or stay informed on the disastrous events that people all over the world are experiencing.
Our ignorance to politics and news can serve a greater issue as well, such as being more prone to misinformation, leading to a weakened democracy when the vast majority of youth are ill-informed.
Staying informed about local and global events is the least you can do to make a difference. When the majority of our country’s youth are unaware of important issues, they also lack the ability to find solutions often leading to worsening situations.
A major example of this is climate change, and how its effects such as grave natural disasters are frequently shown on the news. If many American teens remain ignorant and unaware of global warming’s impacts, they are less likely to change their lifestyle habits which further worsen the situation, since they can’t immediately see the damage they are causing.
Being educated on local and global events allows you to understand multiple perspectives on issues from around the world. It can expand your view on the world which is beneficial for society, especially in a place like Marin, where people often live in their own bubble.
