Young people are at the forefront of the evolution of democratic politics in our society - by studying the way today's young people interact with politics, we can gain insights into how democratic politics is going to work in the future, and try to grasp the impact of major social changes (such as unprecedented technological development or Covid19) on the future of our democracy.
This research shows that today's young people are less likely to be interested in politics than their parents at the same age, and this feeds into them being less likely to vote and (contrary to the conventional wisdom) take part in protests, boycotts and demonstrations as well.
For some young people these differences are small, and may even be compensated for by attending university; the differences are far larger, however, for those from poorer backgrounds and who do not go into higher education. This research also looks at how worrying consequences of this democratic evolution, such as falling turnout or widening socio-economic inequalities in turnout, can be addressed through measuring such as volunteering schemes or lowering the voting age.