This year's general election saw a significant rise in young voters and young people actively taking an interest in politics. I was one of these young people.
Following on from our post Why Young People Don't Vote, it was clear that young people's enthusiasm and engagement was bubbling away (particularly on social media) ready to boil over in the results of the general election.
As a young person, I can only speak for myself when expressing my reasons why I chose to vote for the first time in this general election.
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| General Election Results in Accordance To Age |
Firstly, the excitement on social media from my peers was one that I couldn't ignore. Not only was it great to see young people taking an interest in what was happening, they were passionately expressing their own views.
Where I used to switch the television over at any sign of politics thinking 'nothing will change anyway', I was watching interviews with the different party leaders and found myself enthralled in the narrative of the lead-up to the election.
We had a voice and, in my opinion, that voice came was amplified by the various social media platforms we use on a daily basis.
I voted by postal vote and urged my peers to remember to vote on the day, something I'd never thought about doing before! On the night of the election, I went to bed hopefully anxious about the results the next day.
I was feeling apprehensive because, for the first time, I cared what happened!
We have broken the cycle of:
It's now clear to politicians that we do care, we have a voice and we are prepared to use that voice to express our concerns.
The election resulted in a hung parliament meaning the future is still unknown. One thing is clear, though, and that is that young people now understand that by voting, they can make a difference and they can determine their own fate and the fate of the country by doing so.
- Olivia Dedman
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