Almost a quarter of teenagers are sharing less of their political views because they fear being “cancelled”.
Research from the Economist Education Foundation surveyed 4,167 students at British schools between the age of 10 to 17 between 26 January and 15 February this year as the voting age looks set to be lowered from 18 to 16.
The report found that 22 per cent of 15- to 17-year-olds and 19 per cent of 10- to 14-year-olds stopped themselves from sharing political views they feel strongly about because they were worried about being “cancelled”. Just under a quarter (22 per cent) of both age groups reported being asked to stop speaking about their political views at school.
The Economist Education Foundation’s Vote Confident report showed that teens were divided over upcoming legislation to lower the voting age, with 45 per cent of 15-17 year olds feeling young people should not be given the vote at 16, and more than a third (33 per cent) confessing they were not confident talking about issues in the news.
Surprisingly, more teenagers were aware of former prime minister Boris Johnson (92 per cent of 15-17 year olds, 86 per cent of 10-14 year olds) than they were of Sir Keir Starmer (84 per cent for 15-17 year olds, 75 per cent for 10-14 year olds), with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage lagging slightly behind at 83 per cent among the older teenagers.
The report suggested that while survey respondents would have been young during Mr Johnson’s premiership, he would have played a key role in their lives due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Researchers suggested Mr Farage’s recognisability could be down to his polarising reputation and Reform UK’s high engagement on teen-favourite app TikTok.
Julie George, a teacher from Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy, Stoke-on-Trent, said the research revealed teenagers lack confidence around politics and how to express their views without offending others.
“Many older teenagers are self-aware and realise they don’t know enough about politics and are unsure how to express their views without offending others. Students want to be able to talk about the big political issues of the day, but in a supportive environment where they can learn to share ideas.”
The Representation of the People Bill, set to lower the voting age to 16, is currently in the committee stage of legislation in the House of Commons with a sitting due to take place on Thursday.
Campaigners have said the research reveals the importance of facilitating political conversations in the classroom so that the younger generation can feel confident when it comes to voting.
While politicians may discuss how to prepare the younger generation on registering to vote and the democratic process, Tiff Smyly, chief growth officer of the Economist Education Foundation, said there needed to be a drive in political education.
“If you look at our data, the things that [teenagers are] asking for to feel more confident in being more ready to vote, is actually that clear outline of different political parties, or really knowing more about different political viewpoints,” she told The Independent. “I think that’s where social media has an opportunity, but there’s also risks, because if you’re only on social media, you can get into these bubbles of not looking outside of your own perspective. Or things that have been said to you through algorithms, which might diminish your ability to see these different political viewpoints.”
Ms Smyly emphasised that it was clear from the results that the younger generation was interested in politics.
“I think it’s a positive to see that young people are curious about politics, and actually what we really want to be doing is being able to foster that curiosity and allowing young people to explore a wide range of perspectives and opinions across a range of political perspectives on topics that are affecting them, their communities and their world.”
Changes for the 2028 curriculum for England will see children learn more around media literacy, democracy and citizenship, but Ms Smyly said more would need to be done to bring current affairs, political discussions and critical thinking into the education system.
“How do we support teachers, who aren’t allowed to share their own political viewpoints and don’t necessarily feel prepared to challenge misinformation or really polarising or offensive viewpoints in the classroom? How do we balance that with the right for young people and the need for them to be really exploring these complex and sensitive topics?”
