Almost a quarter of teenagers fear being cancelled over their political views amid voting age change

Almost a quarter of young people are less likely to share their political views because they fear being “canceled.”

The Economist Education Foundation’s research surveyed 4,167 students aged 10 to 17 in British schools between January 26 and February 15 this year; because it looks like the voting age will be reduced from 18 to 16.

The report revealed that 22 percent of those in the 15-17 age group and 19 percent of those in the 10-14 age group stopped sharing their political views, which they felt strongly about, due to concerns about being “cancelled.” Less than a quarter (22 percent) of both age groups reported being asked to stop talking about their political views at school.

The Economist Education Foundation’s Voting with Confidence report showed young people are divided over impending legislation to lower the voting age; 45 per cent of 15-17 year olds think young people should not be allowed to vote at 16 and more than a third (33 per cent) admit they are not confident talking about issues in the news.

Surprisingly, more young people 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 Sir Keir Starmer (84 per cent of 15-17 year olds, 75 per cent of 10-14 year olds); UK Reform leader Nigel Farage lags slightly behind with 83 per cent among older young people.

The report suggested that although those surveyed were young during Mr Johnson’s premiership, the Covid-19 lockdown would have played a significant role in their lives.

Researchers have suggested Mr Farage’s recognisability may be down to his polarizing reputation and Reform UK’s high engagement on young people’s favorite app TikTok.

Teacher Julie George, from Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy in Stoke-on-Trent, said the research revealed young people lack confidence about politics and how to express their views without disturbing others.

“Many of the older teens are self-aware and realize they don’t know enough about politics and aren’t sure how to express their views without offending others. Students want to be able to talk about the big political issues of the day, but they want to do so in a supportive environment where they can learn to share their ideas.”

The Representation of the People Bill, which would lower the voting age to 16, is currently at the committee stage of the legislation in the House of Commons, with a hearing set for Thursday.

Campaigners said the research revealed the importance of facilitating political conversations in the classroom so the younger generation can feel confident about voting.

As politicians debate how to prepare the younger generation to register to vote and the democratic process, Tiff Smyly, chief growth officer at the Economist Education Foundation, said there needs to be a boost in political education.

“If you look at our data, [teenagers are] “Wanting to feel more confident about being more ready to vote is actually a clear outline of different political parties or really being more informed about different political viewpoints,” he said. Independent. “I think that’s where social media has an opportunity, but there are also risks, because if you’re just on social media, you can get into bubbles of not looking outside of your own perspective. Or things that are told to you through algorithms that may diminish your ability to see these different political perspectives.”

Ms. Smyly emphasized that it was clear from the results that the younger generation was interested in politics.

“I think it’s a positive thing to see young people interested in politics, and what we really want to do is encourage that curiosity and allow young people to explore a wide range of perspectives and ideas from a variety of political perspectives on issues that affect them, their communities and their world.”

Changes to the 2028 curriculum for England will see children learn more about media literacy, democracy and citizenship, but Ms Smyly said more needed to be done to bring current events, political debate and critical thinking into the education system.

“How do we support teachers who aren’t allowed to share their own political views and who don’t feel prepared to challenge misinformation or really polarizing or offensive perspectives in the classroom? How do we balance that with the right of young people and their need to really explore these complex and sensitive issues?”