New World View

You can’t censor the world. Once [teenagers] have their own feelings and understandings then they’ll be able to formulate their own opinions like everyone else towards politics. 

In the past few months, there has been a sharp increase in the number of teenagers becoming politically active in both social media and real life. Of course, when large numbers of people become politically active, particularly from a young age, several issues begin.

I’ve noticed during times of controversy, these arguments lead to some people becoming overall aggressive and just unpleasant to talk to since they seem to think they’re politicians. They can lose everything up to their closest friends, they’re labeled as having a ‘wrong’ political opinion by some groups at school, and are mocked behind their back for having a different opinion, it’s ridiculous.

From the spread of misinformation to the increased amount of extremism in young people, the political landscape for young people looks different. Students and teens often have to get into politics, when it starts directly affecting them, regardless of if they want to.

Because of that, politics have become a lot more than just policies, and some teens are into it – really into it.

However, not all of them know how to manage this. With an emergence of essentially shouting matches when students try to engage in debate, there are differences in the way each young person expresses themselves.

However, different factors play into this, for example misinformation, sources, and an unwillingness to listen to others. So how do youth politics look now?

While early interest in politics can lead to an improved political understanding later in life, the bandwagoning and other aspects of politics that take things too far can lead to dramatic social effects. With politics being a dividing issue by nature, it can have exceedingly negative effects when the differing opinions of others come into play. While some distance themselves from their friends due to toxic political opinions, others overreact to opinions which they don’t share.

“This effect is something I’ve increasingly noticed even within debates or other arguments in class,” U.S. History teacher Vincent Thur said. “When the topic of the argument is a political one, there tends to be a clear tension to not disagree with anyone so as to not upset anyone, even if opinions are withheld as a result.”

When the topic of the argument is a political one, there tends to be a clear tension to not disagree with anyone so as to not upset anyone, even if opinions are withheld as a result.

With young people interested in politics suppressing their own political opinions, this can lead to becoming feverish in defending their beliefs online, where they feel arguing is more effective given the nature of online chat. Without being face to face, online discussions can feel like a safe space for grievances and unpopular opinions.

“A lot of our people love to debate online, and a lot of times we’re too immature to do it properly and it leads to opinion filled arguments which don’t get anything done and often get nasty,” junior David Elizaga said. “On top of that, people often get so heated that they block the other person or mock them on their Instagram story, which obviously crushes friendships.”

While early interest in politics is important for staying informed, without proper discipline on informing oneself it leads to overarching negative social impacts.

“I’ve noticed during times of controversy, these arguments lead to some people becoming overall aggressive and just unpleasant to talk to since they seem to think they’re politicians,” Eliziga said. “They can lose everything up to their closest friends, they’re labeled as having a ‘wrong’ political opinion by some groups at school, and are mocked behind their back for having a different opinion, it’s ridiculous.”

Although engaging in a debate can be a positive activity for young people interested in politics, the fine line between friendly debate and arguments can become blurred as students fail to consider others’ opinions.

“I think you’re taking it too far when you stop trying to have a genuine intellectual conversation and start devolving into what is effectively a digital shouting match,” junior Fabian Kalandos said. “It doesn’t do any good for anyone and is bad for developing your own opinion as you either become susceptible to becoming extremist in your beliefs or start to suppress your own beliefs to make others happy.”

It is important that when holding a proper debate not to purely attempt to defend one’s own political beliefs without qualifying them, and to at least entertain the ideas of the other side.

“Honestly, while I think that teens being into politics is good to understand how the world works, it’s not smart for people to debate about it unless they have a genuine understanding of both sides and the merits of each,” Kalandos said. “Otherwise it leads to an overall negative impact on both sides the vast majority of the time, after all as teens all a successful argument accomplishes is changing the other’s opinion for what is probably a short time.”

Students with differing opinions than that of their classmates can be averse to expressing them.

“Personally I’ve only occasionally had issues with not being able to share my opinion,” junior Matthew Rosenbaum said. “That said, it’s happened in the past and it’s really frustrating not being able to actually express my opinion just to avoid arguments.”

It’s happened in the past and it’s really frustrating not being able to actually express my opinion just to avoid arguments.

Some feel that expressing their opinion will lead to social repercussions, such as losing friends or becoming alienated from their families.

“I know a lot of people generally won’t disagree with the first person who talked because they feel like it disrupts the class or something,” Rosenbaum said. “So that compounds with not wanting to be viewed as a nasty person and makes a lot of people just not bother with sharing their opinions.”

The internet has grown to be the biggest and most accessible source of information about current politics for people. Having the internet also comes with a lot of several political opinions and misinformation that could lead people to jump to conclusions about specific topics.

“You can’t censor the world,” UNLV political science major Johnathan Solomon said in an interview. “Once [teenagers] have their own feelings and understandings then they’ll be able to formulate their own opinions like everyone else towards politics.”

With the risk of teenagers being exposed to misinformation about current political topics, there’s a chance of their opinions being persuaded without themselves being properly educated on those topics.

“I think the internet has a big impact on political views because obviously we’re now in the digital age and everything we do, say, hear, and think pertains to the internet,” SWCTA graduate Amina Dejesvic said. “We’re on our phones 24/7 whether it’s on Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok there will always be a political influence on those platforms, so if you’re only consuming that for information that can obviously persuade their political views.”

There are several websites and sources for both political parties and some websites that are primarily neutral for both groups. These neutral-leaning websites are the ones teenagers should look into and get their information from before they finally decide what they believe in when it comes to political topics.

The best teenagers can do when conducting their own research on political parties is to keep in mind that misinformation is hard to stray away from and will always be on the internet. It’s important for teenagers to be unbiased and not let others’ information force them into having a political opinion.

“I absolutely think the media should be monitored so teenagers don’t become radicalized,” UNLV political science major Saron Goitom said. “Facebook is one of the many sites that allows false information and conspiracies about politics to remain on the sight. So many teenagers only become radicalized because they believe this information to be true, so if the executives of Facebook know there is dangerous false information, it is their responsibility to take it down.”

Being cautious of what information teenagers find on the internet is also crucial to make a finalized decision on what they believe in. Then afterwards teenagers should see which political party believes in and has to offer, that’s similar to what teenagers think of.

“Take importance into understanding what both parties are representing and what they coincide, and realize what the two parties have to offer,” Solomon said. “Neither of them is perfect and we’ll always have some kind of issue, so try and figure out what [teenagers] find important and how that’ll affect their choices in regards to voting.”

With a larger amount of teens staying informed, the problem of how they get information has arisen. Many students try to inform others through their social media accounts.

For example, Elizabeth Ayanaw, junior, and president of the Black Student Union, regularly makes sure to inform others through social media and through her club, starting a new podcast to inform people.

“So we’re not trying to offend anyone, the words we state in our podcast, as in anything that we do in Black Student Union,” Ayanaw said. “We are still trying to educate because there are some things that I’ve seen go under the radar and not a lot of people are getting to know about. And now, especially is the time for people to know this information and we don’t want anybody to get hurt or hurt someone else’s feelings or anything. Just this information is for knowledge and to just state the information.”

Through this podcast, Ayanaw and her club members hope to engage with the information they share. Using her platform both on her personal account and that of the BSU makes sure that she can also show other people what goes on.

“We’re not trying to say any information that could hurt anyone or offend anyone,” Ayanaw said. “Most information that is going to be discussed comes from doing lots of research. We have our cultural and political awareness committee that we’ll be working on creating and finding resources for this. And it’s just a way for our club to express themselves. So it shouldn’t be much of an argument. It’s much more of a discussion, so everybody’s voice is heard.”

We’re not trying to say any information that could hurt anyone or offend anyone… it’s just a way for our club to express themselves. So it shouldn’t be much of an argument. It’s much more of a discussion, so everybody’s voice is heard.

She and the members of the BSU want to make sure that with this podcast, she only manages to raise awareness rather than tell people what their opinions are or should be. Although social media can be seen as unhelpful during these times, she believes that it has largely been a force for good.

“I’ve seen a lot of people using social media and starting their own podcasts and talk shows and posting different flyers and different things that they’re using to spread awareness,” Ayanaw said. “And I see that people are sharing and sharing these posts and are seeing that the community is coming together. Those people that were blindsided about this information are finding that this information is information they need to know. So I feel like social media has had a good impact on society right now.”

As she continues with this, she doesn’t necessarily hope to affect others’ opinions. She only hopes that people become more informed and form their opinions based on the information she shares.

“We’re just using our social media to bring awareness, not educating, not to baffle or offend anyone just like explaining or expressing ourselves and spreading things that we want to spread in a good way,” Ayanaw said. “Just so the black student voice at Southwest, knowing that there’s not a lot of black students at Southwest, we just want our voice to be a little bit more heard.”

However, there are also many other ways people can inform others aside from doing something as big as a podcast.  

I would say social media has affected my views a hundred percent.  I understand that I can help educate people in the way that I think the way they do.

Freshman Collin Chamberlain, for example, informs others differently. While still using social media, he uses it in a different way than Ayanaw. As he has started getting more focused and involved in politics, however, he largely credits that to what people post on their accounts.

“I would say social media has affected my views a hundred percent,” Chamberlain said. “I definitely was not involved in politics at all before I was active on social media, but now that I’m active on social media, I’m definitely a lot more involved. I have seen a lot of people who have the same opinions as me. I understand that I can help educate people in the way that I think the way they do.”

After becoming more informed, he wanted to turn around and create that for other people, making sure he is spreading the correct message.

“Me personally, I do sometimes try to inform people, but, not as often as others,” Chamberlain said. “Because, especially on Instagram where I have an older group of people who follow me, I just want to make sure that they are informed with what’s going on before they make the decision to go vote or get more involved.”

While he has set opinions now, he deliberated over them before making a concrete choice, making sure to be informed. Although he did create opinions based on others’ information, he doesn’t want others to create opinions solely based on what he posts. He believes that people should take things into their own hands and further examine each topic.

“A lot of people will just automatically listen to what they see on social media instead of actually going to see if it’s true or not,” Chamberlain said. “And that can form your opinion for you when really, it could be completely not true.”

A lot of people will just automatically listen to what they see on social media instead of actually going to see if it’s true or not.

Regardless, he continues to make sure that the students around him are getting information to spark their research, as the people around him did for him.

“Well I think it’s really important to do your research after you see something on social media,” Chamberlain said. “I don’t think you should just automatically listen and then go spread that further, because then more people are just going to believe you and that’s not okay. A lot of people are just going to believe their creators on social media that they see often and they trust so much that they’re just going to believe them instead of researching it. I think it’s really important to go ahead and research it.”

This generation has been educated and actively involved in politics now more than ever. While being young and so involved with politics has its perks, teenagers are at an age where they are more impressionable and easily swayed, which means that sometimes they base their political stance purely off the ones of those around them.

“My father always told me to never put myself on just one side or go by just one group,” junior and BSU member Nia Anderson said. “Because if I say that I am a Democrat, then that means I agree with everything they do and believe in what they believe, which I don’t.”

Sources that teens tend to see are biased and one-sided, hence why people are either extreme leftists or rightists. An example would be the Black lives Matter movement. People within the Black community noticed others just repeating what has already been said, not doing any research or wanting to learn what Black Lives Matter truly means or what it is really about. Will this indifference cause more awareness for more issues or not enough awareness?

“One thing I would say I do not like about this generation is how people hop on bandwagons just to look good,” junior and BSU member Cheyann Thomas says, “With the Black Lives Matter movement, I would see people hop on it like it was just a trend. Then when it got to be too old and boring for them, they stopped talking about it and went on about their lives.”

When it got to be too old and boring for them, they stopped talking about it and went on about their lives.

Gen Z has managed to be open-minded, while also being close-minded at the same time. They have become more accepting of ideas, beliefs, and opinions that were deemed absurd or unacceptable by previous generations. But on the other hand, it has become normalized to accept these new ideas, and for people who do not, they are put into the category of being rude or old-fashioned. Their reasons are not listened to for having differing opinions and beliefs, but they instead are judged and not given the time of day to explain themselves. With an amount of intolerance in hearing others out, it’s unclear what this could cause once Gen Z is old enough to be politicians themselves.

“I had a classmate who was Republican,  and she completely got bashed in class, but  she didn’t even know anything about the Republican party or just politics in general, just like that.” Nia says, “As soon as somebody is labeled a Republican, it’s like immediately, they are a bad person.”

As soon as someone is labeled as a Republican, it’s like immediately, they are a bad person.

This generation has been very accepting of everyone and has been challenging the traditional way things are done, but they still have their faults. And from the looks of it, politics will keep continuing on the route they’re on if this realization is not understood; peace and equality do not come when everyone has the same opinion on everything, but when people respect others’ opinions and political beliefs. As Gen Z matures, this realization is essential to ensure that not only teens mature, but so does their political landscape.

“I don’t like how this generation does not educate themselves on issues and just take what they hear on social media at face value,” Thomas says, “So when they feel obligated to speak up, they do not understand to a full extent what they are speaking up about. It’s also very annoying seeing teenage influencers not speak up about issues with politics because they have such a huge platform, they can really make a change, but they continually choose not to.”

Politics in the US are complicated, with many moving parts and policies colliding with politicians and people within the system. Traditionally older people have been the leaders in political fields, making policy, protesting, becoming politicians. This is why it can come as a slight challenge to incorporate younger generations into politics.

The inclusion of young people and the continued engagement of teens in politics is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be very good for young people to get involved and stay informed about the world around them. However, when teens cross that line into extremism, or don’t listen to anyone else, and don’t consider where they get their information, is when it becomes dangerous.