The Effects of Teens Being Uneducated in Politics

By: Vincent Xiong

Recently, there has been a decrease in the number of teens and young adults within politics. At childtrends.org they state, “As we approach another Election Day, Nov. 5, Americans are already hearing predictions of record low voter turnout. And the predictions for voters ages 18-24 are even worse. In the 2000 presidential elections, only 32 percent of young Americans voted.”. These teens and young adults are extremely vulnerable to making bad political decisions due to being uneducated in politics. Now some may ask why teens not being involved with politics is so bad? The reason why this is so bad is because they will later face the future repercussions of today’s politics without any idea as to what to do. Teens learning politics early on can allow for them to have a much better grasp on today’s and the future’s civic issues.

Teens lacking the knowledge about current civic issues and events can cause many repercussions in the future. By not voicing their concerns and opinions, they will be forced to accept the consequences of current civic issues. If teens were to be more educated within politics and civic issues and were also much more engaged within politics, they would be capable of shaping their future and would avoid undesirable outcomes. Teens that choose to ignore these issues and would rather not learn about politics early on are much more likely to face issues regarding politics. 

Teens being uneducated about politics will later lead to bad political decisions in the future. Choosing to vote for a certain party without being educated within politics can have severe consequences for everyone. If teens were to learn and be more engaged within politics and civic issues early on, they would benefit by becoming educated voters and also benefit by being able to make better informed political decisions. 

Education on politics should be taught early on so that teens will become much more engaged adults. Learning about politics early on can also provide a variety of benefits such as allowing one to be more educated about their role and responsibilities as a citizen. By teaching teens politics and the political systems and processes, they will become better at participating within civic life and engaging within public discourse and society in the future. Education on politics early on can also help to nurture future political leaders by teaching them the necessary skills and knowledge that they will require. Teens will also become much more knowledgeable about societal issues and which will allow them to be capable of advocating for change in a more positive and greater manner.