Young people have a deep disbelief and mistrust. But this does not necessarily mean a lack of political and democratic commitment: they have opted for some time for new forms of politicization towards non-institutionalized forms, as has been seen in Europe with the environmental movements of teenagers.
This emerges from the study that Luminate, the global philanthropic organization that provides grants to entities and entrepreneurs seeking to generate positive social change, which conducted research in four countries in the region with the purpose of identifying the attitudes and behaviors of new generations to the democracy.
Most of the young people from 16 to 24 years old interviewed in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, stated that they did not feel represented by political figures, organizations or institutions. But at the same time they expressed their interest in getting involved in causes such as sustainability, the feminism, inequality and the LGBTQ+ movement.
In the case of Argentina, young people believe that “politics divided people“, which discouraged them from participating for fear of being linked to one side or the other of the “crack”. To this is added the little credibility they find in the institutions and politicians, whom they consider mostly, a “breed” that works for their own interests: coinciding with the discourse of Javier Milei or Ramiro Mara.
Consequently, negative opinions extend both to the government of Mauricio Macri like the current Alberto Fernandez, and warns certain attraction to certain libertarian figuress, of which his style stands out “politically incorrect”: they forgive their aggressiveness because they “tell the truth” in a brutal way with which they empathize.
In terms of consumption of political information, there are changes in the patterns with respect to previous generations. Young They prefer to get information online. And they distance themselves from traditional media, they even say they don’t have television or radio in their homes.
They say they have also used social networks as a virtual meeting place with friends, family and co-workers, a phenomenon fueled by the pandemic. But many began to perceive it as a “toxic” environment due to the constant bombardment of information, often inaccurate and with dark purposes.
Paradoxically, when it comes to verifying the news they receive, and not being victims of fake news, continue to rely on traditional journalism and the big media because they consider them more rigorous. The Luminate study concludes in this sense that the parties must work in reverse disconnect that young people feel with the traditional political system. Forge a closer bond, promote greater innovation and be more digital.
