How We Fight for What's Right: Youth Campaigns Online

While listening to the pre-class chatter of a crowded college lecture hall or the gossip of students gathered around a lunch table, one will hear a variety of topics… “Did you hear about Sandra and Mark hooking up last weekend?”; “Dude, that girl is flaming! Do you think her boobs are real?”; “I can’t believe Brittney Spear’s sister is pregnant.” We’ve all heard these types of shallow conversations. Even at an academically-driven school like USC, students are preoccupied with skimming Perez Hilton on their laptops during class, discussing who should have won MTV’s reality show Tila Tequila, or blabbing on about what a train-wreck Brittany Spears is. It is fairly rare to hear students in public discussing which presidential candidate has the best fiscal policy or what the best strategy is to get us out of Iraq.

Based on the infrequency of hearing these types of substantial conversations, adults are quick to judge youth as unaware of national problems, or, if not unaware, too preoccupied to do anything about them. Our parents, who grew up during the 60’s and 70’s when young people were vigorously protesting the war in Vietnam, seem to think that we aren’t interested or active enough to instigate change. “Where is your fight?” they ask.

They don’t understand that, while our battle is not being fought with picket signs on the White House lawn, it still exists, and in full force. For you see, our generation is uniting online. The web has become a forum for youth to learn about, discuss, and support presidential candidates.

If you don’t believe me, go look at the popular social site Facebook. Go to the political groups and you’ll find people sharing data, videos, photographs, polls and participating in in-depth debates. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not talking about a few people talking via chat rooms, I’m talking about thousands of young people actively talking politics. Take Barack Obama fans for an example: his fan group Barack Obama (one million strong for Barack) has 430,956 members, his group Barack Obama for President in 2008 has 65,536 members, the group Students for Barack Obama has 15,353 members, and another, America for Barack Obama, has 7,321 members . That is well over a half a million people from across the nation talking, sharing and interacting online.

But many ask, how will all this web-talk really affect the votes? Will it get youth off their butts, away from the computer screen and to the polls? I say yes. The web has ignited youth political awareness and activity. Their fight for change may not be as overtly obvious as that of our parent’s generation, but I believe we’ll see it in the presidential polls.

We already are at the caucuses. In New Hampshire the youth turnout rate rose to 43 percent (compared to 18 percent in 2004). In Iowa, it more than tripled since 2004 totaling 13 percent, and in Nevada, it rose to 13 percent. Of the youth voters who showed up to those caucuses, democrats made up 61 percent in New Hampshire, 80 percent in Iowa and a whopping 92 percent in Nevada (youngvoterpac.org).

What I’m really saying to adults is, don’t underestimate us. Just because we’re gossiping about Lindsay Lohan at lunch instead of politics and partying instead of protesting, we know what’s going on. We are fighting, just on our own cyber- turf. We DO want to see change, and I believe we will.