Teenagers are still the missing segment in the elections in the United States. Nearly 25% of voters in the United States who already have the right to vote are young people aged from 18 to 30, but the teen voters are not yet well defined.
This was conveyed by Caterina Dutto Fox from University of Virginia on Wednesday (20/4) in a discussion titled "American Youth Creating Their Dreams: In Politics, Society, and Education" at the UGM Library Unit I. In the activities held by the UGM American Corner, Caterina reveals about American teenage life in terms of political participation, education, and social life.
"The parties in the United States lack the effort in embracing adolescents to affiliate within the party and encourage them to vote in the election," said Caterina.
According to Caterina, not many teenagers in the United States participate in politics as well as voicing their aspirations in the election. "Many teenagers don’t use their right to take part in politics and government. However, teenagers with higher levels of education showed a higher vote in the election," she said
Furthermore, Caterina said that the teenagers in the United States can participate in the political world not only through the government but also through NGOs. Teenagers in the United States can actively participate in politics either by working in government, volunteering in campaign activities as well as expressing their political views freely through new media such as twitter, facebook, youtube, and viral videos.
Caterina conveys that most teenagers in America use new media to obtain information about the situation/issue that is growing. "They use the media like facebook and twitter to know the latest information about politics," she explained.
In the meantime, Tyler Fox, who is also from the University of Virginia, discusses about education for teens in the United States. Tyler conveys that all teens in America have access to education, but not every teen gets equal access to quality education.