There is no doubt in my mind that younger people are some of the least motivated or educated when it comes to politics. Are they willfully avoiding politics, though? I don’t think so.

Younger people are just that; they are young. It takes a while for any generation of youth to grow up and truly care about more important issues.

Youth are too distracted with keeping up on the latest music, fashion trends, episodes of Jersey Shore or the boyfriends and girlfriends that change out like hockey players.

They have yet to realize how important it is to have good insurance, because they are probably still dependent on someone else’s or have recently gotten their first job and are happy to get anything.

They have yet to truly experience how things like social programs, tax increases or high property taxes and good school districts directly effect the way they live.

Maybe I should be saying we instead of they. After all, I did just turn 22 and I remember how far I have come in just a matter of four years.

At 18, my political views could be affected by a Chris Rock standup or a ridiculous, yet compelling documentary film like Zeitgeist: The Movie. So I’ll admit, we youth can be pretty misguided when developing our political world views. Take note of the word developing, though. It means we are trying.

Do young people stay apathetic until they are thirty and then just snap into intellectual mode? Of course not.

Young people want to be a part of the political discussions and make a difference; it’s just a matter of learning how.

I tried to get a hold of someone in the psychology department to see if there were any trends of young people becoming more socially and politically aware. I had my fingers crossed for such direct support of

my argument.

Professor Keith Millis answered my call and simply said what anyone who remembers the 2008 presidential election could have told me: “Look at Obama.” I felt like he should have said “Duh” after that.

A 2008 article on Time.com, titled “The Year of the Youth Vote,” reported how Obama won so many of the primary votes with the help of young voters between the ages of 18-25.

Another article, from MSNBC.com, titled “Youth vote may have been key in Obama’s win,” reported how “young voters preferred Obama over John McCain by 68 percent to 30 percent” and that an estimated 22 to 24 million young people voted in the election, an increase of at least 2.2 million from 2004, representing about 18 percent of total voters.

Even in 2004, the article states “20.1 million 18-29 year olds voted – a 4.3 million increase from 2000, according to the U.S.

Census Bureau.”

Perhaps it’s entertaining shows like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report or even Glenn Beck (which is entertainment rather than news), or politicians’ outreach to youth through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter that have gotten youth more involved.

Maybe youth are genuinely more concerned and interested; we can only hope.

Whatever the cause, numbers show more involvement from youth, and any involvement is better than none.