The Two Sides of Millennials & Politics

Many pundits point to the fact that Millennials in Canada are much less likely than Gen Xers or Boomers to vote as evidence that younger Canadians are disengaged from politics. While the facts on youth voting behaviour are indisputable, assuming that they're disengaged from the political process is not. In fact, Ipsos Public Affairs data collected among 20,000+ Canadians throughout 2014 shows the opposite - Millennials are politically engaged, but are choosing to express themselves online, rather than at the ballot box.

Millennials are leading the charge on the use of online channels to get information about or discuss policy, social and political issues...While lagging in voting behaviour, two-thirds (64%) of Millennials are online weekly to get information about or discuss policy, social and political issues, compared with nearly half (46%) of Gen Xers and one-third (36%) of Boomers.

Millennials are leading the charge in sharing their opinions online...Half (49%) of Millennials are active monthly online with issues by sharing links, commenting on what others have posted, or writing and posting original content. This compares with 31% of Gen Xers and 21% of Boomers.

Millennials are leading the charge on Twitter...It should come as no surprise to anyone that Twitter is first and foremost the domain of Millennials. In any given week, over half (56%) of the content on Twitter originates with Millennials, compared with 34% from Gen Xers and 10% from Boomers.

Millennials have grown up online and as their interests have matured so has their use of online channels and sources to engage in politics. While many pundits argue that Millennials are not doing their part because they are not voting, they may instead want to ask political institutions and parties what they are doing to engage Millennials. Perhaps in a world where someone can take a photo of a cheque and deposit it to their bank account, we should be able to cast our vote online as well.