FACT SHEET

CIRCLE
The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement

How Young People Express Their Political Views

By Michael Olander, Research Assistant1 July, 2003 In September 2002 CIRCLE released a study entitled The Civic and Political Health of the Nation: A Generational Portrait.2 This fact sheet uses data from a survey that informed that study and illustrates the different ways in which Americans express their views on civic and political issues.3 Few Americans, and especially few young Americans, participate in activities that may have traditionally been associated with civic engagement. Large majorities of young and older Americans, for instance, have never contacted an elected official or written a letter to the editor of a newspaper. But when asked about non-traditional measures of civic engagement, Americans especially young Americans give indications of being quite civically active. Not surprisingly, these measures tend to be expressions of civic engagement that intersect with Americans day-to-day lives. Americans are especially willing to use their power as consumers to express their opinions of a particular company or product opinions linked to their civic behavior rather than the qualities of the particular product itself.
Graph 1: Contacted or visited a public official

Overall, the frequency of civically motivated activity among both young and older Americans is quite low. Of the civic measures explored by The Civic and Political Health of the Nation, large majorities of Americans have never participated in nine of the eleven different civic activities. On traditional measures of civic engagement, activities such as writing a letter to a

100 90
80.9

Percentage Responding

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
No , have no t do ne it Yes, have do ne it, but no t in last 1 2 mo nths Yes, have do ne it, and within last 1 2 mo nths
9.0 17.7 9.9 18.4 63.6

Frequency 15 to 25 years old 26 and older

Source: The Civic and Polit ical Health of t he Nation: A Generational Port rait , Sept ember 2002.

School of Public Affairs | 2101 Van Munching Hall | University of Maryland | College Park, MD 20742-1821 | P: 301 405 2790 | F: 301 314 9346 | W: www.civicyouth.org CIRCLE was founded in 2001 with a generous grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts and is based in the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs.

newspaper editor, contacting an elected official, or participating in a protest or demonstration, at least two thirds of those surveyed indicated they have never undertaken such Graph 2: Contacted newspaper or magazine activities.
100 90 Young Americans are even less 82.0 80 75.5 likely to have participated in 70 these traditional methods of 60 civic engagement. Whereas 50 80.9 percent of young 40 Americans have never 30 contacted a public official, only 20 14.2 63.6 percent of those over age 9.8 9.9 8.2 10 25 say the same. While 82 0 percent of American youth say No , have no t do ne it Yes, have do ne it, but no t in Yes, have do ne it, and within last 1 2 mo nths last 1 2 mo nths they have never contacted a Frequency newspaper or magazine, 75.5 15 to 25 years old 26 and older percent of older Americans say Source: The Civic and Political Health of the Nation: A Generat ional Portrait , September 2002. likewise. And where 84.4 percent of youth say they have never taken part in a protest, march or demonstration, a slightly smaller percentage of their older peers, 82.5 percent, agree. (See Graphs 1-3.)

In fact, on only two measures helping to raise money for a charitable cause and not buying something because of conditions under which the product is made are there more respondents who say the have done it (59.5 percent overall for boycotting and 55.1 percent overall for raising money) than say they have not done it. (See Graphs 4 & 7.) Yet while Americans in general, and young Americans in particular, seem uninterested in many civic-minded activities, there is evidence that Americans, especially among Graph 3: Taken part in a protest, march, or demonstration youth, are interested in flexing 100 their civic muscles in ways 90 84.4 that stretch the traditional 82.5 80 conception of civic 70 engagement. Young 60 Americans appear to be more 50 interested in making their voices heard on civic matters 40 by undertaking activities 30 pertinent to their day-to-day 20 13.4 8.4 7.1 lives. When asked if they had 10 3.8 ever not bought something 0 No , have no t do ne it Yes, have do ne it, but no t in Yes, have do ne it, and within because of the conditions last 1 2 mo nths last 1 2 mo nths Frequency under which it was made, 15 to 25 years old 26 and older 52.2 percent of young Source: The Civic and Political Health of the Nation: A Generational Port rait , Sept ember 2002. Americans said yes (with the
Percentage Responding

Percentage Responding

Percentage Responding

majority saying they had done so in the last year). This figure is comparable to the number of older Graph 4: NOT bought something because of conditions under Americans who answered aaaaaaaawhich the product is made yes to the same 100 question 54.7 percent. 90 (See Graph 4.) 80 Similarly, 44.6 percent of 60 young Americans said 46.4 50 43.3 they had bought a certain 38.1 40 36.2 product because they 30 liked the values of the 16.6 20 13.3 company that made it. 10 Again, this is similar to 0 the percentage of adults No , have no t do ne it Yes, have do ne it, but no t in Yes, have do ne it, and within last 1 2 mo nths last 1 2 mo nths who answer yes in this Frequency case, 46.7 percent. As 15 to 25 years old 26 and older Source: The Civic and Political Healt h of t he Nation: A Generational Portrait , September 2002. with boycotting, this appears to be a regular practice large majorities of both young and older Americans said they had done this within the last year. In both instances, the proportion of those who say yes is much higher than the percentage of Americans who say they have contacted an elected official or written to a publication. (See Graph 5.) Americans seem more willing to actively support a cause rather than to actively complain about or condemn a particular issue. When asked if they had personally walked, ran or bicycled for a charitable cause 40.8 percent of young Americans and 38.2 Graph 5: Bought a certain product because you like the values percent of Americans over aaaaaaaaof the company that produces it 25 said they had. This figure 100 clearly illustrates that time 90 constraints are not 80 necessarily preventing 70 Americans especially 60 55.0 51 young Americans from 50 being civically engaged. 40 35.2 35.7 Young Americans were 30 roughly twice as likely to say 20 9.6 8.5 they had taken the relatively 10 extensive time and effort to 0 No , have no t do ne it Yes, have do ne it, but no t in Yes, have do ne it, and within run, walk or cycle for a cause last 1 2 mo nths last 1 2 mo nths Frequency than they were to have sat 15 to 25 years old 26 and older down at their desk to write a Source: The Civic and Political Health of the Nation: A Generational Port rait , Sept ember 2002. simple letter to the editor. Perhaps the difference here is efficacy mass activities such as the Race For The Cure or the AIDS Ride place participants in large groups of likeminded people where participants can see themselves making a difference.
Percentage Responding

70

Percentage Responding

Contrast this with the decision to undertake the ephemeral process of writing a letter to a newspaper that few might read (the survey also found that only about 30 percent of young Americans read a newspaper more than four days per week4) and it is easy to Graph 6: Personally walked, ran, or bicycled for a charitable aaaaaaaacause see why people might choose 100 the former method of civic 90 engagement. (See Graph 80 6.)
70
59.1 61.5

60 A second pattern is that the 50 number of young Americans that have helped raise 40 money for a charitable cause 25.2 30 24.7 is roughly the same as that 15.6 20 13.3 of older Americans. Just 10 over half of all young 0 No , have no t do ne it Yes, have do ne it, but no t in Yes, have do ne it, and within Americans (50.7 percent) last 1 2 mo nths last 1 2 mo nths Frequency said they have helped raise 15 to 25 years old 26 and older money for a charitable Source: The Civic and Political Healt h of t he Nation: A Generational Portrait , September 2002. cause, only slightly less than 56.4 percent of older Americans who had helped raise funds for charity. This figure likely incorporates the activities discussed above many walks and rides serve to raise money as well as awareness yet it may surprise many to see young Americans so involved in fundraising, if for no other reason than they tend to have less disposable income than older Americans. But again this may demonstrate a preference for hands-on activism in nontraditional civic fora. (See Graph 7.)

In contrast, younger Graph 7: Done anything else to help raise money for a Americans appear to be aaaaaaaacharitable cause 100 disaffected with traditional 90 electoral politics. Only 6.6 80 percent of young Americans 70 said they had ever gone 60 door to door for a political or 48.6 45.7 50 social group or candidate. 40 More than twice as many 30.2 27.7 30 older Americans 14.1 22.6 22.7 percent said the same. 20 Some of this difference can 10 be attributed to the fact that 0 No , have no t do ne it Yes, have do ne it, but no t in Yes, have do ne it, and within a large proportion of those last 1 2 mo nths last 1 2 mo nths Frequency aged 15 to 25 cannot vote. 15 to 25 years old 26 and older (See Graph 8.) But the Source: The Civic and Political Health of the Nation: A Generational Port rait , Sept ember 2002. experience of canvassing a neighborhood appears to be a relic of another political age, and perhaps a poor measure of how much Americans both young and old pay attention to civic issues. As such, it may not be an
Percentage Responding

Percentage Responding

effective way to gauge how civically engaged young Americans may truly be. Young Americans clearly express a preference for civic activities that are supportive and consensual Graph 8: Worked as a canvasser they appear to prefer to 100 93.3 march or ride for something 90 85.8 than they do protest against 80 something. 70 A last facet of the survey 50 illustrates an interesting 40 trend among young people. 30 On a number of the eleven 20 11.2 activities by which 10 5.1 1.5 2.8 respondents could make 0 their civic voices heard, a No , have no t do ne it Yes, have do ne it, but no t in Yes, have do ne it, and within last 1 2 mo nths last 1 2 mo nths significant proportion of Frequency those who have undertaken 15 to 25 years old 26 and older Source: The Civic and Political Healt h of the Nation: A Generational Portrait , Sept ember 2002. that activity have done so in the last twelve months. Since the survey did not ask about the frequency at which respondents had participated in such activities, this fact could represent one or both of the following scenarios: Respondents who do make their civic voices heard do it repeatedly. They represent the hard core of civically engaged citizens upon whom a disproportionate amount of civic life relies on. A second, and possibly more intriguing possibility, is that the events of the year or so prior to the fielding of the survey the last half of 2001 and the first half of 2002 had an effect on the civic engagement of many Americans. It is possible that the events of September 11th and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan preceded by a bitterly contested Presidential election, the crash of the internet economy, and strident debates over international trade and globalization have sparked many Americans nascent civic sensibilities.
60

NOTES
1

I thank Mark Hugo Lopez, Carrie Donovan, and Emily Hoban Kirby of CIRCLE for helpful comments on previous drafts of this fact sheet. All errors in fact or interpretation are my own.

The survey and report was authored by Scott Keeter of the Pew Center for the People & the Press and George Mason University, Cliff Zukin of Rutgers University, Molly Andolina of DePaul University, and Krista Jenkins of Rutgers University.
3

Respondents were read the following question: Now Im going to read you a quick list of things that some people have done to express their views. For each one I read, please just tell me whether you have ever done it or not. (FOR EACH YES, ASK: And have you done this in the last 12 months, or not?) See CIRCLE Fact Sheet Media Use Among Young People.