In the world of one-click gratification, where fame and relevance is measured by views, likes and comments, it is no wonder that the loudest and most controversial voices within politics are enticing the younger generation, making Farage and Trump the most popular politicians among the youth.
According to a poll of 13-17 year olds by Merlin strategies, when asked who, out of Jeremy Corbyn, Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage, “understands people like me” better, Farage led the charge, with 23 per cent voting in his favour. When asked who out of the three was the “strongest,” 29 per cent voted Farage.
Social media is becoming, for better or worse, the most useful electoral tool since the invention of the newspaper. We saw it with Trump, a Twitter-based campaign which, though it gained much negative attention, arguably kept Trump in the forefront of headlines and conversations. Whilst those of us on the left would roll our eyes and become incensed by his gall, the age-old saying ‘all publicity is good publicity’ has proven to be true, seeing as Donald Trump has ascended to electoral victory twice.
So, why are the youth so enamoured by Farage and Trump?
The answer is simple. They are the only politicians who are reaching the corners of the internet that the youth occupy. Whether it’s Nigel Farage going viral for contributing to the meme of the day or Donald Trump dancing to the YMCA at a MAGA convention, they are proving to the non-politically engaged youth that politicians can be funny.
Of course, this outlook is woefully uninformed, and probably proves that social media inevitably leads to the downfall of critical thinking, but do you really expect 13-17 year olds to be slaving over manifestos and watching Andrew Neil interviews?
Whilst this demographic is not yet of voting age, it should be acknowledged by politicians that this new generation of “doomscrolling” internet dwellers will, one day, be included within the electorate. Perhaps this will force the wider political spectrum to capitalise on social media, which has proven to both humanise and enhance the profiles of Farage and Trump.
“Nigel Farage” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Why is the youth so enchanted with Farage and Trump?
In the world of one-click gratification, where fame and relevance is measured by views, likes and comments, it is no wonder that the loudest and most controversial voices within politics are enticing the younger generation, making Farage and Trump the most popular politicians among the youth.
According to a poll of 13-17 year olds by Merlin strategies, when asked who, out of Jeremy Corbyn, Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage, “understands people like me” better, Farage led the charge, with 23 per cent voting in his favour. When asked who out of the three was the “strongest,” 29 per cent voted Farage.
Social media is becoming, for better or worse, the most useful electoral tool since the invention of the newspaper. We saw it with Trump, a Twitter-based campaign which, though it gained much negative attention, arguably kept Trump in the forefront of headlines and conversations. Whilst those of us on the left would roll our eyes and become incensed by his gall, the age-old saying ‘all publicity is good publicity’ has proven to be true, seeing as Donald Trump has ascended to electoral victory twice.
So, why are the youth so enamoured by Farage and Trump?
The answer is simple. They are the only politicians who are reaching the corners of the internet that the youth occupy. Whether it’s Nigel Farage going viral for contributing to the meme of the day or Donald Trump dancing to the YMCA at a MAGA convention, they are proving to the non-politically engaged youth that politicians can be funny.
Of course, this outlook is woefully uninformed, and probably proves that social media inevitably leads to the downfall of critical thinking, but do you really expect 13-17 year olds to be slaving over manifestos and watching Andrew Neil interviews?
Whilst this demographic is not yet of voting age, it should be acknowledged by politicians that this new generation of “doomscrolling” internet dwellers will, one day, be included within the electorate. Perhaps this will force the wider political spectrum to capitalise on social media, which has proven to both humanise and enhance the profiles of Farage and Trump.
“Nigel Farage” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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