The EU Referendum - The age divide

Turnout

It has been apparent now for many general and local elections that the younger people are the less likely they are to register and turn out to vote. The older generations vote en-masse which often means that they are the controlling power in any election/vote.

Even on an issue such as this it is estimated that only 36% of 18-24 year olds turned out to vote, which is an alarmingly low figure given how important this decision is to their future. The same figures estimate that 83% of people aged 63+ turned out to vote.

Could it be that the older generations were more deeply ingrained with the need to vote from a young age? Was it just a habit that formed over many years of turning up to the polling station and casting a vote that it is never in doubt that they will cast a vote whenever they can? Is it that the young are disenfranchised from politics? That no one speaks for them or appeals to them?

It is essential that, as a society, we understand the reasons for voter apathy among the young. One thought is that they do not feel any particular pain in society, maybe their lives are easy enough that they do not feel the need to go out and vote as they feel their lives will be mostly the same as before.

Perhaps it is that they do not feel educated enough in politics to make a proper decision, yet the internet is there for them, never before has an electorate had so much information at their fingertips. This may lead onto the idea that there is too much information, past generations did not have the same level of information available and were therefore not overwhelmed by the complexity of politics, they could make semi-informed decisions, or even emotional ones.

Or perhaps it is more a resignation that they feel that they will be out-voted and that their votes just do not count.

Polarised opinions

According to various surveys the young voted overwhelmingly for Remain but the elderly voted for Leave and this poses the question why do the different demographics have such a different view regarding the EU?

It is possible that we get more conservative as we age meaning that we tolerate less change. That would indicate that as the world changes around us, especially with immigration when hearing foreign accents, foreign languages spoken, they stand out more because they are different leading to views like "you can't hear English being spoken anymore" which is completely untrue but our brains naturally filter out our own language/accents as background noise.

Another possibility is that the young being educated to a higher level increases their experience of a more multi-cultural society and exposes them to different ways of interpreting data. It may also suggest that they have more of a trust in experts that seems to not be present in the older generation.

It is possible that because young, exist far more on social media, they have a larger and wider world view, connecting people across the globe and exposing them to more ideas from across the globe. This may insulate them from some of the more outrageous claims about migrants and connect them with many people across the EU, they may see the free movement of people as an excellent way to meet up and connect.

Conversely, the older generations are more likely to have grown up and lived in communities where there are fewer immigrants, they are less likely to socialise with them and therefore are less able to put a human face to the abstract concept of swarms of immigrants. It leaves them more open to the scaremongering by the Leave campaign over migration.

The older generations actually have less to lose, they know that at the moment their pensions are protected by a "triple-lock" and that even if inflation rises these pensions will rise above inflation. They are at the end of their lives and therefore do not have to think about the long-term consequences, they can take a gamble on the future of the country, believing that it will make things better for the younger generations. It would be harsh to think they would do it selfishly, it is hard to see what they would personally have to gain from voting Leave, but they have their own perception of what is best for the country.

How can we change this?

This is a difficult question, one that cannot be easily answered easily. Only that we need to get better at understanding each other, to understand thoughts and fears, to realise that we share common values but we radically disagree on the way forward. It cannot be just about the young "respecting their elders" and voting with them, it has to also be about the elders respecting the young, this is not an "us vs them" issue and we should never treat it as such.