Social media and politics: Teens talk about representation in elections

This is reissued as part of a series in collaboration with the Progressive electoral challenge. Chalkbeat and Headway at The New York Times will ask young people to share their ideas and perspectives during the 2024 presidential election.

Arnav Goyal, 14, lives in Powell, Ohio, about 30 minutes north of Columbus. In 2020, Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee, won Delaware County, where Powell is located, by 6.9 points. Mr. Trump won Ohio by eight points.

Jaden Puttiram, 17, lives in South Ozone Park in Queens, a place that told a very different political story. Joseph R. Biden Jr. won Queens County by about 45 points.

As the Headway Election Challenge, in partnership with Chalkbeat, has demonstrated week after week, teenagers like Goyal, a freshman at Olentangy Liberty High School, and Puttiram, a senior at Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School, are closely following the next election, which is only two weeks away.

Although they come from politically different parts of the country, they agree on one thing: representation in politics goes beyond simple identity.

The issues matter most

Mr. Goyal and Mr. The Puttirams say that when it comes to identity, Vice President Kamala Harris’ South Asian and Caribbean heritage partly mirrors their own. The family of Mr. Goyal is originally from India, while the family of Mr. Puttiram is Indo-Guyanese.

But their support for different candidates reveals a common dynamic among our respondents: Identity can foster connection, but issues drive political preferences.

Goyal identifies as a conservative and supports Trump. He said his political views are shaped by family values, his own curiosity and research. “I feel like basing it on identity would be like a weird situation,” she said of representation in politics. “So I think values ​​are much more important than identity.”

Puttiram, on the other hand, supports Harris. “One of the issues that Kamala Harris is focused on is cutting taxes for middle-class families,” he said, adding that he believes his proposed tax cuts will benefit his family.

Last week, we asked challenge participants if they felt well represented on the issues that mattered to them. When asked about the representation in the questionsabout 30 percent of teens felt “mostly” represented, but none felt “completely” represented. Only 11 percent said they did not feel represented at all.

We also asked him how well identities were represented on the list of candidates in their area. About 6 percent said they were “fully” represented by the candidates on the ballot, with nearly 17 percent saying they were “mostly” represented. While identity is important, many teenagers see politics and action as what matters most.

Ambivalence in social networks

Are the opinions of young people being heard? According to the teenagers we’ve heard from, the answer seems to be quite a bit. More than three-quarters answered “a little” or “somewhat.”

Almost every teen we interviewed expressed a complicated relationship with social media, where young people often set the tone and agenda. It’s a place of discovery, outreach and action, but it also raises a lot of skepticism, both about what’s being shared and how politicians are using it.

Goyal believes that some politicians are using social media to reach young voters and encourage turnout, while others “still neglect social media and neglect the youth and stick to their complete and total senior base.”

From Puttiram’s perspective, teenagers seem more empowered and engaged than in previous elections. He said he’s noticed more articles, more videos, more “everything” about the election.

“There are a lot of people taking action in my age group,” he said.

Parents: the best influencers

The teenagers we contacted say parents had a significant influence on shaping their political views, followed by teachers, friends and social media. While some teenagers this year told us they diverge from their families’ politics and sometimes avoid the conversation, most of our respondents said family discussions exposed them to political ideas.

Puttiram said discussions with his parents had shaped his political awareness and sparked his interest in politics. He also credits his government professor with helping him sift through candidate websites and campaign speeches.

Although he mostly shares his family’s politics, Goyal said he regularly researches candidates and policies on his own. “My parents don’t have an overpowering influence on my politics, but they tend to have a subtle influence,” he said.

Goyal’s interest in politics started when he was just 10 years old. “Right after the 2020 election, I remember my parents put a little bit of it on TV,” he said.

This insight into the electoral process fascinated Goyal, he said. “I just decided to, you know, take a look at what it is,” he said. “And then I fell down that rabbit hole and never got out.”

In week 8, with less than two weeks until election day!

As the critical day approaches, we want to take a snapshot of how young people think the election will play out. What are your hopes, expectations and fears for what will happen on and after Election Day? What role do they think their teammates will play in the outcome?

We want to re-open these questions to all teenagers.

After the election, we’ll check back with participants to understand if their expectations match reality and what they’ve learned from what happened. The moment the votes begin to be counted, our memories of living through this election will be marked by the results. So if you’re a teenager, we hope you’ll record your thoughts now before the outcome is set.