Here's why 2018 really WILL be the year of the Youthquake

Here's why 2018 really WILL be the year of the Youthquake

Oxford Dictionaries' Word of 2017 might have been dismissed as PR bollocks, but the revolutionary aftershock feels real.

For a generation constantly maligned by our seniors and the media, 2017 felt to many of us like a year of hefty letdowns.

But even with an orange-haired buffoon at the helm of one of the world’s great super-powers, a climate in turmoil and Brexit looming, a slew of young people are making a positive impact on the political and social landscape. Read it and weep, tabloid-readers – we’ll be damned if we’re accused of whingeing.

As the old adage (almost) goes, where there is a shitstorm, there is a way. And that's a sentiment recognised by Oxford Dictionaries, whose word of the year for 2017 was – infamously – “youthquake”. Defined as “a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people”, the word was chosen not just because of a 400% increase in usage (really), but also in the spirit of hope; “in recognition of its arrival . . . picked because it is knocking at the door, and waiting to be ushered in.”

And it would seem that 2017 certainly did usher it in. Despite recent reports by the British Election Survey that the “youthquake” attributed to Labour’s June 2017 general election surge was a myth, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. Even if the suggestion that there was a surge in youth turnout is a fallacy (and the secret ballot keeps the true figures schtum anyway), it doesn’t negate the fact that youth support of Labour was a significant contributor to their increased popularity. Despite ongoing efforts to rubbish the younger population’s interest in politics, it's hard to deny there was an unmistakable energy among young people at the time – partly a result of Labour’s savvy social media strategy, but also because they had found a way engage with young people on a level that let us express our political sentiments in relevant and effective ways. In 2017, unlikely alliances were forged between Jeremy Corbyn and UK grime artists including Stormzy and Akala. These strange bedfellows demonstrated the power of youth culture in the digital age. We are better connected than ever before and are finding new ways to shape the future. Like it or not, hashtags have got more people talking at scale than newspaper coverage ever could. 

Further abroad, 2017 saw political parties around the world recognise the collective power of their young populations. Talk of a “youthquake” during the New Zealand general elections and Australian gay marriage referendum was spurred by a record number of under-25s registering to vote. In Russia, some of the biggest protests ever staged against Putin saw significant numbers of under-25s detained by police for participating. Closer to home, surging grassroots movements and established student-led bodies have all proven young people’s capacity to force the hands of those in power. From Becky Morrison’s crafty and irreverent ‘Titty Tee’ that seeks to challenge female objectification, to People and Planet, a student-led movement campaigning to stop universities from investing in fossil fuels (as of August 2017 they’ve seen global divestments of up to £80 million globally. Up yours, Shell), our generation is making itself heard across the spectrum.

Undivided is a case in point.  The campaign was started in the wake of the EU referendum vote by a group of young people who had voted leave and remain, to ensure the best deal for young people on exiting the EU. “We came together and shared stories, opinions and ideas," says Elspeth Hoskins, one of the movement’s founders. "Since then, Undivided has engaged a quarter of a million young Brits and has worked with a number of government departments, select committees, MPs and organisations to demonstrate that young people are informed, insightful and forward-thinking." The campaign recognises the power of a unified front, regardless of politics, when facing one of the most divisive issues of our time. Boris could learn a thing or two from these guys.

"2017 may have been the year that us young people got recognised, but 2018 is going to be the year that decision-makers sit up and listen."

The noise the campaign generates is impossible for the UK government to ignore. Elspeth explains: “young people’s engagement has shifted the policy agenda and has made young citizens a legitimate policy priority in the eyes of the government.” Undivided's work, crowdsourcing nearly 10,000 perspectives on how young citizens want Brexit to look, has already been widely influential. “Senior officials in the EU and UK are aware of the priorities that our research has found and we're confident now that, for once, our demographic will be taken seriously, with issues like Erasmus funding and strong training, travel and work opportunities being recognised.” Our generation is fighting our corner in a big way, and if the current direction of the campaign is anything to go by, 2018 will be the year we see results.

Evidently, young people’s demonstrative engagement is having a positive impact on some of the biggest issues of our time. Even in the modern world, when you’re as likely to be able to save for a house on an average wage as you are to cop the latest Supreme collab, young people are creating communities online and IRL to hold governments to account and build a brighter future for themselves.

But, as Hoskins notes, now is not the time to sit back and chill. Hashtag activism is all well and good, and its impact can be immeasurable, but virtue signalling to your pals on social media is not enough – now less than ever. “With so much potential to influence the system, getting young people involved in campaigning has never been more important," she says. "Organisations such as My Life My Say are on a mission to re-brand politics, and there are thousands of informal, tech-savvy collectives who are engaging in social causes and making waves. 2017 may have been the year that us young people got recognised, but 2018 is going to be the year that decision-makers sit up and listen.”

The earth can shift if we all get involved. A youthquake is afoot.

@florencetrott

Image: Jerry Kiesewetter via Unsplash