Voter turnout in the United States presidential elections
Recent decades have seen increasing concern over the fact that youth voting turnout is consistently lower than turnout among older generations. Several programs to increase the rates of voting among young people—such as MTV's "Rock the Vote" (founded in 1990) and the "Vote or Die" initiative (starting in 2012)—may have marginally increased turnouts of those between the ages of 18 and 25 to vote. However, the "Stanford Social Innovation Review" found no evidence of a decline in youth voter turnout. In fact, they argue that "Millennials are turning out at similar rates to the previous two generations when they face their first elections."
Youth vote in the United States
Young adults are "over-represented among all computer and Internet users" – three fourths of Americans under the age of 18 are able to access a computer and, on average, use it for half an hour a day. As the Internet and computers have become more accessible to youth, such methods have been used to seek and find information and share it on social media cites. Websites such as Facebook and YouTube not only allow youth who don't subscribe to newspapers or watch the evening news to stay on top of the polls, but also allows them to share their opinions of the polls and candidates. If the use of technology were to be fully integrated into politics, the youth and adult groups would be equally active in politics.
Online news media, in particular, is believed to have a positive impact on young citizens due to its interactivity.
It not only provides them with the information they need to form their political beliefs and to become more informed regarding democracy and to gain a better understanding of current issues. But, it also provides them with a platform to discuss these ideas with other individuals, not only on a more localized scale but also on a global scale.