Influencing and understanding political participation patterns of young people : the European perspective.
Date: 2022-02-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: European election, communications policy, election campaign, information, participatory democracy, right to vote, youth movement

0 

 
 
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80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

00%

vote in
elections:
national level

vote in
elections:
European level

vote in
elections: local
level

political action:
signing a
petition

political action:
joining in
boycotts

political action:
attending lawful
demonstrations

political action:
joining unofficial
strikes

do you belong
to: political
parties/groups
(Yes)

15-29 years

30-49 years

50 and more years

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Have you ever done any of the following?Q7EU27 averageVoted in the last local, national or European election46%Created or signed a petition (on paper or online)42%Posted opinions online or on social media about a political or social issue26%Boycottedor boughtcertain products for political, ethical or environmental reasons25%Taken part in street protests or demonstrations24%Used hashtags or changed your profile picture to show support for a political or social issue23%Volunteered for a charity/campaign organisation(e.g.Amnesty, Greenpeace, Oxfam)21%Taken part in a public consultation (online or offline)15%Joined a youth organisation14%Contacted a politician about an issue10%None of these10%Don't know3%11 

Voting in local, national or European elections

41%

Taking part in street protests or demonstrations

Creating or signing a petition (on paper or online)

Contacting a politician about an issue

Boycotting or buying certain products for political,
ethical or environmental reasons
Posting opinions online or on social media about a
political or social issue
Volunteering for a charity/campaign organisation
(e.g. Amnesty, Greenpeace, Oxfam)

Taking part in a public consultation (online or
offline)

Using hashtags or changing your profile picture to
show your support for a political or social issue

Joining a youth organisation

33%

30%

19%

18%

18%

17%

16%

11%

10%

Don't know

None of these are effective

6%

6%

Something else

3%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

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Report a crime

Form their own opinions

Vote in elections

Always obey the law

Support those who are worse off

Express their opinon on political or social issues

Be active in voluntary groups, community groups or youth
organisations

Join a political party to get politically active

Don't know

0 - Extremely unimportant

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 - Extremely important

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

14 

41%

41%

34%

26%

20%

Social media

News websites, including newspaper and
television news websites

News or current affairs programmes on TV

Friend, family or colleagues

News or current affairs programmes on the
radio

School/college/university

Printed newspapers or magazines

I don’t  get any information  on this subject

Another source

Adverts or other information produced by
political parties

Books/journals

Don't know

4%

15%

14%

12%

12%

10%

9%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

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50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

47%

39%

43%

42%

34%

32%

11%

7%

8%

12%

9%

9%

3%

2%

4%

A great deal

A fair amount

Not very much

Nothing at all

Don't know

The government in your local area/region The government in your country

The European Union

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40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

35%

29%

21%

36%

34%

33%

35%

23%

19%

9%

9%

8%

A great deal

Some

Not very much

None at all

Don't know

Your local area

The government in your country

The Europe Union as a whole

3%

3%

4%

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Tackling poverty and inequality

43%

Combatting climate change and protecting the
environment

Combatting unemployment/lack of jobs

Improving population health and wellbeing

Improving access to education and training

Tackling financial/political corruption

Tackling terrorism

Tackling cyber/online threats (hacking, ransomware,
identity theft)

Tackling the rise of extremism

Dealing with the challenges of immigration

39%

37%

34%

28%

27%

16%

15%

13%

13%

Don't know

1%

None of these

1%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

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It is a way of taking responsibility for the future

It is one's duty as a citizen

It is an important way of making your voice
heard

It helps prevent groups you disagree with
gaining too much power

It is a way to bring about real change

It helps ensure the view of people from your
background are represented in politics

It helps ensure the view of people in your age
group are represented in politics

32%

32%

30%

29%

26%

22%

21%

It is a way of showing your support for the EU

16%

Don't know

None of these reasons are convincing to you

6%

7%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

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90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

73.5%

71.1%

60.5%

52.7%

79.9%

72.8%

61.0%

58.7%

56.9%

Very positive Fairly positive

Neutral

Fairly
negative

Very negative

I’m in f avour 
of  the 
European 
Union and the 
way  it is 
working at 
present

I’m rather in 
f av our of the 
European 
Union, but not 
the way  it is 
working at 
present

I’m opposed 
to the idea of  
the European 
Union in 
general

I’m rather 
sceptical of 
the European 
Union, but 
could change 
my  opinion if 
the way  it 
works was 
really  
changed

Opinion about the EU

Image of the European Union

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And from which social media channels do you get most of your information on political and social issues?Q15bFlash Eurobarometer -Youth Survey   /   Fieldwork: 18/06 -27/06/2021   /   Base: n=7987 -Base: If "Social Media" at Q15a (Q15a.3=1)EU27 averageFacebook54%Instagram48%Youtube35%Twitter29%Tik tok14%Whatsapp10%Reddit5%Signal1%Other social media channels9%Don't know2%34 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Which of the following, if any, would you trust to give you information about issues facing Europe?Q16Flash Eurobarometer -Youth Survey   /   Fieldwork: 18/06 -27/06/2021   /   Base: n=18156 -AllEU27 averageThe media in your country25%Friends, family or colleagues23%European Union leaders23%The government in your country21%Teachers/tutors/lecturers18%Charities/campaign groups14%Online bloggers or influences that you follow11%Opposition politicians10%Business leaders9%Celebrities such as musicians, actors and TV personalities9%Someone else5%None of these10%Don't know9% 

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̄
̄
̄
̄
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Q15b And from which social media channels do you get most of your information on political and social issues? Please select up to three responsesBase: If "Social Media" at Q15a (Q15a.3=1)Base: Total7987357343456915643537288615166471129162326563000Base: Weighted Total7459348939056520223005243219755484114145722363122Facebook39971809216423749156216857303267688821451136654%52%55%36%37%52%69%37%60%60%61%65%44%CA CAA BADDB DTwitter21571077105525644946567635152221307630109229%31%27%39%32%32%23%32%28%18%21%28%35%BCCBBA B CYoutube260715331050237761032799757184936525756108935%44%27%36%38%34%33%38%34%32%36%34%35%BB CBInstagram35951490207134129714638341263233252676851177248%43%53%52%64%49%34%64%43%46%46%38%57%AB CCBCB CWhatsapp74643730461542733201485982314325724410%13%8%9%8%9%13%8%11%21%10%12%8%BA BAB C DDReddit378289836951701139228615601141555%8%2%9%5%6%5%5%5%13%4%5%5%BBB C DTik tok1031418597164993671654885433020517550014%12%15%24%25%12%7%25%10%27%14%8%16%AAB CCBB C DCCSignal8248340163432166601521291%1%1%0%1%1%1%1%1%0%1%1%1%Other social media channels6773223469167277233162515131452012399%9%9%13%8%9%10%8%9%11%10%9%8%DDon't know11950690294149299012332502%1%2%0%2%1%2%2%2%1%2%2%2%(A)(B)(C)(A)(B)(C)(A)(B)(A)(B)(C)(D)EU27MaleFemaleIn another way / Prefer not to say16 - 19 years20 - 25 years26 - 30 yearsNoYesUp to 1516-1920+Still studyingEU27GenderAgeEligible to vote in 2019Education (End of)I'm just not interested

I don't think decision makers listen to people
like me

I don’t understand the issues enough

Don't know

I think it would be too difficult to understand
the jargon/'political speak'

I don’t have time

Something else

I don’t feel confident expressing my opinions

Nobody has ever asked me to or invited me

15%

13%

11%

11%

10%

10%

10%

9%

9%

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16%

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s
r
a
e
y
9
1

-
6
1

s
r
a
e
y
5
2

-
0
2

s
r
a
e
y
0
3

-
6
2

l

a
t
o
T

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

Total

Female

Male

Total

62,82%

51,47%

57,14%

64,04%

61,79%

62,86%

67,45%

71,06%

69,30%

65,67%

66,15%

65,89%

0%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

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Q14 Over the last year, would you say that this image you have of the European Union has improved, got worse or stayed about the same?Base: AllBase: Total18156891391281153318783270063204149523613671622063022070826716005467470176355820603712119660164050803803579641514774598505650697771798436970603070155976511282261119954855401122704561643732803030Base: Weighted Total18156926087851114528707665524421137353513595573369031964793614686034492679555274673111425713164949224151543945214524383529550078391910435368433077154083512142278117895575994116054356640033473077Improved299218971072236981236105868523077660597311055501319230825925117389411311861294351748525965163254712734995283427723949525447260242417167282105318582020803163017%21%12%21%15%18%16%16%17%22%17%17%16%28%17%16%14%19%15%17%17%16%41%21%15%13%18%36%18%16%14%20%34%22%17%14%17%29%31%20%18%14%15%18%16%46%13%5%0%BBADB C DDB CBB C D EC D EDC DB C D EDDC DB C D EC D EDDCB C DC DDGot worse5665308125612312122222223111734492142117318681991650272953515551519251016362093357224563215661390153415253414051694148628879014962030813470333482712358617519973493013951896232831%33%29%20%27%31%34%27%33%41%33%33%29%33%34%37%26%31%32%31%31%31%34%38%32%34%28%34%37%32%32%30%34%41%34%30%26%31%40%40%31%30%31%33%30%0%22%57%76%B CAA BAB C DDDDDDEC D EEEC D EEED EA C D ED EECAA BA B CStayed about the same8153375343524821493138286521026051110154326003283668344758431082128367223533029512315458822941962262711658320012522227122359718213472157353620741899357782192405552922524012114165645%41%50%44%48%44%44%48%44%31%43%45%48%34%43%40%52%43%46%45%45%45%22%36%47%47%48%26%40%46%48%45%27%31%42%51%51%35%25%34%44%49%39%40%48%52%63%34%21%AB CBAAA B CA CAA B CAAA BA BA BAA BA BA BAA BA B CA B CA BC DA C DDDon't know13465298001747048039746188522274291523974401185463556003914778702179314274313218126534525545963133921668635721567538254072584190147937%6%9%16%10%7%6%10%6%6%8%5%8%5%6%8%9%7%8%7%7%8%3%5%6%7%6%5%6%6%7%5%5%5%7%6%5%6%4%6%7%6%15%9%6%2%3%4%3%AA BB CBCCA BA BA BA BAEB D EB CCAA B DA(A)(B)(C)(D)(E)(A)(B)(C)(D)(E)(A)(B)(C)(A)(B)(C)(D)(E)(A)(B)(C)(D)EU ModeratesEU AmbivalentsEU Sceptics(A)(B)(C)(A)(B)(C)(A)(B)(A)(B)(C)(D)(A)(B)(C)(D)(A)(B)(C)(A)(B)Ethnic, religious or other minorityMigrant, refugee, asylum seeker or displaced personPerson with a disability/disabilitiesLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersexNone of the aboveNoneOneMore than oneEU EnthusiastsPrimary schoolSecondary schoolTechnical or vocational trainingCollege or university level educationNot enough money for basic billsEnough money for basic bills but not for food and clothesEnough money for food, clothes and shoes but not enough for more expensive thingsCan afford to buy some more expensive things but not as expensive as a car or new house for Can afford to buy whatever we need for a good standard of livingLarge town / cityPC/Laptop/TabletSmartphoneNo formal education/did not complete primary schoolPrimary schoolSecondary schoolTechnical or vocational trainingCollege or university level educationNo formal education/did not complete primary schoolHighest level of education fatherFinancial situation householdType of respondentNumber of languages you speakEU tribeEU27MaleFemaleIn another way / Prefer not to say16 - 19 years20 - 25 years26 - 30 yearsNoYesUp to 1516-1920+Still studyingSelf-employedEmployeeManual workerNot workingRural areaSmall/medium-sized townEU27GenderAgeEligible to vote in 2019Education (End of)Respondent occupation scaleSubjective urbanisationDevice usedHighest level of education mother