What Drives Political Engagement of the Young Generation? A Political Psychology Study

Muhammad Zulfa Alfaruqy; Anandaru Padmonurcahyo

doi:10.36256/ijrs.v5i1.335

What Drives Political Engagement of the Young Generation? A Political Psychology Study

Muhammad Zulfa Alfaruqy, Anandaru Padmonurcahyo

Abstract

Political engagement of the young generation is needed for a democratic country, including Indonesia. However, political engagement has psychological challenges for the younger generation. This study aimed to determine the political engagement level of the young generation and some factors that influence it. The research was designed with mixed methods. The political engagement scale (16 items; α =0.862) was administered with an open-ended questionnaire to 600 students. Interviews to deepen the answers to the questionnaire were conducted with 6 participants (3 male, and 3 female). The results indicate that the political engagement of the young generation, especially college students, is in the high category. Factors that influence political engagement include personal factors (motivation to contribute and personal interest), national condition factors (perception of the nation's condition and perceived influence), information access factors, and social-environmental factors. This finding complements previous research, that personal factors are the most powerful in influencing student political involvement. The research has implications for government institutions, education, political parties, and families in influencing the political engagement of the younger generation with effective strategies.

Keywords

Young Generation; Political Engagement; Political Psychology

Full Text:

PDF

References

Alelaimat, M. S. (2019). Factors affecting political participation (Jordanian universities students’ voting: field study 2017-2018). Review of Economics and Political Science, ahead-of-p(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/reps-05-2019-0072

Alexander, A. G. (2022). Voting Behavior and Motivations across Generations: Evidence from a Nationally Representative U.S. Survey (University of Mississipi). University of Mississipi. Retrieved from https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2684/

Alfaruqy, M. Z. (2022). Generasi Z Dan Nilai-Nilai Yang Dipersepsikan Dari Orangtuanya Generation Z And The Perceived Values From The Parents (Vol. 4).

Alfaruqy, M. Z., & Kunci, K. (2022). Nationalism From The Founding Father’s Perspective (A Psycho-Hermeneutic Analysis). Jurnal Penelitian Humaniora, 23(1), 1–1.

Alfaruqy, M. Z., & Masykur, A. M. (2014). Memaknai Nasionalisme: Studi Kualitatif Fenomenologis pada Presiden Mahasiswa Perguruan Tinggi Negeri di Jawa Tengah dan Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. Jurnal EMPATI, 3(2), 246–256.

Allen, L. R., & Bang, H. J. (2015). Ecological contexts and youth civic and political engagement in Paris, France. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 39, 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2015.04.010

Ashley, S., Maksl, A., & Craft, S. (2017). News Media Literacy and Political Engagement: What’s the Connection? Journal of Media Literacy Education, 9(1), 79–98.

Ballard, P. J., Ni, X., & Brocato, N. (2020). Political engagement and wellbeing among college students. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101209

Baron, R. A., & Branscombe, N. R. (n.d.). Social psychology.

Beesley, C., & Hawkins, D. (2022). Corruption, institutional trust and political engagement in Peru. World Development, 151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105743

Besco, R., Garcia-Rios, S., Lagodny, J., Lajevardi, N., Oskooii, K., & Tolley, E. (2022). Fight not flight: The effects of explicit racism on minority political engagement. Electoral Studies, 80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2022.102515

Binder, A., Heiss, R., Matthes, J., & Sander, D. (2021). Dealigned but mobilized? Insights from a citizen science study on youth political engagement. Journal of Youth Studies, 24(2), 232–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2020.1714567

Bode, L. (2016). Political News in the News Feed: Learning Politics from Social Media. Mass Communication and Society, 19(1), 24–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2015.1045149

Bode, L. (2017). Closing the gap: gender parity in political engagement on social media. Information Communication and Society, 20(4), 587–603. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1202302

Borbáth, E., Hunger, S., Hutter, S., & Oana, I. E. (2021). Civic and Political Engagement during the Multifaceted COVID-19 Crisis. Swiss Political Science Review, 27(2), 311–324. https://doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12446

Boulianne, S., & Theocharis, Y. (2020). Young People, Digital Media, and Engagement: A Meta-Analysis of Research. Social Science Computer Review, 38(2), 111–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439318814190

Carlisle, J. E., & Patton, R. C. (2013). Is Social Media Changing How We Understand Political Engagement? An Analysis of Facebook and the 2008 Presidential Election. Political Research Quarterly, 66(4), 883–895. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912913482758

Eckstein, K., Noack, P., & Gniewosz, B. (2012). Attitudes toward political engagement and willingness to participate in politics: Trajectories throughout adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 35(3), 485–495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.07.002

Francis, T., & Hoefel, F. (2018). “True Gen”: Generation Z and its implications for companies. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Consumer Packaged Goods/Our Insights/True Gen Generation Z and its implications for companies/Generation-Z-and-its-implication-for-companies.pdf

Halmburger, A., Baumert, A., & Rothmund, T. (2019). Seen one, seen ‘Em all? Do reports about law violations of a single politician impair the perceived trustworthiness of politicians in general and of the political system? Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 7(1), 448–477. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v7i1.933

Henn, M., & Foard, N. (2014). Social differentiation in young people’s political participation: The impact of social and educational factors on youth political engagement in Britain. Journal of Youth Studies, 17(3), 360–380. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2013.830704

Janmaat, J. G., & Hoskins, B. (2022). The Changing Impact of Family Background on Political Engagement During Adolescence and Early Adulthood. Social Forces, 101(1), 227–251. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soab112

Kahne, J., Crow, D., & Lee, N.-J. (2013). Different Pedagogy, Different Politics: High School Learning Opportunities and Youth Political Engagement. Political Psychology, 34(3), 419–441. https://doi.org/10.1111/j

Keating, A., & Melis, G. (2017). Social media and youth political engagement: Preaching to the converted or providing a new voice for youth? British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 19(4), 877–894. https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148117718461

Kleinnijenhuis, J., Van Hoof, A. M. J., & Van Atteveldt, W. (2019). The combined effects of mass media and social media on political perceptions and preferences. Journal of Communication, 69(6), 650–673. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqz038

Levy, B. L. M., & Akiva, T. (2019). Motivating Political Participation Among Youth: An Analysis of Factors Related to Adolescents’ Political Engagement. Political Psychology, 40(5), 1039–1055. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12578

Matthes, J. (2022). Social Media and the Political Engagement of Young Adults: Between Mobilization and Distraction. Online Media and Global Communication, 1(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0006

Mumtaza, S. N., Sajidah, S. A., Abidah, T. U., & Alfaruqy, M. Z. (n.d.). Helping for Fraud Action: Studi Relasi Kooperatif Mahasiswa dalam Aksi Kecurangan. https://doi.org/10.31294/jc.v19i2

Owen, D., & Soule, S. (n.d.). Political Knowledge and Dimensions of Political Engagement.

Pande, R. (n.d.). Can democracy work for the poor?

Pontes, A. I., Henn, M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2019). Youth political (dis)engagement and the need for citizenship education: Encouraging young people’s civic and political participation through the curriculum. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 14(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1746197917734542

Xenos, M., Vromen, A., & Loader, B. D. (2014). The great equalizer? Patterns of social media use and youth political engagement in three advanced democracies. Information Communication and Society, 17(2), 151–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2013.871318

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36256/ijrs.v5i1.335