Wanted: Opportunities to Get Involved

Ariane Mair

People often say that young people show too little interest in politics, that they are lazy and only want to have fun. But who can blame us for that?

In our society today, it is difficult for young people to get anyone to listen to them. We are hardly ever given a chance to express our dissatisfaction and have our opinions taken seriously.
This is not because there aren’t any people or initiatives interested in supporting these kinds of activities. It’s just that there are not really any concrete opportunities to engage in them.
A practical medium for young people is the Internet. Almost every teenager uses the Internet several hours a day. The World Wide Web offers a tremendous volume of factual information and is still low-threshold in its accessibility. Moreover, the new interactive Web 2.0 platforms are more than mere information sources; they also provide an opportunity to exchange views and engage in discussion. Nevertheless, you can’t believe everything you read online. Due to the fact that the Internet is so easy to access, a great deal of erroneous information can find its way into Web pages and platforms.
On the other hand, education also plays an important role in enhancing young people’s involvement. The more education young people have, the easier it will be for them to assert themselves in our society. I myself am involved in several projects that are concerned not only with promoting the social participation of young people but also with social and political themes in general. I also try to keep informed about the latest news and to support initiatives that I consider important (for example the petition for a referendum on education).
In the future I would like to see more and simpler possibilities for young people to get actively involved in society.

Ariane Mair is psychology student at the University of Vienna. Until the end of June 2011, she was a trainee at www.respekt.net, a platform for social and political commitment.