Politically interested young people in a (too) complex world

Interest in global politics among students aged between 15 and 25 has reached a record high of 54 per cent since the first survey in 2014. Interest in Swiss politics has also risen significantly compared to 2023, standing at 55 per cent.

However, interest is selective. Topics with immediate or emotional relevance are of particular interest. The most frequently mentioned topics are crime (41%), mental health (35%) and discrimination (35%). School and education (33%) as well as migration policy and the Gaza war (32% each) are also in focus. Institutional issues such as different political systems or the voting age of 16 play a subordinate role in comparison. Gender-specific differences are striking here. Young women are significantly more interested in mental health, discrimination and equality, while young men are more interested in security and economic policy issues. For example, 50 per cent of young women say they are interested in mental health, compared to 20 per cent of young men.

There is strong normative support for democratic principles. 80 per cent agree with the statement that a country benefits when its population has a say, and 78 per cent are convinced that young people can help shape their future through voting. However, this contrasts with a significantly lower willingness to participate. Only around 30 per cent can imagine taking part in the next vote. Political participation also often remains limited to low-threshold forms, such as signing an initiative (37%) or an online petition (32%).

The main obstacles cited are the complex language of politics (51%), lack of time (41%) and lack of interest (39%). 32 per cent also feel that their vote has little influence. The discrepancy between democratic conviction and actual action therefore remains a key challenge.

The perceived learning outcomes of political education have fallen further, reaching 40 per cent, the lowest level since the first survey in 2014. At the same time, 54 per cent of young people do not feel well prepared to vote.

Young people are particularly interested in skills that enable them to take concrete action: being able to justify their own opinions (55%), recognising fake news (54%) and knowing their fundamental rights (52%). Practical formats such as visits to political institutions or filling out election and voting guides together are particularly in demand – activities that currently take place less often than young people would like. A regression analysis also shows that dialogue-oriented teaching methods are particularly effective. When teachers facilitate discussions, encourage independent information-seeking and remain politically neutral, the perceived learning outcome increases by up to 17 percentage points. Political education is most effective when it is realistic, understandable and participatory.

Political information gathering is increasingly shifting to digital spaces. Although family (50%) and school lessons (39%) remain key sources of information, platforms such as Instagram (44%) and TikTok (38%) are continuing to gain in importance. Print newspapers, on the other hand, are losing relevance. The gap between usage and trust is striking. Social media is used intensively, but only 25 per cent of users trust it. Traditional media achieve significantly higher trust ratings at 58 per cent. Young people’s information practices are thus more digitally oriented than their level of trust would suggest.

Easyvote (73%), the Votenow app (63%) and ChatGPT (56%) are considered particularly easy to understand – among those who use these services. They serve as a guide for many young people in a political environment that is perceived as complex.

However, an experimental setting for detecting fake news highlights existing uncertainties. Although a fake news item is more often classified as untrustworthy than a real one, overall, the assessment of credibility remains ambivalent. This indicates that people are still uncertain about how to deal with digital information content.

Social (82%), economic (80%) and environmental sustainability (79%) are equally important to young people. At the same time, a majority of 54 per cent believe that Switzerland is already doing enough to promote sustainability. They see the state as primarily responsible for this, and themselves as significantly less so.

The outlook for the future is ambivalent overall. 48 per cent are confident about their personal future, while 44 per cent are confident about Switzerland’s future. On the other hand, there are significant concerns: 62 per cent are concerned about global developments, and around half of respondents are worried about their own financial situation. There are clear differences between the sexes. Men are significantly more optimistic about their own future and that of the country than women. Young people without Swiss citizenship tend to be pessimistic about their personal future, but are comparatively more positive about the future of Switzerland.