| January 15, 2004: CIRCLE, in collaboration
with the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the Council
for Excellence in Government, released a survey of 1,000
Americans between the ages of 15 and 25. The survey was
conducted by Democratic pollsters Lake Snell Perry &
Associates and Republican pollsters The Tarrance Group.
It was in the field November 17-24, 2003, and has a margin
of error of +/- 3.1 percent. It was supported by CIRCLE,
The Pew Charitable Trusts, Carnegie Corporation of New
York, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the W.T. Grant
Foundation.
- Press
Release: "Internet Has Limited Appeal –
and Some Real Traps – As Tool For Bringing Young
People Into Politics. Survey Reveals Top Issue Priorities
for Youth and Decline in Trust"
Content
of Social Studies Classes
For at least three decades, critics have charged that
social studies, history, and civics classes primarily
impart negative views of the nation’s political
heritage and are devoid of fundamental facts about our
system and history. But a new survey of current and recent
high school students shows that the opposite is actually
happening in classrooms.
Three-quarters of 15-25 year olds said the themes emphasized
the most in government, civics, and American history classes
are the Constitution and how the US system of government
works or “great American heroes and the virtues”
of the US system. The third most-chosen theme is “wars
and military battles.” Lagging far behind were studies
of current problems and “racism and other forms
of injustice.” Although critics often cite these
two areas as the most common, each was identified as the
main classroom theme by only one-in-ten young people.
The survey is the first national poll to ask current
and recent students what happens in classrooms.
Youth Attitudes Toward Gay Rights
The survey finds that young Americans support civil
unions, marriage, and protections for gays and lesbians.
By six-to-one margins, American youth support gay rights
and protections related to housing, employment, and
hate crimes and those sentiments are held by all ideological,
partisan, racial, geographic, and religious groups.
One out of two respondents said they know someone who
is gay; knowing a gay person has a significant impact
on attitudes.
Other Issues
The survey provided the latest information on young
people’s attitudes on national issues, with one
in five saying “jobs and the economy” is
the number one problem facing the country, almost double
the 11 percent who called the war in Iraq as the top
problem.
When asked to rate on a scale from 0-10 the issues
that are most important in deciding how they might vote,
the respondents’ top five choices were:
1. Creation of good paying jobs 9.0 (mean)
2. Access to affordable college 8.7
3. The war in Iraq 8.2
4. Access to affordable health care 8.2
5. Safety from terrorism 8.0
With the exception of the cost of college, these are
similar to the issue priorities of older voters.
For candidates, young adults are basically a group
that is up for grabs – evenly split between identifying
themselves as Democrats (32 percent), Republicans (28
percent), Independents (25 percent), and not knowing
(15 percent). Also, far fewer of this age group are
strong partisans.
A Drop in Trust and Confidence;
Volunteering Rate is Low
The survey also revealed a sharp drop in trust, as
only 50 percent said they trust the government to do
what is right, a 12-point drop from two years earlier.
And only 35 percent say most people can be trusted,
down from 41 percent in 2002.
Not many young people are participating in community
service – just 26 percent have done so in the
past year – and volunteering drops off quickly
after high school. While 40 percent of 15-17 year olds
have volunteered in the last year, only about half of
those ages 18-25 did so.
Attitudes Toward Online
Political Campaigns
The Internet still lags behind other methods as an
effective way for political campaigns to reach young
people, but it can be a powerful tool for involving
engaged youth, according to a new survey released today.
While it has limited potential for attracting disaffected
and disinterested youth, the Internet shows real promise
for mobilizing partisan, ideological, and interested
young people.
The most effective Internet-based political-organizing
tools are online chat rooms, e-mails on issues, weblogs
geared to youth, and candidate events like those organized
by Meetup.org. Those are especially popular among young
people who are liberal, college educated, and concerned
about Iraq, as well as religious youth. Young people
react negatively to Internet banner ads, e-mails encouraging
voter turnout, weekly e-mailed campaign updates, and
especially text messages on handheld devices.
CIRCLE's fact sheet, "Young
People and Political Campaigning on the Internet,"
provides more detail.
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