At 16 years old, depending on where in the world you live, you might be able to leave school, get married and pay taxes. But one thing you almost certainly cannot do is vote. Klára Duffková, 14, from The English College in Prague, argues that it is time for this to change.
I assume that we’ve all heard of elections, right? But did you know that, according to a study conducted in the UK, people aged 55+ are 30% more likely to participate in elections than people aged 18 to 24? This means the elderly have more impact on your country’s future than you do.
It may seem like young people could easily have a larger voice in elections simply by voting more. However, the global demographic shift is making this more challenging. While youth populations are declining, the number of older individuals is rapidly growing. According to the United NationsAn international organisation focused on keeping peace. Its refugee agency, the UNHCR, aims to assist refugees around the world., by 2050, the number of people aged 60 and above is projected to reach 2.1 billion, more than double the number of children and youth under 15. In fact, in countries like Japan and China, the ageing population already outnumbers the youth. This demographicThe qualities (e.g. age, sex, income) of a specific group of people or population. change gives older voters a more significant influence, and as the elderly population continues to grow, it will increasingly outbalance the youth vote.
What should we do? In my opinion, the age from which you should be allowed to vote needs to be lowered to 16 years. This would mean the younger generation would have a say in what their future is going to be. I and many others think it is unfair that the older generation has a larger say in what my future looks like. Yes, of course, this is not just the future of the younger generation, but statistically and logically, we are going to live on this earth longer, meaning we should have a bigger say than we currently hold!
At 16 years old, you can do many things. In many countries you can drive a car, get a job, pay income tax, get married and even take care of children! So why can we do all of these things and make all of these decisions on our own, but the one important thing that we can’t do is vote?
Of course, some people have concerns: for example, are 16-year-olds responsible enough or will they just vote like their parents? But realistically, your brain doesn’t change much in a two-year time period, and studies have shown that “a 16-year-old has sufficient cognitiveRelating to the processes of thinking and reasoning. and critical thinking capacities to make political decisions independently”.
In conclusion, yes, adolescents are influenced in many ways, but adults are too, so where is the problem? Why is it that if we work a job, make decisions and pay money to the state, we still cannot decide the future of our country?
After all the research I have done, I still couldn’t find an answer to this question. So maybe there isn’t one. Maybe the solution should be that the age limit for voting is lowered to 16. We, as the future generation, the future of our country’s prosperity, should have an impact and a say in how our country is led.
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Keywords
United Nations – An international organisation focused on keeping peace. Its refugee agency, the UNHCR, aims to assist refugees around the world.
Demographic – The qualities (e.g. age, sex, income) of a specific group of people or population.
Cognitive – Relating to the processes of thinking and reasoning.
- According to Time Magazine.
- According to Pew Research Centre.
- According to Good Health Psychiatric Services.
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