At 33 years old, I just about make the cut-off for youth. And I can say, for certain, that I have hope for South Africa – and that many of my friends and peers share this hope. At the same time, I also realise that there are probably millions of youngsters who don’t share this belief – most of them perhaps making up the 45% of youth unable to get a job right now.
“Young SA people don’t think that any change will come from voting, and many view it as a completely pointless action with no result,” says 26-year-old activist and documentary filmmaker Jordan Pieters (26). She is the founder of the Cape Youth Collective, which gives a platform to young people to make their voices heard.
They seem to say the same thing – we want things to be different, but we don’t know how.
In a pre-election survey by Bloomberg, 16% of South African young people were described as “despondent” and worried about corruption and unemployment. It is hardly any wonder that just over 40% of South Africans aged 18–29 registered to vote. As the Electoral Knowledge Network notes: “For young people to be adequately represented in political institutions, processes and decision-making, and in particular in elections, they must know their rights and be given the necessary knowledge and capacity to participate in a meaningful way at all levels.”
So – SA youth want more information, they want more knowledge and access to the right platforms. There’s one obvious way to get that knowledge across: social media. We happen to be the country with the highest average screen time per day. And while this seems like a negative attribute at first glance, it can be used for good and achieve real political change. The issue is that even when political entities are engaging with young people on social media, they are not doing it effectively.
The importance of authenticity online
When it comes to the internet, we need to understand that Millennials and Gen Z have grown up alongside massive amounts of information and disinformation; they do not trust information that brands put out online, and they value authenticity.
So, if political parties are trying to reach young people through social media channels, they have two major disadvantages. Firstly, these parties are essentially brands. Secondly, sincerity and authenticity demand nothing in return. If a political party makes a post, there is always an implicit request for support– for power. Even when well-intentioned, their efforts come across as inauthentic, if not almost cringeworthy: remember when Hillary Clinton told young people to “Pokémon Go to the polls”?
I can count the number of times politicians succeeded in achieving authenticity on social media on one finger. That was when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar streamed themselves playing the video game Among Us on Twitch. They used the internet casually, in a way a young person would and, as The Guardian notes, “achieved what most politicians fail at: acting normal”.
It’s no surprise that Ocasio-Cortez knew what she was doing: 10 days before that livestream, she had just turned 30.
Leave it to the youth
Now, the way to galvanise our youth to take political action is not for Jacob Zuma to stream himself playing Roblox. In fact, I would prefer it if he didn’t.
Rather, the change that we need will not come from those who are in power – nor will it come from those who have been in power before and are trying to return.
Instead, it will come from young people themselves: new, courageous leaders. It won’t happen quickly. They require rigorous information and knowledge about the actual power contained in their voices and their votes.
“A vote is an employment contract,” says Sandile Tshabalala, co-founder of Huruma Bantfu. “And you are the employer.”
Successful political outreach will also come from providing activist groups that have broad youth networks – groups such as the Cape Youth Collective – with the practical resources that they need to increase their impact. These are organisations with leaders like Jordan Pieters, who instead of saying “I know your struggle” will say “I struggle with you” – and mean it.
Bringing it home
Social media remains a profound means for connection, and a catalyst for upheaval. This year marks 10 years since Ukraine’s Euromaidan Revolution: the initial protests resulted from an activist’s post on Facebook.
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests saw social media being used as the primary means of grassroots mobilisation. In both Euromaidan and the Hong Kong protests, there was no discernible leader of the movement. People, all people, had power.
This is the message that we need to extend to our youth, on this Youth Day and far beyond. You can tell them to their faces – or make a post, send a message, start a hashtag. But make it authentic. Make a reel – make it real. DM